Any of you guys ever go back to school to improve your career and quality of life? I'm at a crossroads in life right now where I've reached a pinnacle in my current job and am looking for more. Outside of tripling my salary I'd be doing something I love if I went back to school. The Program is a three year doctorate degree in nurse anesthesia. I'm 28 years old with a wife and no kids yet. It's basically now or never to get this done. Life will be on hold for 3 years and I won't be able to work with 80 hours of clinical training a week. I can pay for the program with cash so thankfully there's no financial strain, but wifey will be the sole bread winner for a while. That's hard to stomach being the man of the house. For those of you have that have gone back was it worth it? what were some unforeseen stressors/hardships? if you had it all to do over again would you continue your education? Thanks in advance for any wisdom and insight!
It's never too late to be what you might have been. Yes, I have done it with a wife and (2) kids. It was rough. I don't regret it and would not have success in my career without college. Getting through graduate school is very time consuming. It is nothing like your undergrad. Make sure your wife understands the time needed to finish the degree.
I started back to school in 2012. I worked as a drafter for an engineering firm and went back to school to get a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering. I started back with only 6 credits of the required 128. I am taking nearly a full school load each semester, I work 40 hrs a week, and I have a family (wife and 4 kids). Also I am 34. It gets rough at times, but I know it will be worth it in the end.
Do it brother! In the long run you can share your bow hunting adventures with us from places we may not ever see.
Go for it. Never hurts to advance your career, and that field is very lucrative and much needed. I got my Master's immediately after graduating and getting hired at my current job. They paid for it, and I wasn't married yet (and didn't have any kids), so I jumped on it. I maxed my reimbursement credit allowance out every semester, and finished in two years. It was meant strictly for a pay increase. I got nothing out of it beyond that. However, it was 100% worth it.
Do it now or you will never do it. I was planning on going back to school for my Masters and hopefully PhD. Had everything planned. I had been accepted into Clemson's Upland Ecology program. Then I met my wife and my priorities changed. Do I ever wonder what might have been? Sure. But I don't regret the decision.
do it - taking it in the machismos for three years is a small price to pay for a future of financial security and personal achievement. That's what being married is all about - shared sacrifice and responsibilities. You and your wife are partners. As long as you talk it out ahead of time and both understand what it's going to take you should be OK. Just don't kick her to the curb the day after you get your degree. That's a pretty crappy thing to do. But apparently it does make you qualified to run for governor of Texas. The Heroism of Wendy Davis | RealClearPolitics
I went to college for a couple years after high school but quit going as I didn't know what I wanted to do. I then spent 7 years farming with my Dad. I decided to go back to college in my latter 20's and earned a B.S. in Finance. My career has been in banking for around 7 years now.
If it wasn't for the financial burden I'd get my MD after I finish my PharmD next year. I don't regret the path I chose as I'll be done w a doctorate at 24 vs closer to 30... But man do i sometimes wish id have gone the MD route at times to specialize from there. The freedom of lifestyle I want will be harder to obtain given my current path. I dislike school enough that I won't be doing it though. Ill get out and work my loans off and if I hate it at that point ill switch into real estate and work part time as pharmacist.
Jump Jeff jump, I haven't gone back yet.... but my wife is working on finishing her Masters at the moment, while she raises kiddos and I work. Maybe when she is done and all the kids are in school it will be my turn lol
I didn't know what I wanted to do when I graduated high school. I went to college for a couple year and quit. All that time making more money then a lot of college graduates. That said it was really hard for me to stay motivated. Forward 7 years later and I was ready for a lifestyle change. I went back to school for two years, graduated, and changed carriers. Taking a monster pay cut in the process! I now make twice as much money as I ever made and even more importantly I enjoy what I am doing! It's not uncommon to take steps backwards to make forward progress. Go for it! It's not to late. "Whip it, whip it good".
I have not and don't know that I would....I hated school, problem with authority, yadda yadda. I'm not even sure what I would do if I were to want to further my education. I do love managing wildlife, I suppose a degree as a wildlife biologist would be pretty useful and maybe fun to do. Sometimes a person can see an opportunity for self improvement and just has to go for it. Good luck whatever you decide.
My husband retired as a certified public accountant and then went to law school, got the J.D, passed the bar, and now practices law. He says he wishes he had done it years ago. (He is, you might say, noticeably older than you are.)
I'm all for it, nursing is a great field you can make a good living in. I just wonder how someone who is so concerned about his "manhood" being tarnished by letting his wife be the breadwinner could stand working in the field of Nursing, which is predominately female. Just seems odd. I'd expect that from someone going to truck-driving school.
Pretty close minded thinking in today's world. Although certain areas of nursing are still predominantly females like Obstetrics and pediatrics, most critical care area numbers are becoming more like 50/50 (at least in the facilities I work at). Men in the field tend to gravitate more to these areas based off the adrenaline rush involved with open heart surgeries, traumas, code blues and the like. All of which are precursors for anesthesia school. I didn't think I came off as "so concerned with my manhood" in my original post. I think anyone who was going to be supported by their other half for three years would expect reluctancy over that thought. It's not even so much the fact that my wife being sole bread winner is "tarnishing" in any way, it has more to do with the fact it will be added strain on her and that's something a husband typically likes to limit.
That's exactly how I'm feeling! The programs I'm applying for all want your undergrad sciences to be within the last 10 years and at least a 3.0 for all sciences. If it's past the ten year mark they need to be retaken. I don't see myself redoing A&P, micro, and biochem so it's now or never.
I can only imagine the hunts I could afford lol gotta get in first tho, most schools around here see 100-125 applicants and take 15-20 students in each class...we'll see what happens
I went to college, got a degree worked in that field (kinda) for a few years and completely switched gears. I got into education, talk about a pay cut lol. At this point I had a kid. In order to do so I had to take education classes and lateral entry into education, once I finished that (I did it in one year) I decided to keep going. I used those classes as electives and obtained my masters (two years), so all in all I have 7 years of college....and I teach.
