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Aoi
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
First off, I'm definitely not looking for anyone to make up my mind for me in any way, I'm just looking for some outside opinions, and thoughts on my situation. Thanks for looking 
Anyway, my situation is this. I'm post "traditional university student" age, and way back when (about 10 years ago) because of money and various other reasons, I didn't finish my degree. Anyway, since then I made a pretty good living for myself with the state, good money, experience and all of that regardless.
Anyway, when that ended, I found myself in a position where I needed money quickly and ended up temping at a big company and getting hired on. Once again, decent money, not what I was making with the state, but pretty damned good regardless. This time though, the position is absolutely miserable, and I find myself looking at a good year stuck in that position before I'm able to move on, and while it's a huge company with a lot of advancement opportunities, I look at what I'm doing, and what I can potentially do here and realize that because of past education and the narrow experience, I'm fairly limited, even within such a large company.
So at this point I'm finding myself with a choice. I've been accepted back into school to finish up my degree, which will end up taking several years. Financial stuff is taken care of, too. The thing is, school and this current job aren't going to mix, and any kind of job I can and will get during school hours/days is going to be significantly less paywise of course, and while that's not such a deal breaker with my current living situation, it does leave me stuck living in a less than great situation during that time (cramped, room mate that I'm not fond of living with, on a side of town I'm not fond of at ALL).
So it really leaves me conflicted. Stick with the money and the job I'm not fond of (to be really nice about it) or stick with a bad living situation, potentially for several years, in order to make life much easier/potentially prosperous down the road. This all must sound rather silly to some of you, but again, once you've been out of school lifestyle/mindset for around 10 years, the thought of going back into that is really nerve racking, and since classes start in the middle of next month, I don't have a lot of time to make up my mind either.
Anyway, thanks for any input.
Anyway, my situation is this. I'm post "traditional university student" age, and way back when (about 10 years ago) because of money and various other reasons, I didn't finish my degree. Anyway, since then I made a pretty good living for myself with the state, good money, experience and all of that regardless.
Anyway, when that ended, I found myself in a position where I needed money quickly and ended up temping at a big company and getting hired on. Once again, decent money, not what I was making with the state, but pretty damned good regardless. This time though, the position is absolutely miserable, and I find myself looking at a good year stuck in that position before I'm able to move on, and while it's a huge company with a lot of advancement opportunities, I look at what I'm doing, and what I can potentially do here and realize that because of past education and the narrow experience, I'm fairly limited, even within such a large company.
So at this point I'm finding myself with a choice. I've been accepted back into school to finish up my degree, which will end up taking several years. Financial stuff is taken care of, too. The thing is, school and this current job aren't going to mix, and any kind of job I can and will get during school hours/days is going to be significantly less paywise of course, and while that's not such a deal breaker with my current living situation, it does leave me stuck living in a less than great situation during that time (cramped, room mate that I'm not fond of living with, on a side of town I'm not fond of at ALL).
So it really leaves me conflicted. Stick with the money and the job I'm not fond of (to be really nice about it) or stick with a bad living situation, potentially for several years, in order to make life much easier/potentially prosperous down the road. This all must sound rather silly to some of you, but again, once you've been out of school lifestyle/mindset for around 10 years, the thought of going back into that is really nerve racking, and since classes start in the middle of next month, I don't have a lot of time to make up my mind either.
Anyway, thanks for any input.
Aoi on
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You need to mention whether you have dependants. That changes the game significantly. You also haven't said anything about what doors your degree will open up, whether it is the same career path as the one you have been on, things like this.
You've boiled it down to "my degree will get me more money" but most grads will tell you that isn't necessarily true. You haven't made the case for returning to school apart from that you don't like your current job. That's not a good reason, and that's not going to keep you in school for the next three years if/when money gets tight or things in the degree get tough.
My degree though (at least what I had been previously going for) is computer science/software engineer. School is for more than just money too. Regardless of my experience, I don't feel challenged, and I would rather struggle for a few years to be able to do something I'm happy with in the end, and do something I really feel challenged by, than to continue to let any skills I once had sit and atrophy. I also have the desire to better round out my skills in general, which this will help with.
And again, my current living situation makes it a lot easier than it would normally be. My rent and bills are only around 400 a month, so I don't have a lot to deal with/worry about money wise at all, so I definitely feel like if I'm going to do it, this really is the best/most opportune time to do so.
So, what's the question here? I don't see why this would be a bad idea.
