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I never graduated from college and it's been nearly ten years since I've set foot in a classroom for any reason other than to clean it. My job doesn't bring in a whole lot despite being full-time, and I don't find it at all satisfying; as a result of this and quite a lot of self-reflection I've also gotten to be quite unhappy with my life in general. When I first went to college, I went in without much planning or forethought, thinking I would find a place to fit in and that things would fall into place as I went along. Needless to say, things didn't work out so well, and I floundered for about seven years between three major across two schools in two separate states before a lack of progress, stress, depression and increasing fiscal responsibilities led me to say "gently caress this poo poo" and drop out in favor of finding full-time work. As stated, my college career ended about ten years ago. Since then, I've gotten married and have held down the same dead-end job for eight years. I work hard and work well, but I really don't like where I'm at in life, in terms of career, financial status, or location. On the bright side, at 34 I feel I have a better handle on who I am, so to speak--where my talents and interest lie, and how I think I may make the best of them. So I think it's a good time for me to consider returning to school, and I believe a degree in journalism would suit me well. The downside: finances are a bit tight. We bring in about $31,500 per year between the two of us (take-home pay is about $1900-2000 per month), owe about $59,000 on our mortgage (six and a half years in at 5.25%, monthly payments about $485), $5500 on my remaining student loans (3.25%, monthly payments a low $94 per month), and about $350-$400 in additional housing costs (gas, internet, electricity, etc.), plus the cost of food and other household goods (varies, typically around $200-300/mo.), fuel ($50-100) and about $120 per month in medical prescriptions. Annual car insurance and registration costs are about $775. There's also $760 in credit card debt, which will be paid off before the week is out. Assets are a paltry $5000 in savings, $500 in checking (generally we keep just enough in here to cover any pending bills) and an unknown sum in a 403(b) with no match. So while I really want to go back to school while I'm still young enough to do something useful with my life, I don't know where the money is going to come from, especially with college costs rising as rapidly as they have been lately, and I don't know where I would like to go to school. I live in Indiana, and I don't know whether the public universities here have good journalism programs, or if I should look out of state. Also I don't know whether I will want to pursue a master's degree after graduating. And finally, I also have some deep concerns about balancing my responsibilities at work, school, and home. Trying to balance things out caused me a lot of trouble last time, and at the time, I only had a part-time job. Any advice would be very helpful and much appreciated.
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Mar 6, 2015 01:11
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| # ? May 5, 2024 15:08 |
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Meaty Ore posted:a degree in journalism Honestly you could've just posted that and everyone would tell you not to do it. What kind of job do you see yourself getting? Don't say "journalist."
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Mar 6, 2015 19:19
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Journalists are successful when they have an actually rather disturbing need to report on literally anything and can be expected to write and write and write and write even when people aren't asking them to. Do you have a blog? Do you update it multiple times per day? Do people like reading what you write? Even if all the answers to those questions were "yes" it would be a bad idea to get a journalism degree. When you're in a situation where money is tight and failure isn't an option it's an even worse idea. What the gently caress are you thinking? Go the library, they probably have some sort of job club or can direct you to something similar in your area. There are tons of non-profits who are here to help people get better jobs, and will do so for free or very little. Dead-end jobs suck, but so does burning out on college, or having a nice degree and ending up in a dead-end job anyway. For real, good luck with this, but please talk with a job counselor before making this kind of big decision.
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Mar 6, 2015 19:36
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Okay, thanks for talking me down a bit, both of you. I was planning on talking to a counselor anyways, and I'll look into getting some job assistance.
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Mar 6, 2015 19:59
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quote:I believe a degree in journalism would suit me well. quote:The downside: finances are a bit tight. Going back to school sounds like a great idea (31k for 2 people per year is like minimum wage for both of you isn't it?), but you may want something more marketable than a journalism degree unless you're planning on going into a field where you need 'just a degree'.
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Mar 6, 2015 20:02
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Cicero posted:lol Actually, we're both earning a little over $10 per hour, but my wife only works part-time. I thought journalism would be marketable for, say, TV news reporting or production, radio, newspaper, or something along those lines; I guess not, though.
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Mar 6, 2015 20:09
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I'm far from an expert in journalism, but the impression I've gotten is that while a journalism degree is indeed appropriate for that kind of career, the job market for those careers is super terribly awful. edit: maybe I came across as too negative, I'm not saying flat out don't do it, but look and research veeerrryyy carefully before you jump in. Cicero fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Mar 6, 2015 |
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Mar 6, 2015 20:25
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Meaty Ore posted:Actually, we're both earning a little over $10 per hour, but my wife only works part-time. I thought journalism would be marketable for, say, TV news reporting or production, radio, newspaper, or something along those lines; I guess not, though. It's less that communications and journalism aren't marketable, and more that to be successful with one you need to basically be a certain type of person who can thrive in what really is a weird industry. It isn't the kind of thing where you find out that it's what you always wanted to do at 34.
