[Skull&Crossbones]

I'm not sure if this goes here or in the school forum, but if you could go back to school full time for a year and a half (the last half is more or less and internship sort of thing) in order to get your dream job and get paid three times (or more) as much now, would you do it? The only catch is you have to quit your day job. You still have your night/weekend job and maybe you can ask for more hours but that isn't guaranteed. And it's barely over minimum wage.

Financially, you'll have a little bit of savings and can get some financial support from family, so you could get through this with anywhere from no debt to maybe a few thousand in debt? Maybe loans could be forgiven, but if they're not, it would cost more than just paying out of pocket (right? I've never used student loans).

It's just dealing with the stigma of being a loser who doesn't have a full time job. Although my full time job pays less than $13K after retirement is taken out. (Luckily, I live in a place with a very low standard of living and have a part time job and do little things on contract so get a $50 or a $100+ here and there.) And with the additional school, I would make over $50K starting out (before retirement is taken out, so it would probably be $40 some thousand). But would you think someone who quits their full time job to become a full time student is a loser? Going back to the local university with the level of education I have would be humiliating enough (and they didn't treat me that well before), but I could suck it up if I didn't already have such low self-esteem and confidence in the first place. The program is good and thorough and with such a high turnover rate (people quitting and/or getting a job somewhere else) in my field in this area, I should have a decent chance to get a permanent job. I would probably be highly sought after for temporary jobs.

Another thing about my current job: it's incredibly dangerous and dirty. I'm working off a minor back injury and am on a round of antibiotics for an infection the doctors finally caught. I get more exposures (to bacteria/viruses in bodily fluids) than some of my coworkers because I have a pretty strong immune system. I'm less concerned about the grossness of the job (at this point, it takes quite a bit to bother me), but I'm concerned about getting a concussion, a broken bone, or an infection that won't go away.

I do like the job though and my coworkers will make me feel terrible if I leave. It's difficult to find people who do a good job at what I do especially at the pay and the little to no job security at most places (there is where I work, fortunately).

TLDR: Would you respect someone who quit a low paying dangerous job to go back to being a full time student in their early 30s for a year plus a half a year internship to get a much less dangerous and much higher paying job (that they should have completed the degree for in the first place but stupidly didn't) or would you think they were a loser because:

• they have too high a degree to be a student again?
  
• should have completed that degree in the first place and deserve to live with that mistake?
  
• they're too old to be a full time student?
  
• don't have a full time (40+ hour a week job) because that many hours would be too much with the hours required by the program?

[orangyred]

I don't think you'd be a loser for any of those scenarios. I know plenty of people who have started over to make a better life. I think there is too much pressure on people to go to college and it isn't always the right option. I got a degree in business and have never used it. What a waste (imo). I heard of one guy that got his MBA even and ended up as an apprentice to learn plumbing. He ended up doing that as a career.

Sometimes a little sacrifice to be better in the long run is a good thing. I know as people we are more prone to instant gratification, but sometimes delayed gratification is better.

[SeekerSeeking]

Having worked at hospitals, I can tell you that folks on their deathbeds almost NEVER regret things they have done--they regret what they didn't do.

I would admire you for going back to school to up your employment. I would admire you for not settling.

As for your list "Have too high degree to be student again"-- I know folks who have three and four degrees. There are no rules that day you can't go back for another.
"Should have completed..." Don't 'should' on yourself. That was then--this is now--and now is all we have.
"Too old" again, there are no rules for ages in college. I've heard of 80-year-olds getting a degree! And I admire them.
"Don't have full time..." while in school, it would be best if you didn't work full time. As you know, school is a full time job--

My vote? Go for it!

[Skull&Crossbones]

It's not like my previous degrees would be wasted. I just want to get certified to teach in my field. Right now I'm a non-certified staff at a high school and I'm not in the department that's relevant to my field for most of the day.

It just bothers me that I was going to teach in public schools in the first place but wasn't mature or stable enough to pursue it when I was in my early 20s. I could have been several years into a career instead of wasting my 20s getting a doctorate. So I don't have very much full-time work experience.

With the age and education thing, I'm afraid I'll be in a class that's taught by a masters student. A professor with a masters may be awkward (for them at least), but they at least have the teaching experience. But a masters student...

I'm also afraid of running into old professors since it's part of the same department. I still haven't forgiven 2/3 of my committee that served over my oral exams. There's just so many negative memories in that building and on that campus. But it was the best (and possibly the cheapest) program in the area so I kind of had to go with that.

It's just leaving a positive environment where I'm valued to return to an environment where I'm not. I'm not lonely and isolated during the day now because of my students and coworkers, but upon returning to school, I wouldn't have much of a social outlet. If my SO doesn't get the position he's a finalist for, he might be going overseas to work so I might see him every few months. So I would end up without friends or family and I become very depressed with that alone. Even if he stays within driving distance, I would still feel lonely going back to school.

[Skull&Crossbones]

Well, I applied to a program that would start in the fall, but I feel so guilty quitting my job and worried how I'm going to be able to make that much money working half as many hours and not being available during the day. I'm guilty that I'm hurting people/making their job harder if I quit. I mean, in a way, it does make me a quitter and a flake, just like I've always been.

Also, I feel ashamed that I can't financially support my partner who is still struggling to find employment, despite a recent interview that went really well. Part of the reason I want to get a better paying job is to support him so we could finally move forward in our relationship. Too bad that wouldn't be for another 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Oh well, I guess I'm moving forward. I just wish the guilt and fear would go away. I really wish that becoming a student again didn't relegate me to being like a child again. I've finally had a chance to taste what it's like being an adult this year and I'm sad I have to lose it for this.