I am seriously thinking about going back to school. I think
I mentioned last year that summer time at work is a little dangerous for me…I
am forced to still come to work (June happens to be one of the months that I am
being babysat in the main office by HR and getting less sleep than I do during
our busiest time of year) but I have nothing to do, so I get to work stupid
early to make everyone happy and I surf the web all day and ponder my current
career choice and if I am squandering my best working years sitting in an
office, not being a scientist. I always come the conclusion that yes, this job
is a waste of my talent, but I am always too chicken to do anything other than
daydream. Especially now having P, quitting a decent paying job to PAY to go
back to school is very scary and daunting.
But here’s the thing: my current job is not a career, and
that is a scary thought when you have a family too. I have benefits, and a retirement account,
but there is no ladder here, no long term story of success and
achievement. For my boss (my friend from
college, remember?) there is that sense of achievement, he built the division
from scratch and is in a position to move onto bigger things from it… but I am
where I will be in this job until I decide to do something different, or my
boss moves on to his next business venture and I decide if it is something I
want to follow him into. If I had no
skills or education, this would not be a bad set-up…..but I have mad skillz and
learning! So what to do?
Speaking of squandering my best years…if I could have a
do-over for college I would SO take it. My college education was not a bust by
any means, but I made some decisions that I could seriously kick myself
for. There are some key classes that I
should have done better in, and there was a Clinical Laboratory Science program
that I was accepted into after I got my Bachelor’s degree that I passed on
because the drive to the campus was about an hour each way. Seriously stupid
decision. Incidentally, that is the very same type of program I want to
complete now…and my closest option is an hour drive away. I also have been
driving almost an hour each way for the job I am wasting my talent on for over
three years…so like I said, that was a stupid decision. But hindsight is 20/20
and at the time I thought my logic was sound in passing on the program.
The specific program I want to complete (becoming an ASCP
certified MT/CLS) has two basic routes that are realistic options for where we
currently reside. The first one is a one-year clinical rotation program at a
hospital (an hour away). It is intense and full-time, but upon completion I can
take my boards and be on my way. The
basic tuition for the program is manageable, but it becomes very expensive when
you consider the cost of the program is actually the tuition plus my annual
salary, because I won’t be able to work while I am in school. In addition, since the program is not a
degree-seeking program, it has no financial aid options. I would be on my own financially.
Scary stuff. Also, I may not even be a remotely qualified candidate. My degrees
have a bit of age on them, and as I mentioned earlier, there are some key
classes that I needed to have better grades in to be a really attractive
applicant. I am planning to apply anyway and see what happens. The second
option available to me will take longer, but may be the only door open to me in
this part of the state. That is to seek a second BS degree via a program (an
hour away) that feeds into the hospital program mentioned above (the clinical
year at the hospital counts as the senior year of the degree program). The HUGE
disadvantage is that it will likely take 1-2 years longer to complete and will
be significantly more expensive. The advantages are that I will be a more
qualified candidate for the clinical year at the hospital (although I am not
guaranteed admission to the clinical program at the hospital, that’s a scary
thought!), since I would be a degree-seeking student, I can apply for federal
student financial aid (although they are loans and I will be incurring more
debt), and the campus has daycare options for students with children, which may
be a useful tool to help juggle it all.
I have been looking at this program and ASCP certification
routes every summer for the past few years…I keep coming back to it. The
thought is very very overwhelming, to go back to school as an ‘oldie’ and try
to start a career in my thirties. But it is probably much easier than doing it in
my forties or fifties, right?!? December is the deadline to apply to the
hospital as an independent student not affiliated with the university. I also have an advising appointment set up at
the college to go over my transcripts and see what the road map looks like to
pursue the program by getting another degree. Still gathering information,
hopefully a door will open that I won’t shrug off this time around and I can
get back in the lab eventually.
