Mississippi student loan forgiveness programs - do they actually exist or is it a myth?

Hey y'all. I graduated from Southern Miss last May with a degree in history (I know, I know, "what are you gonna do with THAT" jokes welcome ). I loved every minute of college but now I'm sitting here with about $45,000 in student loan debt and a job that pays $38,000 a year. The math ain't mathing.

I keep hearing about loan forgiveness programs but everything I find is either federal (PSLF, income-driven repayment, etc.) or requires you to be a teacher or nurse or something. I'm just a regular guy working an office job in Jackson.

Does Mississippi have ANY state-specific programs to help with loans? Like, if I agree to live and work in Mississippi for X years, do they forgive some debt? I love it here and don't plan on leaving anyway, so if that's an option I would jump on it.

I tried googling but kept finding stuff about "Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant" which is for current students, not graduates with loans. Not helpful.

Also, has anyone had success with the federal income-driven repayment plans? I'm on the SAVE plan (or whatever it's called now) and my payment is $0 which is great but also... does that mean interest is still accumulating? I'm so confused about how any of this works.

If anyone knows a financial aid counselor or a resource that actually explains Mississippi-specific loan stuff, please share. My parents don't know anything about loans (they didn't go to college) so I'm figuring this out alone and it's overwhelming.

Dafna, I dug into this a while ago. Mississippi has "forgivable loan" programs, but they're mostly for current students in high-demand fields, not graduates with existing debt. The Nurse Retention Loan Repayment Program is one exception for nurses . There's also the Mississippi Tuition Subsidy Forgivable Loan for low-income students, but it's for current students . For us regular grads with office jobs, it's pretty slim pickings. Federal options are probably your best bet.