There are so many versions of this statement. Do what you love and the money will follow. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. If you’re not excited to go into work, then you’re in the wrong line of work.
What do you think? Do you have a job you love?
My current job doesn’t thrill me in any deep soul-satisfying way. I’m thinking about going back to school and going into nursing. I have always had an interest in the health care field. I think the reward of caring for people is invaluable. I love the thought of going back to school, acquiring new skills, learning new fields, and exploring beyond my comfort zone. However, it’s a huge leap. There are accelerated bachelor’s programs for people who already have college degrees in other fields. I’d have to satisfy a bevy of prerequisite classes but I could do that over the next year while still working at my current job. Then I could quit my job and go to school full-time in an intensive program where I would earn another degree in 12 months. It would be hard to live on my husband’s income for a year, but you can do anything for one year, right? It’s a finite amount of time with a rainbow at the end. It’s also difficult to think about swallowing another $30K in student loans. I abhor debt. My husband and I are deeply committed to paying off all our debt and we’re making great progress. Maybe $30K isn’t that much money though in the big scheme of life? I would be improving the quality of my life. I am optimistic in thinking that this degree would make me happier and that it would get me the kind of job that would be better suited to flexibility and a positive work/life balance.
But it’s such a big, tough question. How do you take that leap of faith?
I actually toyed with the possibility of going into nursing about two years ago. I was excited about it back then. However, I gave up the idea when I realized how many prereq classes I’d need to take before even getting into a program. The problem is that my B.A. has me ill-suited for a B.S. The thought of all those classes and the money for them shut me down. I gave up. I didn’t think it was worth it. But I look back now and realize that if I would have started on the path then, I might be done now. Who cares if it takes two years or three? What else am I doing that is a better option? I don’t think I’d be happy at my current job for another five years. The thought gives me anxiety and frightens me. I don’t want to become bitter and let the negative feelings of my job slide over into other areas of my life. Life is simply too short to settle.
Life would be easy if it were more like the cartoons. It would be so easy to have a light bulb go off over my head and intuitively know that this leap is the right one to take. I’d love a message puffed out in big letters behind an airplane in the sky, saying DO IT! But life isn’t a cartoon and money isn’t from a Monopoly game. This is one of the biggest decisions I could make in my life and my husband’s life. He wants me to be happy. He said we could figure out a way to do it. Even if I never took the leap, it’s amazing to have that strong of a support system. I do have that going for me!
Next week I’ll attend an informational session hosted by one of the universities that offers the accelerated second degree program. I hope to get a lot more information so that when I look at the compass for my life, I know how to point it in the right direction.
Like my dad always likes to say, “If it’s easy, it ain’t worth a damn.”