Should I quit my job for school?

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Hello. I know this is the nursing student category however I am not a nurisng student. I am a respiratory therapy student. I'm asking this question becuase I have no one else to ask for advice. So I currently work a full time job. I am suppose to start the RT program at my community college this fall 2012. The program is only offered in the day.

I was thinking about quitting my job to complete this program. Thing is my mom does not want me to quit. I understand that jobs are hard to come by but this job I am at is NOT repeat NOT what I want to do forever. And to be honest I don't know if RT is what I want to do forever. All I know is that I enjoy science and the human body. After taking A&P 1&2, Micro, Patho, and Bio, I KNOW I want to be in healthcare.

I am 24 yrs old and I have a car payment, car insurance, and a cell phone bill. I am very fortuante to have my mother paying all the other bills. I feel bad becuase we struggle to make ends meet and i have a decent amount of money saved up to cover my bills but if I quit I cannot contibute to the household like I am now. At the same time I do not want to look back 5 or 10 yrs from now and beat myself up for not giving this career a try. I see all my other friends graduating from college and getting their careers going and here I am still going to school part time.

I have been at this community college for almost 5 years doing pre-reqs for the program. I see people I know and they ask me " are you done with school yet?" And I reply "no." They look at me like I'm crazy and ask "how long have you been going?" "Why is it taking so long?" My mother even jokes and tells people that I will be in school forever. I'm so frustrated because my mom does not understand why I cannot keep working. My job will not let me work part time and honestly with the intensity of the program that may be too much anyway.

I'm just sick of not getting anywhere with my career. I sit at and stare at a computer ALL DAY. My vision has gotten so bad from this. My ass has gotten so big from sitting. I do the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER again. It drives me crazy! I just cannot stand it. I am thankful to have a job but at the same time its not what I want to keep doing. Should I quit my job? Any advice please? And sorry for the long post.

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yes, I agree jobs are very hard to come by these days. Sorry to hear you cannot drop to part time work and focus more time on school. I'm not sure what the job outlook for respiratory therapists are and how the new grads are doing post graduating an RT program, but I would do some research on that. From reading these forums, you've probably read about the struggles of new grad RNs trying to find a job post graduation after years of hard work (even with the nursing shortage reputation). Don't quit your job just yet until you get a good look at what's really going on in respiratory therapy and it's graduates. I would hate to see you spend the time and money (and lost wages from quitting your job) only to end up unemployed with debt after graduation (and discouraged/depressed). Options: Keep FT job and go part time classes until graduating from RT school (regardless of how long it takes: reaching the goal is most important). Find a different part time job and quit the FT job after finding the new one, and go part/full time in school. Straight up quit the job while making sure everyone's surviving the next two years while your in RT school. DOn't worry about what others think or how long you've been in school. I know someone who took about 12 years as a part time student to graduate with a Bachelors degree. Once she received her goal, it was so much sweeter in the end, plus, no regrets. I'm sure you've already considered all the different options and no matter which road you take, it won't be easy. Sometimes, you gotta do whatcha gotta do...for your future.

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Specializes in CVICU.

If I were you I would check on the job websites (indeed.com, career link.com, monster.com,etc.) and see if there are any posting for a respiratory therapist in your area. Also look at the websites for the local hospitals. Be sure to look at what they're asking for some want experience and it may be hard to get a job without. Also you can take it loans. I know ppl think they're the devil and they are but when your in a crunch with school they help and you can pay them back later.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Personally, I would not quit your job unless you find that your grades begin to suffer.

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Hi there! Ok, I am a second semester nursing student and I would tell you that working and going to school is extremely difficult. I worked my first semester and actually failed one of my classes; now i'm saying that will happen for you, but I know it was hard to balance things for me. I ended up leaving my job and retaking the class and making a B+, so I would suggest not working , take loans if you can to pay for the bills that you do have. Hope this was helpful!:)

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Hello. I know this is the nursing student category however I am not a nurisng student. I am a respiratory therapy student. I'm asking this question becuase I have no one else to ask for advice. So I currently work a full time job. I am suppose to start the RT program at my community college this fall 2012. The program is only offered in the day.

I was thinking about quitting my job to complete this program. Thing is my mom does not want me to quit. I understand that jobs are hard to come by but this job I am at is NOT repeat NOT what I want to do forever. And to be honest I don't know if RT is what I want to do forever. All I know is that I enjoy science and the human body. After taking A&P 1&2, Micro, Patho, and Bio, I KNOW I want to be in healthcare.

I am 24 yrs old and I have a car payment, car insurance, and a cell phone bill. I am very fortuante to have my mother paying all the other bills. I feel bad becuase we struggle to make ends meet and i have a decent amount of money saved up to cover my bills but if I quit I cannot contibute to the household like I am now. At the same time I do not want to look back 5 or 10 yrs from now and beat myself up for not giving this career a try. I see all my other friends graduating from college and getting their careers going and here I am still going to school part time.

I have been at this community college for almost 5 years doing pre-reqs for the program. I see people I know and they ask me " are you done with school yet?" And I reply "no." They look at me like I'm crazy and ask "how long have you been going?" "Why is it taking so long?" My mother even jokes and tells people that I will be in school forever. I'm so frustrated because my mom does not understand why I cannot keep working. My job will not let me work part time and honestly with the intensity of the program that may be too much anyway.

I'm just sick of not getting anywhere with my career. I sit at and stare at a computer ALL DAY. My vision has gotten so bad from this. My ass has gotten so big from sitting. I do the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER again. It drives me crazy! I just cannot stand it. I am thankful to have a job but at the same time its not what I want to keep doing. Should I quit my job? Any advice please? And sorry for the long post.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have a lot to think about

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Specializes in CVICU.

Best of luck honey!

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OP said she has to quit her job because the program is during the day. You are 24 years old and you said this job is just THAT. A JOB! Its not a career. I quit my job to become a nurse with no regrets.

Do you want a JOB for NOW or a CAREER for a LIFETIME?

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