Ever wonderhow your monthly student loan payments might stack up next to someone who graduated with a completely different major?

The range can be significant starting at $406 a month in the retail industry all the way up to $685 a month for those working at private hospitals and other companies in the social assistance industry.

The averages are based on data released by Fidelity Investments and give a glimpse how some fields can leave employees burdened with more student loan debt than others.

The figures which are higher than other studies are based on information fromnearly 30,000 users of Fidelity's Student Debt Tool. Those individuals may be more likely to take the time using the tool exactly because they're overburdened by college debt.

The tool is widely available at major companies where Fidelity is a record keeper for the 401(k) plan. The tool is available online to the general public, too. See: http://www.fidelity.com/studentdebt.

The Fidelity data includes those with graduate degrees, as well as undergraduate degrees.

"Here's a snapshot of people looking for help," said Asha Srikantiah, head of the student debt program for Fidelity Investments.

We're moving into the time of the year when many new graduates from the Class of 2019 will start making payments on their student loans as theirsix-month grace period ends.

College grads had an average of $29,200 in college loans a record in the United States based on data for the Class of 2018 for those with bachelor's degrees, according to the latest report by the Institute for College Access & Success. That's up 2% from the 2017 average of $28,650.

Graduating with $35,000 in college debt could amount to a $371 a month payment under a standard 10-year repayment plan, assuming a 5% interest rate. That's just a tad lower than the average car payment for a used car.

Student loan borrowers should fill out the FAFSA as soon as they can to get the most aid. Oct. 1 marks the kick off date for those who will be in college in the fall of 2020.(Photo: BrianAJackson, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Many times, college grads focus on trying to make those monthly payments as low as possible by signing up for various repayment plans. The trade off, though, is that extending your payments often means you're delaying paying off the loans as interest keeps building.

It's not unusual for many people to see student loan debt build over time the longer they're out of college because they've been paying too little on the debt.

You're not alone, for example, if you're looking at $400 or $500 a month for student loan payments, according to the Fidelity data.

The Fidelity report showed:

To be sure, the average monthly payments listed via Fidelity are considerably higher than the overall averages nationwide. The typical student loan payment falls between $200 and $299 a month, according to data from theFederal Reserve Report on the Economic Well-Being on U.S. Households in 2018.

In general, estimates for those with bachelor's degrees shows that grads majoringin education and communications tended to have lower monthly payments (in the low $300 a month range) than those with engineering or physical science degrees (in the $375 to $395 a month range). That's based on a study of monthly payments in 2012 for those who graduated in 2008 done by the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education.

Those earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics may need to borrow more money in some cases.

"The debt of STEM graduates may be higher, but they also have higher income," saidMark Kantrowitz,publisher and vice president of research forSavingforcollege.com.

Millennials have an average student loan balance of $45,548 compared to $55,870 for Generation X and $56,652 for Baby Boomers, according to a Fidelity Investments review of borrowers using its Student Debt Tool.(Photo: Wavebreakmedia, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to the Fed's report, 54%of young adults who went to college took on some debt, including student loans, for their education.

Make sure you know the depth of your debt. Add up all of the different student loans that you've taken out over the years and get a clear picture on how much you owe, said Srikantiah at Fidelity.

Then, she said, try to examine what options are out there when it comes to federal repayment plans or possibly refinancing your student loans.

You want to understand the potential trade-offs with any move you make. Paying as much as you can on those loans will reduce your overall cost in the long run but you may need to live on a very tight budget to make that happen.

The Fidelity Student Debt Tool is used by borrowers who want to see all theirstudent loandata in one place and explore the impact of different repayment options.

Fidelity is offering access to a student debt refinancing platform through Credible.com via the student debt tool. Users can compare pre-qualified rates from up to 10 different refinancing lenders without affecting their credit score. In select states, borrowers currently will get a $750 bonus in the "near future" once they close on refinancing a loan.

Refinancing a federal loan into a private loan, though, may mean giving up an opportunity for various repayment options.Fidelity's Student Debt Tool helps borrowers assess the pros and cons of refinancing, including the impact on Federal loan repayment options.

"Repayment of this debt can be challenging," the Fed report stated. "In 2018, two in 10 of those who still owe money are behind on their payments little changed from the prior year."

The Federal Reserve noted in its report that individuals who did not complete their degree or who attended a for-profit institution are more likely to struggle with repayment.

Comparatively speaking, the Fed noted that otherswho completed a degree from a public or private not-for-profit institution, even including those who took on a relatively large amount of debt, had less difficulty.

Typically, a general guideline is that you don't want to owe more than what you can make that first year out of college.

If total debt is less than annual income, you should be able to repay your student loans in 10 years or less, Kantrowitz said.

High monthly payments, of course, cut into one's ability to save money or borrow for something else.

When you're looking at a $450 a month student loan payment, the last thing you want to do is go out and take out a new car loan.

The average new car payment, after all, is about $550 to $595a month, based on data from Experian and Cox Automotive's Dealertrack.

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One's ability to save for the future or establish roots by buying that first home may also be hindered by a big college debt burden.

Many individuals delaycontributing to their retirement savings plans and many may even take out loans against their 401(k) plans.

Roughly one in five college loan borrowers who used the Fidelity tool reported contributing nothing to their 401(k) plan.

And nearly one out of seven borrowers reported having a loan outstanding against their 401(k), according to the Fidelity research.

What's even more startling: Baby boomers tend to have the largest levels of student loans based on the Fidelity data. Baby boomers had an average monthly payment of $565 for student loans. Their average student loan balance was $56,652.

By contrast, millennials had average monthly payments of $469 on average student loan balances of $45,548.

Over the last decade, the average debt at graduation has increased by 21% for bachelors degree recipients, Kantrowitz noted.

And in the past decade, he said, the average debt at graduation has gone up by 53% for parents.

"Parent debt has increased because students in bachelor's degree programs are running up against the federal student loan limits," Kantrowitz said.

"For a dependent undergraduate student, the aggregate limit for Federal Direct Stafford loans is $31,000 and the sum of the first four years of annual limits is $27,000. As more students hit these limits, it shifts further borrowing to parent and private loans," he said.

Yet parents, too, need to pay careful attention to how much they're willing to borrow to send their children to college.

"My rule of thumb for a parent is 'Don't borrow more than your annual income for all your children,'" Kantrowitz said.

"If your total parent education debt is less than your annual income, you should be able to repay your parent loans in 10 years or less," he said.

If you're an older parent, though, and likely to retire in less than 10 years, you'd want to borrow even less money to send your children to college.

"For example, if retirement is only five years away, borrow half as much," Kantrowitz said.

Contact Susan Tomporat 313-222-8876 or stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tompor. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

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