Career choices

nervouswreck

For the last year I have been a stay at home mom. I find myself wanting to go back to college.

I was wondering what other people do for a living and if you have regrets about the degrees that you ultimately received. If so, what would you have done differently? What are some things that you wish people knew about your job that is unique or difficult? Do you feel your student loan debt was worth accruing?

As for me, I have worked in healthcare as a hospice aide for fifteen years . It has been at times very rewarding but I know my body will not hold up much longer.

K&H

I am a clinical psychologist and I work primarily with children and families. Grad school took an extremely long time and a serious load of money which I will be repaying far into the future. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to others. What I am currently doing I could have done six years ago with only a Masters degree. I personally enjoy having my doctorate, but I have yet to see it pay off. The work is mentally exhausting and there are little to no benefits as I am an independent contractor currently and will eventually be doing private practice.
Personally, I don't think I would have been happy doing anything else. But I've known that for almost 20 years with a sense of inevitability that most don't have.

Zen

I fell victim to life's pressures and never completed my last year of undergraduate school. What would have taken me 4 months to complete at age 21 will likely take me 1-2 years now. That said, I applied for admission to return to school and was accepted for this fall's term! I have a career with stability and a decent income. But having a degree will open doors for new opportunities (like transitioning to teaching). For me it will be worth it -- if only for the sake of finally being able to say that I did it!

annerbones

I am a teacher - and it has been challenging since having M. in that it has been hard to find a stable job.

Finally 5 years later, I am in an area where I can see myself long term. My job is still unstable because of the economy but even if my position in this district is cut - there is another job for me int he district.

I love teaching - I am miserable doing anything else.

kelleymel

I wish I could go back and change by undergrad and Masters degree. I'd go into Social work. MSW's make a lot of $$ and do what I thought I'd get to do with my degree, but I was wrong. My wife has a MA in Clinical Psych. She LOVES her job and has no regrets. We both incurred the same debt, so I think it's less about the debt and more about the career satisfaction. If you go into Public Service, there is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

babybaby

i went to college for a BA in professional writing with a minor in philosophy. i almost completed it, but like zen, life happened. not a trust fund baby or daddy's girl, i had to work full time, my grades suffered and i ended up quitting very close to the end. student loans fell into default while i struggled to just make housing expenses, and now i am in loan rehabilitation to try to get back to the point where i can take out the student aid to get back into school. i may or may not actually do this. i am thinking about just taking a non-credit photography class at a local community college, investing in some cameras and equipment and starting a business taking underdeveloped pictures of people in front of barns, which seems to be the thing to do right now.

i completed a medical transcription course with honors, and i am now doing medical transcription and keeping my kids at home. it has served its purpose, which was to allow me to stay home with my babies, but i won't be doing it for much more than a side job once the kids are in school. it's just not very lucrative (*ahem* understatement). i am glad to have done it, though. staying home with the girls has been priceless.

Kari

I'm a teacher. I started out for the first 10 years with a B.S. in Education, but then spent 3 years finishing my Master's Degree in Computer Technology Education. The only reasons I did this were

1) My work paid for about 85% of the expense, and
2) I was guaranteed additional salary once I completed the degree.

If I hadn't been guaranteed a pay raise, I wouldn't have done it. It's a LOT of work, and many people don't see the return on their investment. I make $2K a year more than a teacher with my expertise without that additional degree. That adds up over time. And the fact that my employer paid for it was a bonus as well.

There's another pay raise step with a Masters +30 credits. I have +6 credits and am working on another 3 this summer. Pay will go up another $2K a year if I reach it, but it doesn't seem reachable right now. Life happens, and I want to be there for my kids.

EMG_REL

We love teaching, but the work is endless for ten months of the year. There's a lot of homework, but if you have good time management skills, you can swing pretty good hours.

My DP never had loans because she had scholarships and parents who actually saved for her education (which mine did not), but I racked up about $80,000. That's including my master's degree. Unfortunately/fortunately, I was able to pay it off entirely with money that my dad left to me when he passed away in 2012. Before that, my payments were about $700 per month, and it SUCKED. Without that payment, we were able to buy a house in the neighborhood we've always wanted to live in. Otherwise, we would never be here now. BUT by the time we each reach maximum salary on the pay scale in ten years or so, things will financially be much easier. It's the starting out that's rough, but I'm sure it's like that with most jobs.

njmomma

I am a nurse and I work in outpatient mental health clinic. I like what I do, and I really like my hours. Usually nurses work weekends and holidays, but since I don't work in a hospital, I am done with work at 3 pm, I only work on weekdays, and I don't work any weekends or any holidays.
While I enjoy my job, I am not 100% sure I want to stay in mental health field for the rest of my life, there are some days when it gets really crazy, lol, but you never know.
When my daughter gets older, I am thinking about going for my masters degree, so I can become nurse practitioner. I want to be able to pay fully for her college education, when she goes to college. My parents payed for my college education, and I don't have any students loans at all, and I would love to do the same thing for my daughter.

