I hate my brain sometimes

[jpgmavs]

I am 29, have been working in IT for 9 years. I do OK financially, but decided two years ago that I need to do something with meaning that enjoy.

I was accepted into an ADN program here in Dallas. We have orientation Thursday and I start in the Fall.

My brain is going crazy, since the job I have requires me to be on-call 24/7, so I will have to resign to go to school full-time. I would get fired if I tried to stay at my job.

I am terrified about quitting and not having the income. I have saved some money to get by for maybe 6-9 months if I watch things.

There will be a lot of changes and stress involved. My parents told me growing up never to leave a job without having one...this goes against everything I was taught financially.

I want to do it, but am terrified. My girlfriend has my back so that helps.

[llg, PhD, RN]

It sounds as if you have thought things out and taken some steps to take care of things -- such as setting money aside. That's a good sign. You are preparing.

I had similar feelings of panic when I started my doctoral program at the age of 35. I had to quit my job and move to another state. Like you, I had set enough money aside to get by for the first semester of my program, but not enough for the full 4 years I expected the program to take -- and I definitely did NOT want to break into my retirement savings. It felf so irresponsible to be unemployed and not earning any money.

I had faith that I would find a part time job, get scholarships, etc. to see me through -- and that is what happened. I only had to take out $12,500 in student loans to see me through the 5 years it eventually took to get that PhD. I would encourage you to look for a part time job that can stretch those savings farther. While I would never recommend that a full time student have a full time job, a few hours of wage-earning per week should be do-able.

With your IT skills, you may be able to piece together some odd IT tasks to do for people that would earn you some cash on a schedule that works well with your school. Personally, I would be thrilled to know someone who could help me maintain my technology at home. I would be quite willing to pay someone periodically to do things that are probably very simple for you. Perhaps if you posted a few signs around the school ... or otherwise let it be known that you are available ... you could develop a list of "clients" who would pay you to help them at times convenient for you.