Going back to school. Could use a little advice.

[Blkkbgt]

First off sorry for the long drawn out post. Second if you don't have solid adive or experience with this matter please don't post anything.

So as the tittle says I have decided leave my job and go back to school. I finally found a degree program that makes me want to be in school again. The wife and I have talked in depth about it and took a very in depth look at our finances. Currently her income would be about $500 short of covering all our bills. Not that big of deal I thought initially.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to come up with that money plus a little more while taking 9 or more credits. My wife and I have a substantial savings that we could live off of for a while if needed but we have both worked hard to put that money in the bank and I'd rather not use it unless there is simply no other choice.

We have talked about me staying at my current job and going to school but that simply will not work after my conversation with my boss yesterday. My job is only willing to work with me so much and I'm kind of pushing the limits already since I'll be starting this semester and will be leaving work early Monday and Wednesday for school. To a point I understand.

So that leaves me where I'm at right now, trying to figure out how to make ends meet down the road. I know a lot of people do this but how did you go about making ends meet? What jobs did you find?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Riddla]

Working a part time job should be able to cover 500 a month and you can always cut out some bills like phones etc.

 

[13COBRA]

I have no advice to offer because I've never been there. But good luck with it all!

 

[Phantom_LS2]

Why can't you stay at your current job doing your regular schedule, and get your basics out of the way by doing online classes? That should take your further down the road allowing you to save money for when you actually do need to quit your job?

By the way, I'm doing this now. I started going back to school last year (spring semester). I'm averaging 3 classes or 9 credit hours a semester. Being an adult, school is so much easier this time around. I still work 50+ hours a week and am able to keep a 4.0 avg so far in my classes.

It's very doable. You just have to want it bad enough.

 

[yelostang]

Check into part-time jobs at the school. I did this when I went back and it was great because if I had down time between classes I could work and I didn't have to worry about time lost in driving somewhere else. I think I made about 700 a month working 20 hrs a week.

 

[bnd3672]

If you absolutely can't make it work with your current job (night classes??) - cut unnecessary bills and spending and get a part time job. During college I had part time jobs at mostly restaurants, but also at a flight school, and a call center. Good luck!

 

[Blkkbgt]

Why can't you stay at your current job doing your regular schedule, and get your basics out of the way by doing online classes? That should take your further down the road allowing you to save money for when you actually do need to quit your job?

By the way, I'm doing this now. I started going back to school last year (spring semester). I'm averaging 3 classes or 9 credit hours a semester. Being an adult, school is so much easier this time around. I still work 50+ hours a week and am able to keep a 4.0 avg so far in my classes.

It's very doable. You just have to want it bad enough.

Trust me I would much rather stay at my current job and go to school. Online classes would work if the the ones I need were offered right now. Most of my classes however are not offered online and require me to attend class. The other problem is if I try and chip away at it taking a few classes at a time it would take me forever due to work. Leaving my job is the fastest way to get everything done and I'd rather not drag it out.

Thanks though.

 

[Blkkbgt]

Check into part-time jobs at the school. I did this when I went back and it was great because if I had down time between classes I could work and I didn't have to worry about time lost in driving somewhere else. I think I made about 700 a month working 20 hrs a week.

Didn't think of that. Thanks.

 

[Zemedici]

I'm in this same boat. I could make good money at my current job (125k) but I feel it would cap there. And it's not all that fulfilling. However I'm a junior in programming at school, and it's taken me 5 years to get 3 years of schooling done chipping away at it. I feel if I saved enough to live off of for 18 months (pay tuition and rent,part time job for smaller bills) I could do it. Pizza deliver guys make decent money depending on the area, as do waiters/cooks/etc.

Could you do your same job just less hours/lower tier position with less hours? I know with my job if you don't work full time you don't work.

You can PM me if you'd like :beer:

 

[Ponyracer1]

Be very cautious of the $500 needed. When I put my bills on paper they look doable and I find myself always spending way more and saving way less then I want to. If you have some time I'd try it for a month or 2, actually live on what your wife makes plus an average wage of what you could realistically bring home working part time. It might surprise you how much more you need or how badly it sucks. If it all works out and you are both fine with it then press on, as you just proved you could do it and you have a little extra in savings now.

 

[Blkkbgt]

I'm in this same boat. I could make good money at my current job (125k) but I feel it would cap there. And it's not all that fulfilling. However I'm a junior in programming at school, and it's taken me 5 years to get 3 years of schooling done chipping away at it. I feel if I saved enough to live off of for 18 months (pay tuition and rent,part time job for smaller bills) I could do it. Pizza deliver guys make decent money depending on the area, as do waiters/cooks/etc.

Could you do your same job just less hours/lower tier position with less hours? I know with my job if you don't work full time you don't work.

You can PM me if you'd like :beer:

Thanks for the offer.