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Mar 6, 2015 20:30
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I didn't catch what your current line of work is to know what you are trying to get away from. If an immediate goal is to just change industry and feel more useful without breaking the bank, I'd recommend you go take some vocational courses at a community college. I don't know what part of Indiana you are in, but a skilled trade should work out to decent income even in smaller towns. Being able to do part time schooling toward a trade would give you a top level view of the career without huge time/money investment if it doesn't work out. At your income level you could probably even cash flow it, spreading things out over a few years.
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Mar 6, 2015 20:50
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BossRighteous posted:I didn't catch what your current line of work is to know what you are trying to get away from. The Devil Tesla posted:It's less that communications and journalism aren't marketable, and more that to be successful with one you need to basically be a certain type of person who can thrive in what really is a weird industry. It isn't the kind of thing where you find out that it's what you always wanted to do at 34. I'm a custodian at a small college. Specifically the gymnasium, which is dark, old, outdated, and has never really been well-maintained. Not to make too much of an E/N thread out of this, but a big reason I want to change jobs/careers is the relative isolation in which I've been for a very long time. There's rarely more than one or two other people in the building I work in at a time while I'm there, and at home it's just myself, my wife, and the cat. I can't get out and socialize much at all after work, due to the expense of going out and my responsibilities at home, on top of being pretty drained of energy at the end of the day. But I do have and always have had a deep-seated need and desire to get out, take an interest in the world and the people around me, and do whatever I can to get others to do likewise.
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Mar 7, 2015 01:31
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Maybe you would enjoy working for a local publication on a volunteer basis, then? It's not the most social enterprise but it would get you involved in a community and the industry, such that it is. Decently paid writing jobs are spectacularly hard to come by, but building up some experience would give you a shot. A career change sounds like a good move for you though. Just pick something with a reasonable job market.
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Mar 7, 2015 05:55
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There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work for TV/radio/etc. if that's where your interests are, and those don't necessarily require any kind of degree. I used to copy-edit news stories for posting on TV station websites and I didn't have anything resembling a background in journalism. If you work for a college, they may offer discounts to employees for taking classes, or you might even be able to take some classes for free. You could look into that for taking some core classes if you want to try to soak up some knowledge. There are also grants and scholarships out there specifically for "non-traditional" students (students over a certain age or in a specific situation). Please don't use this knowledge to get a journalism degree, though.
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Mar 7, 2015 07:19
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Slightly contrary opinion here: if he's not doing STEM or a trade school (which isn't a bad idea) the major itself is far less important than his GPA. OP: don't actually go get a journalism degree thinking that you're going to get a job in journalism. Unless you go for trade school, get a degree in whatever you think you can get good grades in, then throw your GPA on your resume as you apply for every white collar job in your city regardless of what it is.
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Mar 21, 2015 20:45
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Small update: things are moving slowly, but we're starting to do some things. My wife and I went to counseling, and as a start we're making an effort to get out and about more often. She also has a cousin in the film industry and has contacted him for advice on how to get started in similar fields given where I'm at in life. No response yet that I'm aware of, but it's a start. We're both also keeping our eyes open for part-time jobs in the area which line up with our interests. So, tentative steps, but at least we're doing something. 
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Mar 22, 2015 05:34
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You need to look for the path of least resistance to a degree. You said you were in school for 7 years, how many of those credits still count, what are they in, and what kind of GPA do you have? Have you talked to any admissions office at any community colleges or universities? Different colleges will accept or reject those existing credits and it could have an enormous influence on what you need to take to graduate. Regarding paying for it, you need to fill out FAFSA right now. I can't tell if your wife is also considering going back or not, but if she is, she also should fill it out. There are also buttloads of scholarships out there, and you need to jump on it right now. Just google for "scholarship search" - there are sites devoted to searching for scholarships. These days, you can get good degrees online. I am doing a masters in computer science from Georgia Tech, and I think the entire cost for the degree will be like $7000. It is equivalent to the on-campus degree. Do not just assume that any online program is good though - many of them are poo poo. I'm curious about the journalism thing. Do you want to be a journalist? I think a journalism degree is a horrible idea, but I am curious about your interests. Edit: I just noticed the "cousin in the film industry" thing. That is some pie-in-the-sky stuff. You need to be thinking about what 2 or 4 year degree you could get with the fewest credits required based on what you already have. My Rhythmic Crotch fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Mar 22, 2015 |
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Mar 22, 2015 16:40
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