1 – the only other disadvantage i can think of is that it can adversely effect your ability to get certain types of jobs. You will be able to secure undesirable credit right away though. (reall high interest rates.

2 – Whether you have to file a chapter 13 and pay a percentage of debt depends on the means test, not real expenses, but I’m guessing you probably won’t need a chapter 13.

3 – It depends on the job in the government you’re looking into. In some positions I don’t think it matters, in others it may make the difference because of security clearances.

4 – I don’t know what the going rate for bankruptcies is in your neck of the woods, you have to ask the attorneys that do bankruptcy to find that out.

5 – Like I said, doing nothing is a bad idea. It’s one thing if they haven’t sued you, but once they do (and they do more often than that article makes you think) ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away.

I don’t know if you are financial able, but in Jim Cramer’s book Stay Mad for Life, he suggests making minimum payments on all of the credit cards except for the one with the lowest interest rate and make as big as possible payments on that one. Then transfer funds from the highest credit card to the lowest. Continue to make large payments on the lowest card and keep transfering the debt from the other cards to it until one by one they are paid off. Perhaps you can make this work somehow in your situation.

Also, have you considered creating a website with content you have learned from being in telecommunications? Create a directory or some community and find a way monetize it. Perhaps it can be enough to pay down your credit debt. Yahoo is a cheap but good web hosting company. Their website builder is very easy to use. Good luck to you!