Would you continue schooling if you found out it wouldn't pay off?

[mamakah]

Hi all!
I'm 29 and a mother of a 2 1/2 year old boy. Up until 3 months ago I was a stay at home mom. I decided to go back to school and had two degree options I was headed for. The first was Medical Laboratory Science (I want to be a lab geek), and the other was Radiology tech. Both seemed to have a good pay with high job demand. Now that I'm back in school I've met lots of people in both careers. I've learned that a degree in med lab science will get me a job with an extremely low salary (less than 30,000/yr in my area)! It's a bachelor's program with hard science classes. Plus, people I've met in the field say they deeply regret their degree choice because the work is boring and mindless (which surprised me).
The Rad tech offers good pay, but EVERYONE I meet is going into the program and a friend who has been working in Radiology for years says that the University is lying about job demand and that she rarely sees job openings in the field.
School has been hard for me. Not the actual curriculum, but mothering and studying are really difficult and my husband works a lot. My son spends a lot of time playing by himself and watching t.v.
I'm wondering if this is even something I should pursue anymore. Those were the only two degrees I'm even remotely interested in. The original idea was that it would be hard work, but when school was finished, I'd have a great income to add to what my husband makes. Now, it looks like I'll be 20,000 in debt with a low income...if I can even find a job.
What would you do?

[texmati]

TBH... I wouldn1t. I'd try to change to a more lucrative degree.

[lolar2]

Demand for my field was never good, but it dropped a lot when the economy crashed. Now I'm getting a teaching certificate. Do you have enough credits to switch to something like nursing or science teaching fairly quickly?

[FireFrog]

The key here for me would be what my gut said -- from your question, it sounds like you don't really want to continue. And that's perfectly okay! Changing your mind after getting more information is not a bad thing.

I wish you the best!

[Ola_]

Since you've only just started, I would look into changing to a different program. It doesn't matter how interesting it is if you can't find a job or make a living wage! That said, I got a lot of scary stories when I was in school (computers) esp. since I graduated after the dot com bust and everything. I didn't have any issues finding a job. The wage issue also IMO depends on where you work - some companies pay better than others, though there may be other tradeoffs (i.e. ethical ones).

So it really depends - can you find any actual job listings rather than going by people's opinions?

[JamieB]

I was in your exact position before DH and I got married and had kids. I decided on x-ray over the lab tech and now I am a SAHM mom paying off HUGE OSAP debts. The difference here is that lab tech jobs are easier to get and pay really well. Basically it was the worst decision I have ever made. There are absolutely no jobs around here and now I will either be going back to school or waitressing when my kids go to school. To be fair I could have moved away from home to get a job but DH travelled for work at that time and I we knew we wanted kids and I couldn't imagine raising my kids away from my family and hometown.

[lunarlady]

I was a lab geek for years, and yes, it is both repetitive and boring. Imagine a somewhat interesting experiment that takes four hours to do. The imagine doing EXACTLY the same experiment twice day, day after day, week after week. Sigh. I became a teacher because I wanted something more interesting. That said, there is something very Zen about doing one thing over and over, and doing it well. Also the hours are pretty set, you never take work home, and you don't have to stress about calling in sick since the work can either wait or somebody else will do it while you are gone.

It does not, however, sound like you are enjoying your studies. If you are not happy in school, or would be just as happy working retail, waitressing, or doing some other job for which you need a degree, then it isn't worth it. I've found that most degrees are not worth the money unless they open doors you are super excited to walk through. Maybe take a semester off while you investigate your options.

[AndrewsMother]

Are you in debt $20,000 after 3 months of a Rad Tech program? I hope that I am reading your post incorrectly.

There are over 700 Radiography programs, and if each program graduates 40 students a year that is almost 30,000 new graduates a year. Demand is high, but not that high. If you are willing to move, you would have a better chance of obtaining employment.

Because so many community colleges offer an AS or an AAS, I would not pay for than $10000 total for a radiography degree. The difference is pay is no different than that for a college graduate.

I would not obtain a college degree to increase my pay in any field that did not captivate me.

[Gator-mom]

Yea,I agree with most others here. I would either take some time off and switch fields (like to nursing or to OR scrub tech) or just switch right now if you feel like it's really important to continue your education ASAP.

I'm in an nursing program now, and it's been a ton of work and hard to juggle with home life, but I feel like I have the best chances at getting a career out of it when I graduate compared to most other fields out there..

[EFmom]

I would investigate thoroughly myself what the job market is like for rad techs. Around here it is very good, and according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, it is predicted grow faster than average. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos105.htm#outlook That doesn't mean employers will be beating down your door, but in this economy, very few jobs are that way.

[smeep]

Originally Posted by FireFrog

Changing your mind after getting more information is not a bad thing.

Exactly! It's like parenting. We all do "bad mom" things...changing what you do, upon learning that it was not an ideal choice, is NOT a bad thing. It's a good thing! You're just improving as you gather more information. It's like life altogether.

I say that, since you obviously have so many doubts, go ahead and cut it. Yes, it's some time and money wasted, but it would be so MUCH more time and money wasted if you can't find a good job relatively quickly with good pay. Kwim? Money and time will be lost either way, it's just a matter of going for the lesser of evils.

Is there ANYTHING else you would be interested in? Surely there's got to be something else...it may not seem like something you'd be interested in on the outside, but often times there are careers that involve a lot of other aspects, it's just not obvious. For example, in becoming a CLE, I've found that anything in the lactation profession requires a LOT of science...it's not obvious to most, because you think it's just more a matter of putting a baby on a boob, but it's actually quite scientific IME...and I love it! Which I do think is weird because I couldn't have cared less about science when I was growing up. lol But, anyway, you get my drift.

[Carita]

yup - i want to know how much you have invested so far. it doesn't hurt to reassess. are you willing to move for a job? that is a crucial question. would it be okay to go back to school after your son is in school?

[mamakah]

Thanks everyone!

First, I'm not 20,000 in debt yet. I figured out how much it would be once I finished my Medical Laboratory Science bachelors and that's what I came up with.

I'm going to take a break next semester and try to figure this all out.

I love school! I'm just exhausted everyday which I'm sure is playing a huge part in this whole confusion.  I want a degree and I would love to work in a lab.  Personally, I like the idea of going to work everyday and knowing EXACTLY what's going to happen. I've worked in restaurants for years and hate the unpredictability. I definately do better when I know how much energy will be needed for the shift. My problem with the MLS is the pay. Yes, I want a job that I'm excited about but I really want a good pay to go with it. 

Thanks again for all the great advice!  I have a lot of thinking to do....