sweet sunshine

Hello! I am in the same boat with you in some ways. I have worked in mental health profession for several years and had recently relocated across the country. So in away I have to start fresh considering the systems are very different. I have been looking into converting my credentials etc or doing whatever to get myself back in the field- deep down though, I just don't think my heart is into it anymore. I really enjoyed it and have no regrets, my job has helped me saved up in order for me to feel comfortable embarking on the journey of single motherhood. The work itself has been emotionally draining and stressful. Giving the age I am at now (late thirties) I just don't have that energy to work in the same type settings full time and looking after my little one. So I am in a place for a career change. A big part of me would like to work from from home. My son would be going to school next year. So I would love to be able to take this opportunity to spend as much time as I could. I love hearing about other moms work, lifestyles, etc.

scorpiogrl7

I'm a massage therapist. I love what I do but it is really more of a hobby, as I don't make enough money to support myself. I've been doing it for 7 years and still don't have enough steady clientele to make more than 10-12k/year. It's physically hard as well, especially working in a chiropractic office and doung a lot of deep tissue/trigger point work. CEUs are expensive and 100% my responsibility since I'm self-employed. There are no hourly paid jobs in massage. Either you are a room renter and make your own hours and set your own prices, or you are comissioned. Either way, you only get paid when someone's on your table. You have to be good at marketing and networking and with an infant at hime I honestly don't have time for that. Luckily my wife has a union, factory job that has lots of mandatory overtime and I can just work part time by appointment until we are done having kids.
It cost me about $12k for massage school and it was al
l loans.

I have a BA in English that I don't use. The first couple years were covered with grants and stuff but I had loans for the last few years. That racked up about $14k in student loan debt. There is nothing you can do with a degree in English without having a teaching certificate or going on to grad school. I planned ro go to grad school and be a professor, but life happened and I just don't want to put that kind of time into school at this point in my life.

A few years ago I decided I wanted to go to nursing school (I was a nurses aide for a long time in my 20s and I've worked in healthcare quite a bit). I have to do 100% loans since grsnts are only for your first undergrad degree. I had to seriously cut the amount I was working in order to attend classes and as a result I had a hard time still making rent and car payments. I had no health insurance. (Wife and I weren't living togeth yet). When I got to the point of clinicals, I couldn't afford the vaccinations and physical that was required, I was about to have my car repossessed, and I just couldn't do it anymore. It killed me to quit school but I had to. I wish I could have finished, as I've always wanted to ve a nurse and I know it's a secure job with good pay. But I am now making payments on $9k of student loans for that venture that I didn't see through.

Once I'm done having kids and the last one gets to school age (I wnat 1, maybe 2 more), I plan to be a substitute teacher. I can do that with my BA, I'll always ve home when they are (evenings, weekends, summers), and I won't have to deal with the BS politics that actual teachers do. I don't need the benefits because I have insurance through my wife. I will be able to work as much or as little as I want and make more than I'm making now.

michelle.malott

I'm a stay at home mom too, and am also considering going back to school. I have a teaching degree that I used for a few years, but ended up in a supervisor position at an adult day center before having my daughter. In my opinion, the teaching field is not worth it right now. Things will change when the political landscape changes, but until then...
I'm going into nursing this fall, luckily it won't take long and I won't have to take loans out, I already owe too much for the first degree. Thank god for income based repayment plans!

syoung0204

I'm a Geographic Information Systems Analyst (GIS). My BA is in Anthropology, I spent 2 years after graduating doing cultural resource surveys as a field archeologist, aka "shovel bum". The work and money were ok but I had to be away from home most of the time, so I did a GIS Analyst certificate program at a community college. It was a 35 credit hr program, took 1.5 years, still kinda erks me that I could have had a masters in the same time & money but we moved to Houston for wife's job and the GIS masters program was in San Marcos/Austin....but now I have a desk job with an oil and gas company making a really good salary. Anyone can do it and it's a growing field. I'd recommend it, you don't have to be computer savvy. I make maps, route pipelines and do some permitting of pipelines...I'm definitely a minority here, one of the few liberal/dem types in a sea of old red staters, but it pays the bills.

My wife is a teacher. She has a BA in psychology and went directly into grad school for a masters in early childhood ed. She's taught 1st grade for 5 years so far, is GREAT at it and loves it but she'll take a couple years off to stay with baby.

Edit: We both worked our way through college (HEB grocery) and have about 70k in students loans combined....

Mare

I have my BA in Education (Special Education) and a BA in Psych. I currently am a teacher for students who have emotional and/or behavioral disorders. I love my job but it is draining and stressful.

I am working on my National Boards this year and then will start my Masters in Clinical Psych. I would love to move on to counseling children, teens with emotional/behavioral disorders and their family.