As most of you know, I applied to go back to school. I will be working on a degree in Accounting. I was so excited. I’ve really wanted to go back for a long time, and I love finance and working in an office and spreadsheets, numbers… and don’t get me started on forms! I just love it all. I will do well in school. I am smart and am a good student. However, I will have to take out loans to go to school. About $40,000 from start to finish. That won’t be a problem if I work afterwards. We can devote half of my income to paying off my student loan debt and have it paid off in a couple of years. Then we can work on my husband’s student loans. So it would be great.
But… what if I fail? What if I wrack up all this debt and can’t work? What if I try and fail? What if I lose my disability and have to start the fight for disability all over again and be without an income for a couple of years again as a result? And what would I do about student loan payments in the meantime? I’m terrified. If I do this, I have to succeed. But what happens if I don’t? I’ve already had loans forgiven, so that isn’t an option for me.
Have you tried auditing some free courses first to see if you can do this? www.edx.org That will let you dip your toe in the water and check the temperature before you jump in. Or can you start with a single course and work up from there?
Could you work part-time first maybe, to sort of ease into it?
You say “what if I fail?” but what if you don’t? What if things go well and you, despite struggles, make it through? You’d be so proud of yourself, and rightfully so.
@shutterbug I am going into accounting. I used to work as a financial analyst and loved it, so I think it would be something that I would really enjoy.
@Pikasaur You are right. I should think about succeeding. I could do it. And if I do, we could get a home, have a nice retirement, help our kids out when they need it…
@hakunamatata I had been volunteering at a thrift store at an assisted care facility until it became too difficult to stand on my feet for that long and had to take a break (other physical issues besides sza…). I’ve actually contacted the volunteer coordinator to see if she needs help again for December. Pretty sure she does. I don’t want to give up; I just need a shorter shift, and I needed a break. I took off for two work periods.
It is a big decision you have to make. But i agree with @Pikasaur, what if you don’t fail? What if you turn out totally successful? They say nothing ventured, nothing gained. This probably doesn’t help much but it’s my two cents. I hope you and your husband come to a decision soon. Good luck!
I agree with @hakunamatata. Try volunteering a few times per week to test the waters. There are even volunteer office jobs, for instance at free clinics, or other non profits.
Good for you @Happy_H! Really pleased to hear that you are going back to school. I know what you mean about forms and stuff - i quite like them too. Anyway, i think if you do a job you’re most passionate about, you’ll probably find that you won’t struggle with it like you would if you were doing a job you didn’t like. Like @hakunamatata said, you could try volunteering just to get your feet wet and get a feel for how everything flows. However, i would say that you’re going to success in this. Everybody feels nervous about changes in jobs or starting a new job. We all have moments of doubt, but so long as you’ve got the skills and knowledge behind you (which you’ll have after doing your schooling), then you’ll do just fine. Good luck with everything.
I don’t have the educational credentials to get back into the field after 14 years of not doing it (I only did it for 2 years). No one was willing to hire me when I tried years ago; they certainly wouldn’t hire me now.
