We had an intern help us out at work the other night. And I found out that one of the schools of ( x career) in the state offers a completely online degree. What?! I lived in the city where the only 2 schools of X in the state are located for years and I NEVER KNEW this! I've only been doing my current job for the past 8 years. Seriously, how did I not know?
Anyways, this put a little bug in my brain and I have been doing some thinking lately. One of the reasons I have not thought about what I currently do as a career (or teaching, which was what I originally started school majoring in) is that I would have to spend 3 years of school on a very strict class schedule. And really there isn't a very feasible way currently to go back to school full time during the day. I work full time and I have John and the boys to care for. So finding out that this school (although the more expensive of the 2, by A LOT) offers the entire degree on-line makes a big difference.
I have to decide though, do I want to stay on this path and actually do this as a career? I see the company I work for and they have an increasingly large "do more with less" mentality and it is really starting to take it's toll. Plus the hours vary so much and when you first graduate you have to "float" around town so you are rarely at the same store for any length of time. At the same time I could always work in a different environment in the same field with more normal hours.
If I do decide to do this, many many years from now when I would finally finish I would be getting paid at least 3 times what I am currently. Which to me would be an awful lot of money, and make us a lot more financially secure. Maybe we could actually afford to buy a house! My current work also offers sign on bonuses if you elect to move to an under served area of the country. Plus I can do this anywhere, so if we ever moved it wouldn't be an issue.
One of the cool things is that I would graduate with my doctorate degree in just a 4 year program (plus at least 2 years at full time for undergrad). How awesome would that be to technically be a "Dr." Mommy the Dr. =)
I have been thinking about this quite a bit and have started thinking of some of the logistics. I would have to do a lot of undergrad work before going to actual X school (3 years classroom, 1 year in field rotations). I think we could swing it financially, I never took out student loans when I originally started school, so I would be eligible for what ever the current amount the government lets you borrow now. My work also has a tuition assistance program, they will help you with both undergrad and professional school, increasing with each year you complete. I think ultimately in the long run I would end up going to 3 different schools to complete the whole thing. X school that offers the distance program is a costly private college (but it has a distance program!). I have to look into it some more, but I think I can do a lot of my basic core classes at the community college, then transfer to the state university to get into the pre-X program to finish my pre-reqs. Then complete the x-program using the online distance learning program at the private college. I'm a little bummed that the state university medical center doesn't have a program like this. From what I have learned is that this college is the only school in the country that offers a distance learning program for this particular field. At first I would go back part time to see how I can handle it on top of everything else. But if I decided to take just a class or two first I think we can swing paying for it without having to take out student loans. Especially if I wait until we file taxes again next year, I can put some of our refund towards classes.
I know it's only been a few days since I found out about the distance learning option, but my brain is starting to kick it into over drive on this. It is a huge commitment to make to do something like this, and will take years to complete (especially at part time), then X school is 4 years at full time. And just thinking about the massive student loan debt has me more than just a little worried. But I would be able to provide so much more for my family I think it makes it totally worth it. Current grads in this profession are being offered about $50 an hour right out of school (omg!) Here is my little thought process on this.
At $50/hour = approx $8,000/month before taxes
Say that leaves me with $7,000/month after taxes
$7,000
-$1,000 student loan payment monthly
-$1,000 mortgage monthly
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$5,000 to do with as we please (well you know, after utilities and insurance, etc...)
So say, $4,000, but still, that is a lot of money. To me this means: John doesn't have to go back to work part time if he doesn't want to. He has a lot of anxiety issues and being home with the boys full time has been a huge help to him. It also means we don't have to send the kiddos to daycare. Not that I have a problem with daycare, but it's something we want to avoid for our kids. We can actually save money! And be able to afford to buy a home. Plus if something happens, like my glasses or the tv breaking for example, it wouldn't cause a huge money crisis (because both of those things have happened recently and it is). We could actually afford to go out to dinner (instead of me thinking that $50 spent on a nice dinner out would get us soooo much more in groceries), go on vacation (not even a big one, just a weekend trip to KC would be nice), not having to monitor every penny we spend. The 2 biggest things though that would be amazing is 1: not having to live paycheck to paycheck (it is no fun) and 2: Owning our own home, which I want to BADLY. We struggle right now, quite a bit, and I don't want to live like this forever. I've been trying to come up with ways to better our situation and going back to school seems like it would be the ticket to a better life for us. Right now, at the very beginning of the potential journey, it seems daunting, but I know everyone would be so much better for it in the end.
So it seems like I have managed to talk myself into this. I guess the next step is to start gathering as much info as possible. Find out if I am able to get student loans, if I can at part time if I need to, and will credits from the community college transfer to the 2 other schools I would end up going to. Also what undergrad classes I need, and when they are offered. I can do this, I know I can! I am stronger than I think I am =)
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