Back to School vs. Working
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive April 2004:
Back to School vs. Working
I am hoping that you all can help me out.  I was accepted into a physician's assistant program at our local medical college. Right now I stay home with my 13 month old daughter and work part time. I had planned keep working part time and to wait to go back to school until she went to preschool.
Well the company that I work for might be moving in 3 months and finding another part time job that pays as well is a pretty slim possiblity. So I will either have to go back to school or work full time. If I have to send my daughter to daycare I think that I would rather go to school to become something I'd really love. But if I go back to school we're not only going to lose my income but also have the added expense of full time daycare.
I've very conflicted and am hoping for some objective insight. On one hand I am very excited about the new career oppertunity because I don't really like what I do now and I can't see myself being a 40 year old scientist. But I feel bad about adding more debt and sending my daughter to day care. My husband tells me to do whatever makes me happy and that we'll figure it out financially from there. And my family and friends are so biased on one side or the other that it is impossible to get an honest opinion. Any thoughts? Thank you so much! (Sorry that this is so long...it got away from me)
Kelly
I'd say school. The economy is awful, and decent jobs (that pay enough to pay for daycare) are hard to find. If you get your education, you will be better prepared for the job market. I know it seems like the expenses are great, but think about this.... when is spending money and struggling to make ends meet EVER an easy thing? Maybe you could work part time while in school? Good luck!!
School is my choice. You won't be there for too long, so don't consider the money aspect too heavily. If you can swing it financially, it will pay off in the long run by giving you more opportunity. Apart time job will be just a job. School will be and investment in yourself and for the future of your family.
Ame
School!
My neighbor is in a Physician Assistant program at the local Medical School. She has two kids 6 and 9. The PA school is very very hard and lasts 3 years. Her husband, an attorney and VP of a company, has to handle all Kid Duties at all times due to the wife's schedule. She is always studying or doing rotations in the middle of the night and she's required to spend 2 months at a rural hospital at least 200 miles away from here. Their house is a mess, the cars are always trashed, the yard is overgrown, they eat every meal out or take home. It's a huge sacrifice. But all in all I think it's worth it. Hopefully that mom, once graduated, will get a job in a setting that has normal business hours. Her kids are over here a lot, daily and I sometimes feed them, and they are fine with it.
My former next door neighbor was a physician assistant, making $90,000/year at a hospital, but quit within 2 years and got into pharmaceutical sales and made more money. He wasn't a people/patient person.
Good luck to you! How exciting!
Benn there, done that - making the choice between work and school.
I cannot tell you how much I wish I had been able to choose school, but my ex wasn't supportive (and not ex at the time, but factors into why he is my ex).
The way the medical world is going, physicians are going to be using adjuncts (PAs, etc.) more and more, because insurance just doesn't pay enough to justify another physician's salary but the patient load requires more trained people. You will be learning what will serve you the rest of your life and you will be marketable anywhere.
Given that your dh is supportive, I'd say go for it. The three years will be long and hard and there will be many times you will wish you hadn't, but I think overall you will, at the end, be much better off. The financial hardships will be a temporary problem and what you can earn as a PA will very soon make up for that.
I'm cheering you on - go for it!
Thank you for all of the advice. You are all so encouraging. I'm going to plan on doing the program as long as we can swing it financially. Right now it feels so selfish to ask so much of my husband and to incur so much debt etc... but I just have to look past all of that because as Ginny said it is temporary. Thanks again ladies. It's nice to hear some different opinions to and actually hear about what a real PA student's life is like.
I think that's a great choice, Kelly. It sounds like you've got a wonderful husband. He must be very proud of you! I'm sure you would make these sacrifices for him...you're just as worthy. Good for you! I'm sure it will be a long three years, but it will help to remember that the chaos will not last forever! Best of luck to you!!
Good for you! This way you will have no regrets later. Wouldn't be so bad being a 40 yr. old scientist. Once you get closer to 40 you will know what I'm talking about. You don't feel much different closer to that age. Wiser yes, mabey a little more mature.....
As mentioned above, you must have a wonderful husband. Very exciting!
Thank you. No being a 40 year old scientist wouldn't be so bad. It came off sounding different than I really mean. Being a researcher isn't really the career that I can see myself in long term. I've been doing it for 2 years now and I've been in two totally different kinds of labs. I've tried really hard to be enthusiastic about it but I just don't enjoy it. I guess what I meant was that being a scientist feels more like a job than a career to me if that makes any sense. Probably not, I'm babbling. Too much time with a toddler.
What kind of research do you do if I may ask? Wow, your life sounds so interesting. Actually I think it was me who misunderstood. I just re-read your post.
My life doesn't feel interesting. LOL. Right now I study the role that a certain protein plays in heart failure. (Due to a confidentiality clause in my contract I can't elaborate). It is much more interesting than my last job which I studied the role that a gene had in head development. The development studies were in fruit flies but there was hope that the answers there would give insight into human development.
It's really cool when you learn new things about them but it is a long process and can be very repetitive and drawn out before its verified and accepted as a true result. It's definitely a good career but it takes a special person to do it.
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