sweetpea2014

You guys have given some great responses, thank you. Lots of nay-sayers here. But I completely agree about not going into a bunch of debt. However, if I were to go the ADN route, wouldn't that be the way to do it debt-free? We would need to pay for childcare, but costs will go down with our daughter attending public school in the fall. I could finish pre-reqs slowly while working, and by the time I was done with them and applying to nursing schools, our younger one will be starting public school so childcare costs would go down dramatically (I realize we would still need to do aftercare which can be inexpensive). My husband has his own business which is a roller coaster. When business is good he says, sure, you can go to school, but when it isn't good he feels differently for obvious reasons. His business is unpredictable and changes almost daily, so I have felt that one of us needs a stable job with benefits, etc. chrisrn24, my job is completely commission-based and is also a roller coaster. It isn't just a "good job with good pay." You have to pay a ton for marketing, dues, gas, and health insurance. To be very successful in real estate you need to work 24/7 and be glued to your phone and email constantly. In property management, you get phone calls at 2am from complaining tenants. I knew one realtor who was very successful but got very sick from the stress and had a heart attack and died at 45. That is an extreme case, but I could see how it could happen. There are many other reasons why I hate it (constantly being second-guessed, sleazy people), but I do love helping people. I just would prefer to help them with their health since that is what I am most passionate about. I want some stability, work-life balance, and decent pay, while working in a healing profession. I used to work in a holistic health-related field before this and loved it, so I should probably just get back into that field, volunteer at a hospital, and go from there.

I am in real estate/property management. It is a tough gig with kids. Phone calls and emails 24/7. I am really starting to hate it. Can you elaborate?

Hi all, I am 40 yrs old with 2 small kids (I started late with a lot of things) and have dreamed of becoming a nurse for a good 6-7 yrs now. I started pre-reqs in 2010 when my daughter was 2 and got through Stats, A&P and Chem while working, with all A's. I stopped taking classes when I got pregnant with our 2nd child because I was so sick in the 1st trimester and couldn't handle the stress (I almost had a miscarriage). Now I am dreaming about it again and want to pick up where I left off, but my husband is no longer supportive of me going to nursing school. He is mainly concerned with going into debt. We got into a lot of debt years ago and we are almost out of it, and he doesn't want to sink back down into more debt and not be able to buy a house, etc. I agree with this and have told him there are other ways, getting an ADN at a community college, or going to a state school and paying $10K or so (which we have in savings). He doesn't see the overall value and insists that going to college is something someone does in their 20's, not a 40 yr old with 2 small kids. He says we cannot afford me not working for 2 yrs or so once I would get into a nursing program. I realize it would be difficult and am willing to go the slow route, finishing pre-reqs at night while still working during the day. I know I wouldn't see my kids much though. But our oldest is almost in Kindergarten so childcare costs with be cut in half, so I feel like it is more tangible. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I dreaming to think this could work? If I don't have his support, it will be very difficult and probably damage our marriage. If I can devise a plan where it wouldn't get us into debt and we wouldn't lose my income, then I may be able to get his support. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is there a way to go to nursing school with two small kids, while working and not go into any debt? Anyone been in this situation? I feel trapped by my current job and feel like my life is slipping away.