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Have you ever quit a steady job to go back to school ?
  • Cat
    Posts: 3Member

    Ok scary mommies  here
    is my dilemma and here is some back ground. My ex has been watching our 3 year
    old and 10 year old  because I can’t
    afford daycare . He does not work , lives at home with his parents and pays no
    child support. For those who will comment on that all I can say is I was young
    and stupid     J I
     have done my homework and am on every
    list available for childcare . Child resources, first 5 , private preschools
    etc… This situation is no longer  going
    to work due to an him and his brother having a physical altercation in front of
    our daughter. I truly believe my child is not safe there anymore. I was
    instructed by Child services to not have my children in that environment any
    more. While no report was filed that , and the altercation scared me enough to
    keep  me from sending my kids there
    again. My mother lives in Arizona , so I paid for her to come out here to help
    me out at least through summer. After summer though she will have to go home
    and I will have no childcare. I have worked for the same company for 8 years . While
    the work is steady I am definitely underpaid for my industry but paid above the
    other girls in my particular department. 
    In other words, I am not going to advance here or make any more money I
    have already capped out. I went and spoke to my HR director and she said that
    If I were to have to quit  would she
    would not deny my unemployment. And also told me if I were her daughter she
    would tell me to take this as an opportunity to go to school full time and make
    a better life for my kids and I . I hope her opinion in very high value and
    have often sought her advice in the past. While the thought of quitting and pursuing
    school is scary so does being stuck in a job where yes, overall I am happy but
    will probably not make any more than I am now. Have you or anyone done this ?
    what are your thoughts? I have done the math and between unemployment and other
    assistance I would qualify for would put me at about 300 dollars a month shy of
    what I make now . I generally bring home about 2000 in my pocket.  So I could make it work if I have to. And Please , not looking for snide remarks. I have worked consistently for over 10 years now.  

  • DemandaDemanda
    Posts: 4,467Member
    Yep. I was at my job just shy of a decade when I quit. When I first applied for school, I had been seperated from my ex for a couple years and wanted to give my son a better life on my terms... my grand plan was to quit work and support us through student loans. A wrench was thrown into that plan when my shitty credit meant I was turned down for the loans. So, I did part time school my first 3 years while working 30 hrs a week. Anyway, year before last - enough was enough and I quit working. Best decision I ever made.

    Like you, my job was steady, but not what I'd consider a "good" job. I couldn't go any further without becoming an optician, which held no interest for me. We were only paid minimum wage, but our comission was quite generous and even someone like me who hates selling can make good money. But I hated my job! And I hated the company even more...completely against my ethics and morals in so many ways, pretty sure a lot of what we did was illegal, if not it was certainly unethical. I cringe whenever I found out someone bought their eyewear there. Okay, I'm rambling, I just really hate that company.

    My point is - DO IT! Yeah, I'm a little less wealthy than I used to be. I've never been one to chase the almighty dollar, so I didn't really find this a big deal, I just cut back where I could... I haven't had to "give up" anything important to do so, just little luxuries here and rhere. Sounds like you've done the math and think you can swing it. Honestly, losing $300 a month would be more than worth it to me... I ended up losing about $1200 a month all things considered and I'm quite happy. I need to budget and account for my money more than I ever did before, but not having to work is worth the extra effort and planning. My marks also skyrocketed once I was able to focus solely on school. It's also been great for my self esteem and how I feel about myself and my accomplishments. Education is a great tool to have, I don't think you'd ever regret it.

    Okay I didn't mean for this response to be so long...basically, I'm on Team You.
    "The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off." ~ Gloria SteinemPhotobucket
  • Charlotte_SometimesCharlotte_Sometimes
    Posts: 1,756Member
    I would personally NOT put my faith into the HR woman telling you that they won't deny your unemployment claim.  Call me cynical but just be careful there.  It's one thing to say this to your face, it's another thing to decide in the company's favor once you are gone.  SO I am saying just don't count on that.

