Career Change

peach7931

I would like some honest opinions. I am not sure if we are doing the right thing. Both me and my husband are tired with our jobs and both have decided to retrain starting next yr
We have decided on 4 yr courses, which is funded from the second year. We have 1 year to save up on the 1st yr fees and living etc .
Now the question; Should we go to uni together or is it better if one of us finishes the course first. I am 8 weeks pregnant and we have a mortgage.
Any advise is appreciated.

welshmoneylover

Have you considered The Open University, that way you can study while you earn?

The_One_Who

How are you proposing to pay for a mortgage and a newborn baby (as well as look after the child) if you are both doing a full-time four-year course?

Have you considered part-time study either with a 'normal' university or the Open University? Have you considered looking at possible masters courses, if you are eligible?

welshmoneylover

Just wondering what you are hoping to retrain in?

You should go for it, I'm coming to the end of my degree this year and I hope I get a better paid job out of it.

The recession has skewed my plans somewhat.doh.

[Deleted User]

It doesn't necessarily seem like a bad idea, and could in fact be the best thing you ever do (for me it most definately was), but you need to make sure you have thought of all the possibilities. And in the spirit of "hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst" you need to ask youself several questions and be prepared for the worst case senario - and when it doesn't happen you'll be in an even better position. Can you defiantely afford to do this? (By this I don't just mean covering your mortgage and cost of a family life while you are at Uni. - which may be considerable - do you have a contingency?

In the short term: Will your mortgage go up? Will you manage to get enough savings for the initial year? Will the years that are funded definately cover all your expenses? Will you, or your partner work part-time? (can this be fitted in around a new baby) If you don't like the course/s and have to drop out what will happen? How sure are you that you have picked the right courses? The cost of child care throughout? Can you balance time with the family and studying so early on in your childs life? etc

And in the long term: How soon after you graduate are you going to get work? What happens if neither of you find a job for 6 months or year? What are the careers options in your new careers? (and will you still have the option to return to your current careers, if you need some cash flow until that first "relevant to your degree and first propoer job" doesn't come along for a few months, or a year, after you graduate? Are you prepared to start again at the botton of the career ladder in yout new chosen profession?

I definately don't want to put you of but if you are prepared for the worst situation, then no matter what happens you will be in the best possible position.

Hope it all works out

peach7931

Thanks Domino9 for your advise. We both are Physiotherapists hoping to retrain as either a doctor or a dentist' both the professions have good job prospectects in the current market (don't know the situation after 4 yrs). We have a little bit of saving already (around 12k), and have decided to consider serious saving this year. We have also considered selling our house and use the extra money for cash flow, and rent somewhere smaller. One of us will take up a part time job, either as a Physio or anything else.
Or is it better if either me or my husband finishes the course first and then the other person goes. Both of us are in our mid 30's.
This is our first baby so i don'tknow what to expect in terms of finance, juggling a course and possibly some extra work.
Still in a dilemma......

MrsManda

You need to find out what you are entitled to financially in terms of childcare, tuition fees, loans, PLA etc... With such intense degrees I'd be surprised if you could fit in part time work alongside all the lectures, assignments, work placements, caring for your baby, and simply running a house (cooking, cleaning etc...). Don't know about denistry but most people I know who've done medicine have found it difficult to keep up with all their assignments and work placements without the added pressures of working and caring for children. So it's probably best to arrange your finances so you don't need to work, therefore any work do you do is a bonus.

Having a baby is expensive in terms of finance, but also time and emotion. If I was in your position I'd consider at the very least one of you starting and the other starting a year or two later when your child is older and needs less constant care. Especially as it's your first baby so you've no idea how you are going to cope with juggling the care of the baby with everything else already going on.

I've never had a baby, or done a medical degree so this is purely conjector on my part but I know my friends with babies could never cope with such an intense degree at the same time. Alot of them find going to work part-time with a newborn exhausting and emotionally challenging. One has been doing an OU maths degree and has to slow down that because of her new baby and she has a husband who around to help. I wouldn't feel comfortable having a baby whilst doing my current degree as that seems to take up so much of my time that I only see my husband in the late evenings and for dinner.

Perhaps you could consider doing something less intense or waiting until your baby is at school?

Rosie75

I know someone who is doing a four-year graduate entry medical degree. I don't want to be negative, but judging from the hours and workload she has, I can't imagine that this would be compatible with having a baby. She leaves the house at 7am and doesn't get home until gone 10pm (they often have lectures timetabled in the evening, on top of a full day). And then there is studying to be done after that. Perhaps you should think about staggering your entry dates so that one of you starts a couple of years later than the other?

atypical

peach7931 wrote: »

We both are Physiotherapists hoping to retrain as either a doctor or a dentist' both the professions have good job prospectects in the current market (don't know the situation after 4 yrs).

I think for most universities, to get on the graduate entry programme you need to have done a degree with a focus on the 'pure' science. I don't know enough about physiotherapy degrees to know if this is true for them but Imperial has a good checklist of what they expect you to know here which might be useful.

southoftheriver

atypical wrote: »

I think for most universities, to get on the graduate entry programme you need to have done a degree with a focus on the 'pure' science. I don't know enough about physiotherapy degrees to know if this is true for them but Imperial has a good checklist of what they expect you to know here which might be useful.

There are lots of places where a physiotherapy degree would be enough (along with A levels at certain grades) to be accepted. Leicester's course used to be for health professionals only, and Southampton do not ask for a specific degree. There are others but these come to mind first.

I don't mean to sound harsh but I think you may be underestimating how difficult it is to even get into a Graduate Entry medical programme. They are difficult to get into because of the funding attached to them, and it will be very hard to work part time because the way they are structured. Not impossible but very difficult. I know people who apply for many years in a row and are rejected not because they aren't academically capable but because of sheer competition.

How much research have you done into what the coures involve and competition ratios? How many courses are there within commutable distance? Are you willing to move wherever you get a place?

It you want it badly enough then great go for it, but it will take careful planning. Are you also aware that newly qualified doctors start on a basic salary of 21K? It does rise and i'm not moaning that doctors are poor, but just to point out that many people (especially graduates) expect to start on much more than this.

*I'm due to start my final year of medical school this summer*

snowgirly

peach7931 wrote: »

I would like some honest opinions. I am not sure if we are doing the right thing. Both me and my husband are tired with our jobs and both have decided to retrain starting next yr
We have decided on 4 yr courses, which is funded from the second year. We have 1 year to save up on the 1st yr fees and living etc .
Now the question; Should we go to uni together or is it better if one of us finishes the course first. I am 8 weeks pregnant and we have a mortgage.
Any advise is appreciated.

I think both of you should continue until your due date of delivery.(birth of the baby), and maybe your hubby can do some part time job or still continue with his present job to be able to support you (both) or whatever you think is the best for both of you.