I don't know who says "And don't even think about a graduate degree unless you want to end up with >$40k". When I went to grad school the standard advice was th

I don't know who says "And don't even think about a graduate degree unless you want to end up with >$40k". When I went to grad school the standard advice was that you shouldn't go anywhere without a free ride in the form of tuition waivers and/or a stipend or TA job. Professional schools (law, medicine, MBA, etc.) are different, but they also cost way more than $40k.