At the same time, in the year I've worked here, I've seen a pile of people laid off, seen a complete change in management, and the entire structure of the department changed. Hell, the account I work on is leaving at the end of the year, so my position isn't even all that secure.... :? I have no god damned idea why I even made this post now. My family is full of retards.
It looks like the next little bit might suck, but it's worth it for your future I think, especially if you really don't have any loose ends to worry about like funding/money and a place to live.
Honestly, if I think about it - given the choice between spending, like, 7 hours a day studying things at college that may or may not be relevant to the job I will eventually get, or just spend a fraction of those 7 hours a day pimping myself to companies until one bites - well, I think it would take much less time and effort to get hired by spending that time looking for the job you want rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars and several years to get a possibly irrelevant education in order to add an extra line to your resume.
that said, it obviously does look good if you have more education, but it hasn't exactly made all the difference for me. Hell, at my current job, there are people with master's degrees doing exactly what I do, for a pittance. it's kind of a shame.
That's because you obviously didn't have a passion for your degree. If you did, you would have followed the career path from your degree. This is admittedly harder with some subjects than others.
If you have a passion for your degree, like I did with Computer Science, your career path will follow on from that education. The degree will have been worth it. If you just went "meh" and took whatever job came out of school, then of course it wasn't worth that much to you.
But do remember that people with degrees, on average, make more than those that don't.
It's all a bit cliche, and it's perfectly possible to be a happy person just by coasting or doing what you're "supposed" to be doing...but nobody's ever broke the bank or changed the world doing that, either.
Also really comes down to what you have a passion for. An English degree is next to useless if your goal is to become a published author, for instance.
It's all so contingent on what you want to do. Computer Science? Sure, that opens a shitload of doors if that's your passion, so if that's the case, yeah, go back to school. For that matter anything technical is obviously going to benefit from (maybe even require, in some cases) a degree.
In the end, I agree, take a chance and go back to school :P
Weaboo List
lucky bastard, thats just slightly more than 1/3 of just my rent.
I have had to fight tooth and nail to get the jobs I have. I have missed out on several great jobs due to lack of a degree. I am severely underpaid in my current job, which I probably would be at this company if I had a degree, but I probably wouldn't be with this company in the first place if I already had one.
Now, perhaps you should consider going part time while continuing to work full time. This is what I am doing. Yes, it takes fucking forever and can be stressful, but I suppose not as stressful as not being able to pay for anything because I'm not working.
Just go for it.
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."
I'm in the same boat as you, Ceres; I already have a degree... it's just the wrong one. Fortunately, I'm going to have the opportunity to go back next year because I just took a job at a university and they offer a 75% tuition discount. Needless to say, I'm going to jump all over that benefit and get a real degree that I will actually use.
I don't have the source on hand, but some report (Bureau of Labor Statistics?) showed that software engineering/programming was one of the few fields to actually still be growing during this economic downturn. Combined with the fact that fewer students are entering the field, it's a really stable* industry with a high compensation for your services.
*If you're willing to change jobs every few years because of antiquated corporate raise policies that cap salary increases far below what experience for programmers dictate.
[/Sales Rant]
Good luck finding a way!
I had thought about this too, but to be completely honest, I'm actually wanting to get back into some of the subjects outside of my field too. Language, writing, etc. I'm definitely going back for vocational reasons primarily, but as odd as it may sound, I want something more well rounded than what just going after certs would get me.
I'm still going through scheduling for classes, going for grants (of which, there are some nice ones for people 25+), but I'm a bit on edge now knowing that my roomie is jobless. Argh, what amazing timing.
I've found that having a degree doesn't necessarily get you started with more money than not having one, but you have many more options and opportunities open to you with that degree. Also, it helps you advance through a company through invisible ceilings if you will. Depending on what you're doing, some companies may not see people without a degree as trainable or useable past a certain step of the company ladder.
If nothing else, your degree will allow you more options and opportunities in the future.
I'd say that's worth it in the long run, especially if the financials are taken care of as you mentioned.
Anyway, discussed it with the roomie, they're getting their shit together as far as the job situation, so hopefully that won't be an issue. Looking into on campus employment, all admissions paperwork is taken care of, as is the financial aid stuff, now it's just waiting on (hopefully) the acceptance letters. Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate the outside opinions and experiences.
I dropped out of a PR degree after two years as I had some tough times, I have just started a course with the Chartered Institute of Marketing which I can do after work which is nice, I'm planning on turning it into a diploma and then into a post grad diploma while I work my way through marketing roles.
I suppose it is entirely specific to the industry you want though aoi.