No I can't work less at my job and can't take step down to a lower position to work less. It's either full time or the door. Like I said they are not happy about me leaving 2 hours early Monday and Wednesday for school as is. They would have told me to pound sand if I didn't have 230 hours of vacation and 50 hours of compensatory time on the books. I convinced them that it was better that I burn my time slowly.

 

[Blkkbgt]

Be very cautious of the $500 needed. When I put my bills on paper they look doable and I find myself always spending way more and saving way less then I want to. If you have some time I'd try it for a month or 2, actually live on what your wife makes plus an average wage of what you could realistically bring home working part time. It might surprise you how much more you need or how badly it sucks. If it all works out and you are both fine with it then press on, as you just proved you could do it and you have a little extra in savings now.

Yeah we looked at that possibility and feel we have it covered. We actually looked at what we spend and save month to month and came up with $500 which is actually more then we need.

 

[PoohBear]

Some good advice here. Will be doing the same thing next semester. :thumbsup:

 

[Lightning Lad]

Do you have a family member who owns a business? My old man owns a trencher for a little supplemental income and when I needed money in high school or college I would help him dig trenches. If you had a family member with a situation like that it would be great because you could work when you could.

 

[04YellowGT]

I'm currently going back to school to get another degree. I'm doing a advanced program for working adults and its accredited. Basically classes are 5 weeks long and meet once or twice a week for 4-5 hrs/class. Its pretty intense but I take 1 class every five weeks and skip some sessions allowing my brain to take a break. The classes are at night too so I don't have to take off work. They do make for some very long days.

I guess first I have a few questions:

- What are you going to school for and what will you have when you are done? Bachelors or Associates in..?
- Are there jobs in the area that will utilize your degree?
- Do you have a degree now? Associates?
- How many, if any, credits do you have that are carrying over to the new degree?
- How steady is your wife's job? I know a guy I worked with who quit to go back to school and two months later his wife lost her job.

These really don't have anything to do with your main question but are something to look at that some people miss.

Like others have said if you are starting over or still need to take some general classes you could look at other schools to get those credits online and transfer them to the college you will get your degree with. That would allow you to work longer and save up more. Just a thought.

As for what to do for money:

My wife goes to school full time and works about 20-25hr/week as an activities assistant at a nursing home. Work is flexible and easy and pays about $10/hr.

Is there a Costco near you? They pay like 12-13/hr and start you off with 20-25hrs. Most of it is weekend work too.

The other idea, which really isn't a smart or good idea, is take some student loans and live off of them.

 

[shurur]

Combine cutting expenses, student loans, supplemental loans and some part time/work study.

You have to keep the end result in the front of your mind.

But you may have to tap some savings if the stress of living poor for a time affects your studies and starts eating your brain...I can relate with you....good luck man.

 

[FIVEHOE]

I did pretty much what you described while working valet in college. It was hands down the best paying job I could have gotten at the time. I was raking in 500-750 cash in 2-3 days (weekends). HOWEVER, I was very fortunate and got a great club to valet for. If you are living in a city with minimal night life then you could try for an upscale dinner account to valet, but the cash flow fluctuates. The huge upside to this job is that they generally only want you to work thursday-sunday, and the hours are typically later in the afternoon. A lot of older guys worked the valet job off and on to help pay with the bills, and leaving with cash in hand is always nice.

Now if you were a smoking hot chick I would suggest you become a bartender or drive around the golf carts by the bars for some very nice tips. I used to talk to the cart girls when I was working valet and they were damn near pulling in the same money as me, except I couldn't flirt and give out fake numbers for my tips xD.

Bartenders probably made the most consistent amount of money compared to any others in the tip industry around me (unless you work as a waiter at a very high end steak house or something). Some of the girls I used to park would complain about only making 50$ an hour the night before....

Keep in mind I was only taxed on 10-15$ an hour while I was working valet.... probably about the only time in my life I will be able to say I gave it to the IRS.

tl;dr best jobs in college:

1. Bartender / barback
2. Waiter / Waittress
3. Valet

 

[Camaro_94]

Dont take math classes. Theyre annoying and stupid. Thats my advise

 

[shurur]

Dont take math classes. Theyre annoying and stupid. Thats my advise

Actually Not a bad idea for work....math tutoring.

 

[west08]

Not sure what degree you are pursuing or what your current job is, but if I were in your shoes I would probably find a new full-time job that pays for tuition. I wouldn't want to work for a company that is disappointed that I would want to further myself and improve my job performance which could help them make more money in the end.

If you really like your job, like others said, find a part time job. I always worked between 15-20 hours a week while taking an average of about 18 credits and was the SAE Baja team captain. Also look into scholarships. That is one of the biggest regrets I had was not applying for them sooner. I got $8000 for writing one essay that I used for 4 scholarships. Only did it for my senior year; should have done it freshman year. But instead I got a bunch of student loans...