[Kristine233]

My husband lost his job and is returning to college for Radiological Technologies. I've gone to school twice, once for general studies/early education and the second time for web/interactive media design. I'm currently a preschool teacher part time and a web designer part time (from home). Combined they almost make a full time income IF my design company is doing good and that goes in spurts depending on the economy and how it effects small businesses. I love both my jobs but I'd love something more fulltime and stable. Not to mention, preschool teachers make crappy pay to begin with, lol, you only do it if you really love it. (which I do, I'm just thinking of long term goals for when my kids are older... heck, I'm only 28!)

DH will be attending part time school over the summer and starting full time in the fall. My job pays for childcare while I'm working so this works out great for him. He'll work part time and possibly full time as well depending on what he finds and scheduling. But now he's urging me to go back to school for something else as well. We've discussed what would make sense and decided that if I choose to go back that I'd go into the nursing field and pursue becoming an LPN (high demand in our area too). If I did go back I wouldn't start until fall semester so the kids would be in school. The college and our elementary school have the same schedule, and my work as a preschool teacher is in the college I'd attend. Not to mention the college is directly next to the elementary school where my kids attend and my work schedule is afternoons only leaving the mornings free for classes (not to mention all the online options).

It would seem that the stars have aligned, right? But I'm wondering how realistic it is to have 2 parents in school at the same time? And would you go back to school for a 3rd time? My major sticking point is me thinking "Gosh, back for a 3rd time?! What am I thinking?" lol

Income is not much of an issue as we have that covered even if we have just each have part time jobs, lol... yay for low cost of living and no vehicle loans or credit card debt!

Another thing that's worrying me is stress. My DH is not as great at school as I am. He only finished 2 1/2 years of high school before getting his GED (but hes a smart cookie) so I know college is going to be hard for him at first. I want to be available to support him too without being wrapped up in my own classes, but he doesn't want me to wait too long to go back if I am going to either.

Gah, I'm so torn! I need "been there, done that" feedback from parents who have gone through similar. Anyone?

 

[La Sombra]

Been there done that!

Or, I should say, AM there, DOING that, lol! Wow, our situations sound really similar. I had had brief flirtations with school but NEVER really enjoyed it and never really had much direction--it wasn't even so much that I didn't know what I wanted to do, but that I wanted to do a lot of things but didn't feel focused on any one of them. My parents even told me that I shouldn't agonize if school just wasn't my thing. I had all but decided that it wasn't.

I won't go into all the details, suffice to say, after traveling for a few years and then coming back to the States and working in a restaurant, I thought, 'Well, I don't know exactly what I want to do, but I know what I *don't* want to do, and it's wait tables...so I'm gonna just do it, I'm gonna go back to school!" It wasn't long before I decided to study Chinese and Spanish, which I'd been studying anyway and which I LOVE. I was sooooo nervous because I'd never really been able to stick with school before, nor had I ever been a very good student. But I surprised myself utterly with my dedication to my chosen path and my willingness to work hard. I'm not saying this to brag but to give you hope that if someone like me can do it, so can you! I get straight-As now and am on a scholarship at a major university.

Now as for my husband, he already had a degree (art history) but it proved pretty useless in this economy. He also hated school and barely scraped by with his degree. He had zero faith that he'd be able to commit to and succeed in any graduate program when I initially suggested it. I admit that I really pushed him into it because we were at a dead end, financially, and because I knew that he was (is) incredibly smart and driven when it came to other things in his life.

He got accepted into a graduate program in architecture two years ago and has one year left. It is extremely demanding and he's stressed out a lot, but he's doing it!

So what I would say to you is that, no you aren't crazy for thinking about going back to school and I'd banish the thought from your head. You have to do what feels right and believe in yourself. And if your husband has the right motivation, he, too, can do it. In our case, things had to be pretty bleak for my husband to be convinced that this was the right opportunity, but the hope for our future has been a pretty powerful motivator.

I will also say that I go to school with a lot of younger, traditional college students (ie, 18, 19, etc., parents paying for everything, free for the first time, etc.) and I really feel that in a lot of ways being an adult has made me much more serious about school because I'm paying for it all on my own and there's so much more on the line when you are older and have a house and kids and stuff.

Your plan sounds great and I wish you guys the best. This is totally doable, especially with your financially situation being pretty solid!

 

[ShwarmaQueen]

Yep, been there done that too! I dropped my classes this semester due to extreme nausea/vomiting, but otherwise, we've both been in school for the past several years. Since he was closer to finishing and has a higher potential income, I let him build his schedule first, then built mine around his. This allowed us to alternate DD's daycare pickup. It's been tough, but education is a MUST!

You can do it!

 

[Kristine233]

Thanks girls.

I had JUSY graduated college 2 years ago for the 2nd time through so I do totally get the adult college thing. I took it so much more serious than the others in my class and was able to pull out straight As because of it. I struggled the first time through because I was really young (17/18) and didn't take it very seriously. I wasn't paying for it that time so I didn't focus as much as I should have.

 

[marilynmama]

Me and my husband have both been FT students at the same time (he also worked ft, me part time, and we hs'ed our girls). We didn't have any issues with it. I was only really stressed out before finals and stuff.

I was in RN school (graduated last May and now working FT) and he is still in college (education) and working ft. But we are both really motivated and enjoy school.

Both radiology and LPN are good jobs

I work with both.

 

[Kristine233]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marilynmama Me and my husband have both been FT students at the same time (he also worked ft, me part time, and we hs'ed our girls). We didn't have any issues with it. I was only really stressed out before finals and stuff. I was in RN school (graduated last May and now working FT) and he is still in college (education) and working ft. But we are both really motivated and enjoy school. Both radiology and LPN are good jobs I work with both.

That's good to hear. I toyed with the idea of doing RN instead but from what I've heard locally they've been trying to cut back on RN hours and use more LPNs here to save money. (We are in a lower income/low cost of living area)