Quitting work to become a full time student

snake_charmer

Hi, this is my first post into the forums and I hope you can help. I also hope I'm in the right section.

Both me and my partner work full time and have done so for 10+ years. We've both been moving through life not really doing anything we enjoy, just covering the bills and we want something a little more from life.

We both want to train to become nurses and are considering resigning from our jobs and becoming full time students. The problem is we have a mortgage and credit card debts (only around 1k) and all the usual household bills. We do not have any dependants (unless you count two maniac dogs as dependants :-) ).

Resiging from work and going from over 50k total household income to nothing is a very high risk but could also have a very high reward. But this is my concern - how could we study full time and pay the bills? We have zero savings and zero additional income and so I believe we would be entitled to student loans, maintenance grants and also an NHS bursary but I'm not sure how these are calculated but it seems to be that it's worked out based on the previous tax year and to me, if that's the case, surely we would be entitled to nothing as we were both in full time employment?

I really do hope someone can help me and point me in the right direction because we are desperate to enter into nursing but we are worried about the financial risks and we don't want to lose our home!

Thanks in advance
Jim

Takeaway_Addict

why can't one of you do it and once completed the other does the course?

That way at least you have an income and can maintain your lifestyle to some sort of standard

redcard

Not quite sure where the 'very high reward' comes in. You're giving up 2 £25K salaries to become nurses!

When do you think you're going to earn £25K again?

Seems bizarre that you both have this urgent need to quit work and study without having made any planning or consideration how to do it in the last decade.

snake_charmer

Redcard - The reward isn't about money, the reward is about doing some worthwhile and helping others in need. Money isn't everything to me but at the same time, we need money to get by.

It would have been lovely if I'd known what I wanted to do with my life over the many years I've wasted but I've not been that lucky.

All I'm asking for is some guidance from people who have a bit of knowledge and experience in this area and your comments haven't been helpful and I don't see why you even bothered responding! These types of comment are why people don't post into forums and also why people dont bother with the search facility!

Oh and I don't earn 25k, I earn more but like I said, my wishes and dreams have nothing to do with the amount of potential earnings, they are much more than that!!

Takeaway_addict - i see your point and we have discussed it but it thought it would be unfair for one of us to wait 3+ years whilst the other gets to do something about their dreams.

Undervalued

snake_charmer wrote: »

Both me and my partner work full time and have done so for 10+ years. We've both been moving through life not really doing anything we enjoy, just covering the bills and we want something a little more from life.

We both want to train to become nurses and are considering resigning from our jobs and becoming full time students. The problem is we have a mortgage and credit card debts (only around 1k) and all the usual household bills. We do not have any dependants (unless you count two maniac dogs as dependants :-) ).

Resiging from work and going from over 50k total household income to nothing is a very high risk.......

If a combined 50K income is "just covering the bills" then you have a problem. Mortgage rates have been at all time lows and are only going to go one way. You have no dependants but still have some credit card debts. You also say you have no savings so financial planning has not featured highly so far. Sorry to be so blunt.

Whatever grants etc may be available you are certainly going to have to look very hard indeed at your expenditure. You will presumably be adding student loans which will eventually have to be paid back assuming you earn even a modest salary.

Job satisfaction is an important part of life but it is very easy to swap one problem for another.

Think long and hard.

redcard

snake_charmer wrote: »

All I'm asking for is some guidance from people who have a bit of knowledge and experience in this area and your comments haven't been helpful and I don't see why you even bothered responding! These types of comment are why people don't post into forums and also why people dont bother with the search facility!

I don't know why you bothered asking the question.

You have a mortgage, some debt, absolutely zero savings, and you want to quit your job and go to college, without knowing what you'd be entitled to?

It's smacks of someone having a midlife crisis, as you have put absolutely no thought into this at all.

If you were desperate to enter nursing you would have done some research.

snake_charmer

Just covering the bills was a poorly worded comment, that's not the situation. The point I was trying to make is I'm working and not really doing much else. So I go on holiday but im still in exactly the same situation. I buy myself some nice things but I'm still doing something with my life which I hate and am not going to do it for the rest of my life (I'm 30 by the way so hardly a midlife crisis)

I've done nothing but think about my life, my future and for many years. And I have done research and am continuing to do research (what do you think my question is all about).

Redcard - i agree, why did I bother? It seems people what to criticise and question and my choice (which has nothing to do with them) and not help at all.

redcard

The fact that no one has told you it's a great idea should tell you something.

Why don't you save for 5 years and do it properly?

snake_charmer

Well, the few people who've responded haven't exactly been positive about it. Maybe I should waste another 5 years of my life, it's not like it's short or anything

Sky_

The last time I looked, a nursing bursary was around 6K, plus travel expenses when on placement. The basic (non-assessed) student loan is around 3K. Grants and assessed loans = another 3K, but the bursary may cancel your entitlement to those.

If those figures are still correct, you'd each have a student income of between £9,000 and £12,000 per annum.

If only one of you studies and the other works, your entitlement may be reduced because of household income.

Undervalued

snake_charmer wrote: »

Just covering the bills was a poorly worded comment, that's not the situation. The point I was trying to make is I'm working and not really doing much else. So I go on holiday but im still in exactly the same situation. I buy myself some nice things but I'm still doing something with my life which I hate and am not going to do it for the rest of my life (I'm 30 by the way so hardly a midlife crisis)

I've done nothing but think about my life, my future and for many years. And I have done research and am continuing to do research (what do you think my question is all about).

Redcard - i agree, why did I bother? It seems people what to criticise and question and my choice (which has nothing to do with them) and not help at all.

OK, so if you cut out all the luxuries / non essential items and plough the savings into "following your dream" how much of a financial shortfall does that leave? How will you bridge that?

Yes life is short and as I said, job satisfaction is AN important factor, but not the only factor, in a happy life. All I'm saying is be very careful you don't just swap one problem for another, maybe bigger, one.

Sometimes the best advice is the least welcome.