Well after much thought and discussions with my wife, I have decided to go back to school and complete my degree. This is going to be a tough undertaking being I will have to juggle working full time, school work and family time with the wife and kids. I know the benefits will be great for the family in the long run, but there will be some sacrifices on my part in the form of less time for hobbies. If everything works out like I want I should be able to complete the degree in around 5 years. My hunting time will be minimal during those falls, and that will be tough for me. I believe I'll be able to get in some hunts, but not nearly as many as I currently do. I just have to keep my eye on the prize though and know its best for the long run.
My wife is about a month from getting her RN. So I know the road your getting ready to go down. It is a tough one. She is a surgical tech now and juggling that full time position with call time and school has been a real struggle and a strain but there is light at the end of the tunnel for her. Good luck Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
What are you going back for? And congrats on making that decision, it will more than likely pay off well in the end.
Good luck Phillip. Just because your not hunting as much doesn't mean you can't stay in touch on here.
@tfox - Congrats to your wife! @Hooker - I currently work for an engineering firm and plan to stay in the field. I plan to get my degree in Electrical Engineering. @Brad - I plan to stay as active as I can on the site. I don't think I'll be buried with school work to the point, I can't spend a little time contributing to the site. Besides I always have the slow times at work to browse. Thanks for the encouragement guys. It was a hard decision to make and I'm a little nervous about going back after 8 years away from it.
This decision will definitely pay off in the future. I knew many EE that received jobs with some of the bigs in the oil industry making $100k right out of college.
Applause for Phillip!!!! I went back when I was 37 and it was much easier than I thought it would be. I actually did more hunting than before because I found a tree stand to be a nice quiet place to read. I once had an acorn fall right in the middle of my abnormal psychology book and it sounded like a .22 rifle shot. 10 minutes later I arrowed a nice 6 pointer. One word of advice... make a date night for you and your family and don't let ANYTHING break it. Ours was Friday night... even midterms and finals took a back seat to date night.
FWIW, I found college easier when I went back to school than when I was younger. Probably had a lot to do with my attitude and my effort. I was scared as well to start but that quickly subsided. The weird part was being the "old guy" in class even though I was only like 25-29 at the time.
Congrats on the decision. I have been working full time and have been going to grad school year round for the past two years and have at least a year to go. I don't have kids yet but am engaged. The key is to find balance. I make sure I set aside time for my fiancé and I make sure I set aside time for me (hunting, fishing, etc). If you don't you will get burnt out. My fiance is very supportive of me and it makes a huge difference as well. It will also help that you are going to school for the field you are in. It is nice to be able to apply what you are learning to the job as you progress through the program. Good luck! Things will get tough but it will pay off!
Good luck to you Phillip. My wife got her degree in computer science the first time around and then after owning and running our own business for 7 years, she decided to go back and get a degree in accounting at the age of 31. The last two years we were at camp in Canada she went to school online and graduates in June. She has a few weeks left of her internship with the best and largest accounting firm around here and then starts with them full time the end of April. Her self employed work experience got her the full time job, even before she actually gets her degree. I'm pretty proud of her, I guess that's why I'm rambling. Are you going to be sitting in classrooms at night or how are you pursuing it? Like others have said, be sure to make time for her while going to school. That was one thing we struggled with, little time together. Part of that was my fault though.
@Hooker - I have an idea what my company pays EEs right out of school, it will be a big help to the family in the long run. @Muzzy - Thanks for the date night advice. That's a great idea. @Brad - I hope I find that to be the case as well @Matt & chart33 - Thanks guys! @Dan - My company is flexible with my work schedule so I will be able to take classes during the day and get my work in around that and working some on Saturdays. I'm not sure I could handle all night classes. I am currently planning on 2 courses per semester and going year round. I already have 15 credit hours from my first attempt when I was younger, so I'm not exactly starting from scratch.
Good luck Phillip! I don't think I'll ever head back to finish my Graphic Design major, but I've been eyeing up some courses at VCC here in Ely. Fun stuff like 'Wolf & Deer Ecology' and 'Wilderness First Responder'. Hang tough and listen to the great advice others have given.
Phillip, outstanding man. Once you get a handle on balancing everything in your life, the more hunting opportunities will arise as your college career moves forward. Proud of you man.
Best of luck with this Phillip!! It's usually never a bad thing when trying to better yourself. You always seem to have your ducks In order. Well done.
