Should I quit my well-paying, full time job and go to college full time?

Question

I am 24, have always worked full time and never gone to college. I have worked with the same company for the past two years and am very well paid for my age. I love my job, but am unsure if my heart is there. I truely want to go to school full time but am scared because I do not have the savings to pay for it myself & pay basic bills. I'd prefer to get a part time job and focus on getting a degree in education. Going part time at my current job is not an option.

Do I give up a great job that could turn into a wonderful career just because I feel unfulfilled and pursue a lifetime of SallieMae debt??? I'm stuck and the longer I wait the more I feel as if I am going to suffocate inside a cubicle with no other choices than the path I have chosen... however, school is a major risk also. Student loans aren't alot to work with and I do have an average amount of bills... Anyone out there got a suggestion??

Answer 1

What an enviable position to find oneself in! Does your dream education provide spiritual fulfillment sufficient to compensate for the financial loss? Go for it!

You will not lose the skills that pay you so well, and you can fall back, but you can only regret not moving forward while young and energetic.

Who knows where God will lead you? Ask Him and see.

Answer 2

Get a new part time job. You can apply for freelance writing, bookkeeping, software, transcription, online tuition or customer service work at home jobs. These companies do not require any fee and pay well . List of companies(with websites) offering genuine work at home jobs is available at http://wa7.info . Many of these companies have been in business for several years

Answer 3

Well, its good that you are figuring it out now, instead of doing what I did and waiting until I was 38 with a wife and children to decide that I needed to get my butt in school and finish the degree I have been chasing for the last 20 years.

You have a lot of options available for you as far as financial aid goes BESIDES Sallie Mae. There are federal grants, organization grants (based on religion, vocation, ethnicity, etc.), and depending on your state, Hope scholarships and other grants. You are spot on with understanding that quitting work and going full time could be disasterous as far as your living expenses go, but a part time job might be right up your alley.

Have you investigated substitute teaching in your area? The pay can be equivalent to most part time jobs out there, and you can get classroom experience that will be invaluable to your career. Combine the income you receive there with as many grants and scholarships you can round up, and you could avoid having to get loans entirely, or at the worst minimize the amount you have to borrow.

I'm doing the same thing you are considering; I have been chasing a paycheck for 22 years, and finally decided that teaching was my calling. So I am subbing part time, going to school, and using as many grants as I can find to pay for school. I am fortunate enough to have a wife who works, and the GI bill to help me, but there are other grants and scholarships available that should more than suffice to help you towards your goal. Pick a school, talk to an admissions counselor and financial aid counselor, and get to it!! Don't let fear hold you back!!