The Hoboken Cafe 

Dear Hobokencafe Community:
I need some resourceful advice regarding a return to school for a career change.

I found out this week that my first choice program has a 2 year waiting list. Since the programs I'm looking to attend are only 2 years long anyway, I really don't want to wait until 2006 to start school.

Another area university has 2 really good programs for my field of study. Here's the caveat: they require 4 courses in pre-req coursework that should be finished by the end of 2004 so I can apply and start in 2005. Completely this coursework is not the challenge. I can start this summer and finish in the fall. What is challenging is how to juggle this with my full time job. The course work is in the hard sciences, with labs, and summer sessions require 4+ hours a day 4 days per week to meet this requirement.

Here are my options:
1. have a serious talk about this with my supervisor (I've been at the same job 11 years) and see if I can work part-time for the summer and fall. Then I can resume full-time work 1/05-8/05
2. simply leave my job to work part-time elsewhere while taking my classes. But then how do I earn a substantial income 1/05-8/05 until school starts.
3. ????? here's where y'all and your brilliant ideas come in. I'd love to hear all suggestions, especially from someone a) who's been thru this before b) can give me a part time job 5/04-12/04 and then full time 1/05-9/05. Hee!

Thanks.

Work part-time doing waitressing, and then full time afterwards. You can go do nights and work and get a ton of tips, and continue fulltime and work when you wish.

But work out your budget. Make sure you can survive with on a parttime salary.

Talk to your supervisor explaining your case, maybe after doing some homework regarding what you could get paid working part-time elsewhere, either to explain you can't afford to work part-time where you are now, or to just say given that temporarily, given that you are taking some classes, you will have to work part-time and resume full-time work later

I don't recommend changing jobs, maybe I'm wrong and it would be the best opportunity, sometimes changing everything works out for the best, but I think you will already have school as something new, you have a stable job [thougn maybe not if you go to part-time] in a currently shitty-assed economy, live in an expensive town. At least try that, but update your resume and do your other-jobs homework anyway.

If you're not going to have financial help when you start school, you'll have to deal with making enough then so until your hours are even funkier, I would say that being able to do what you can to survive and probably save or plan to save if you can, especially when working fulltime

I was going to say explain the rationale but you will probably do that anyway and anyway, you wanting to retrain for another job that you will eventually leave the current place for, will probably not help them want to help you more

I have had to drastically change hours and manage an increase in pay but my situation is different because my supervisor is in the same graduate program I'm in and it's training related to work, and I'm going back fulltime after graduating as I promised

The likelihood of your supervisor approving might also have to do with when you're taking off in relation to the busiest time on the job and their likelihood of finding someone else part-time until you're back or full-time instead of you

Ideas to save money when you go to part-time and pay tuition include - renting out your place in Hoboken for maybe 3 months to 6 months at a time and moving in with your brother if that's ok with you two, or moving to Jersey City with the same rental agreement, maybe consider with roomate/s in Jersey City [not where you live now though, I've been there, so I'm not suggesting that...]

I think daphna's advice is good. I second it.

Speaking as someone who did a career switch, I offer the following observations:

* The debt (or savings ding), the pay cut, and the career plateau (even a temporary one) are both frightening and frustrating. The financial squeeze is a tough pill to swallow.

* You risk going back to square one and paying your dues all over again.

* And even if you manage to pull it off successfully, there's no guarantee you'll like the new stuff. You may even find yourself in a fun factory no different than the one you left.

If you can, find a way to TRY the new stuff before you let go of the rung you're holding now.

Of course, the best solution would be to make a series of job changes that move you closer to your goal incrementally. Movements within the organization are the best since a good reputation can compensate for lack of direct skills. Of course, not every org. is good for this.

Just my $.02.

A couple of things that lawdart said that I agree with.

You are taking a chance that you may not like the new career...and that would hurt considering all the sacrifice you will go through just to get there.

Sometimes instead of making a drastic change all at once, you can do it in steps. It's extrememly difficult to go DIRECTLY from apples to oranges.

Is this new career something you can do part time to see if you really do enjoy it ??

To use myself as an example, I started on my new career path in 1998 and I'm still a year and a half away.

I had to take small steps.

Hope this helped

Thanks everyone for all your advice.
There really isn't a way to go into the new career incrementally as it requires a specific healthcare certification that you either have your you don't. So I'm going for it. I will try to negotiate with my current supervisor first but she'd really be doing me a favor that is of no benefit to my current place of employment because the new skill set I'm going to school for doesn't apply in the current workplace.

Then I would attempt to find a job that would take advantage of this new skill set tha you are going for if it is possible.

I'm actually considering getting a phlebotomist license (which can take only a few months, weekends and night courses) so I can get into a hospital enviroment. Yes, it's a paycut, but it is a job that will give me great exposure to what I want to do next.

Arugula:

I tried to email you thru this site but your profile does not accept email. Please email me - you work in higher education and I just had a very weird experience with a school recruit - I'd like to get your opinion.

Thanks!

Vivian

windy said on 1/15/2004 3:16 PM

>
>
> Arugula:
>
> I tried to email you thru this site but your profile does not accept email. Please email me - you work in higher education and I just had a very weird experience with a school recruit - I'd like to get your opinion.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Vivian