    Besides, to continue to get unemployment benefits you usually cannot be in school if school makes you "unable to work" so it would be smart to plan for that as well... if you are taking only online classes then you might be ok.  Or weekend courses or whatever.  Am I making sense?

    Now, to answer your thread title question I will tell you what we did:   Three years ago I was laid off and on unemployment when I decided to go back to school.  I worked primarily clerical jobs.  Some paid well and some paid crap and I ended up making an average of $8 or $9 an hour and I hated working those jobs but it was the only training and experience I had so I continued to do it and hate it.

    DW was working as a pizza cook making even less than me.   I had gone back to school while working 35 hours a week and it didn't work for me.  I had not been in school in 16 years and I was unable to do well in school while working.  I know some people are awesome at this but I am not one of them for a variety of reasons (ADD, learning disabilities)... so I decided to go to school full time and DW decided shortly after me to quit her pizza cook job and follow suit.   I was afraid to get student loans but I have a solid plan for my career for the future so I know that as long as I stay on track I will make good money when it is all said and done.

    My mother had a cow, yelling about how one of us needed to be working, how DW should keep tossing pizza and let me go to school then she could go after but DW is 36 and I am 40 and by the time I finish school I will be 43-44, DW didn't want to wait until she was 40 to just get started and I don't blame her so we BOTH applied for grants and loans and both went back to school full time.

    We are both just now finishing up the first 2 years and ready to transfer to 4 year universities this fall.  It has actually worked out that our income with student loans and is MORE than we were bringing home when we both worked full time at crap jobs.  Sad huh?  But it's been okay.  And we're moving forward and it feels so good to know there is a plan and that there will be a positive change at the end of all this.  DW is planning to be a middle school math teacher and I am going for my Master's to be a Speech Language Pathologist.  So most likely DW will be finished and working before me.   Our biggest challenge has been to take that student loan money when it comes 2x a year and make sure we don't overspend because we are not used to having a "lump sum" like that!  The money is sufficient, our willpower has been a problem, but we've learned and we now take the funds and pay our rent,electric, internet, etc. months in advance.

    And yeah, like @Demanda said, once I focused solely on school my grades were awesome.  I made the Dean's list 3 semesters in a row and I really feel that school is my JOB now and the only job I've ever liked! :)
    "But a lesson must be lived
    In order to be learned"

    Ani DiFranco, Manhole
  • ChibikoChibiko
    Posts: 2,685Member
    I took a layoff to go back to school. Lived off of unemoyment. Sucky part is that even w extensions unemployment ran out before I could graduate so now I'm stuck w student loans for a 3/4 finished BSN degree. I had to go back to work. School is once again on the back burner. *sigh*
    U R who U think U R

    "You were the truth I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all"
  • MistressHeidiMistressHeidi
    Posts: 973Member
    I read the title and sighed with envy. I HATE my job.No not actually the job itself, I HATE the company I work for. I am not thrilled with my job, it's very physical and you would think it would keep me in shape, but all I feel is my body starting to fall apart and I wonder how long I will be able to keep this up. I would love to quit my job and go to school. To find something that would fulfill me. At my current job I am unhappy and very unfulfilled. The thought of giving up a steady pay check terrifies me. It sounds like you have thought about it, weighed the pros and cons and realized what you can and cannot do. So I'm with @Demanda I'm on Team You!!!
  • Cat
    Posts: 3Member
    Thank you SM's . I love hearing your stories and it always helps to put things out there so I can get other people perspective on things . I am pretty sure I am going to take the leap at the end of summer. I have two kids and get no child support , so I know if time runs out on unemployment I can go on cal works if I have to . So scary but I think it needs to happen. @Charlotte_sometimes , I actually think my boyfriend and I are both going to go to school at the same time. I figure this way we both get it out of the way now, together. 
  • fatchickonabikefatchickonabike
    Posts: 5,494Member
    Yes, I left nursing to go back to school. Although I was in the co-op program, so school included paid internships, but it was still a leap. I just had to get out of there, though.
    "The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof bullshit detector.” - Ernest Hemingway
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