Quitting my job & studying

[Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 15:41

Hi OzB,

I am in a bit of a torn state of mind.

I have been employed by the same company for 3 years & currently hold a great position, which i am proud of. As of the last year, it has been terrible - from thoughtless process changes to management changes/decisions, HR investigations etc, it has really made this role and environment an undesirable place to be. My motivation & willingness has been torn out of my chest and replaced with anxiety, stress and uncertainty.

I am at the stage of my life where i want to study. My brain has been numb for too long.

The only thing stopping me is my debt. I have a $18,000 loan and a $7,000 owing credit card with $3,000 savings and $500 every day spending. I own my debt and have made a previous post in regards to combating it, which i am doing :)

My question is, how can i study + work part time, while paying this kind of debt off? Is there assistance out there for this kind of situation? Or am i on my own to try stay ontop of it while studying?

Cheers!

Education & Work

Comments

  • onetwothreefour on 20/01/2017 - 15:45
    +3

    Why don't you study part time? Maybe find a company to work for that will also help pay for your studies.

  • altomic on 20/01/2017 - 15:46
    +5

    you are on your own to try stay ontop of it while studying.

    study part time and work full time. (I did it for 5 years and graduated in december)

    • Gronk on 20/01/2017 - 16:26

      Go you! Mind if I ask what you studied?

      I'm about to start my 5th year of a 6 year Comp Sci degree, it's been tough balancing part time study with full time work but the end is in sight now.

      • altomic on 20/01/2017 - 17:01
        +1

        thanks. post grad psych.

        • fossilfuel on 20/01/2017 - 19:21

          How did you get into postgrad psych? I know a lot of very competent people who came out of 4th year honours, applied everywhere but got no offers.

      • Astro551 on 22/01/2017 - 13:18

        How're you finding studying comp sci specifically while working? I deferred mine for now and decided to work, but worried about the workload if I do eventually pick it up

        • Gronk on 23/01/2017 - 09:35
          +1

          It's not particularly easy, but being able to offset working hours as opposed to having to drop back to part time is a huge help.

          Outside work you need to be relatively disciplined, because it's not unusual for 2 units to require 10 - 15 hours additional study each week in addition to lectures and contact hours. There were plenty of nights last year where I just didn't feel like studying after a day at work but had to keep pushing or risk faling behind.

          Since you've deferred I'm going to guess that you know what the course is all about, if you've already done most of the maths and theory / proof based subjects then the hard stuff is behind you, those subjects definitely caused me more stress than all the others combined :)

        • Astro551 on 23/01/2017 - 20:19

          @Gronk: haha thanks for the insight, pretty much confirms my thoughts.

          I do have pretty average time management/discipline. Will see how work pans out and decide in the coming year. Although atm it feels like it might be smarter to focus on studies in order to get the most out of it (learning and marks)

    • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 17:17

      Wow. That is impressive.

  • ykwon10 on 20/01/2017 - 15:56
    +4

    Can I suggest that you persevere and continue working at this company until you have cleared your debt? Once you cleared your debt, you can study or do whatever you want without the burden or worrying about how to pay your debt.

  • atris17 on 20/01/2017 - 16:20
    +1

    Study + Share Economy (Uber + Ozbargin) + Frugal Living = Why not?

    The question is, what to study???

    I think there AusStudy , you might want to google that see if u r eligible

    • Diji1 on 20/01/2017 - 16:24

      Share Economy

      So you think he should work for less than the minimum wage. Why?

  • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 16:25

    I have a 10k debt currently, I've been working part time and studying for 3 years now. It's hard but doable.. Nearly graduated. Try to move part time just to support yourself

  • paaj on 20/01/2017 - 16:33
    +3

    i'd suggest keeping some level of employment to help pay that (and future) debt down. If you're going 100% study, then the debt is only likely to go back up.

  • cypher67 on 20/01/2017 - 16:45
    +5

    I'm sorry did you say you spend $500 a day?

    • QW3RTY on 20/01/2017 - 17:12

      If you could bring that down to say $200, that'd help for starters.

    • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 17:15
      +1

      Sorry! $500 in my every day account lol. Not spending $500 a day!

      • rambutann on 21/01/2017 - 09:05

        Holy shit I just got back from the hospital ihada heart attack because I literally thought you spent $500 a day. As for my input for studying. Part time the shit out of it. I was studying full time for 2 years before working full time and taking 2 years to complete my last year of studying.

        I think you'd need to wipe out your debt before considering full time study.

  • Gronk on 20/01/2017 - 16:51
    +5

    Definitely keep the job, you need to keep paying down that debt because it won't pay itself off.

    If you know what course / area you want to study, maybe check with an online provider like Open Universities because that will be your easiest option since you're in full control of when you choose to study (within reason).

    If the course you want isn't offered online then talk to your employer to see if they'll allow you the flexibility to offset your hours so you can attend on-campus classes, last semester for example I had a total of 5 contact hours per week, all of which fell on a Friday morning so they just allowed me to start and finish later on Fridays to compensate.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 17:18

    Thank you all for your comments.
    I am wanting to study chiropractic care, which is 5 years - full time. I think if i went part time it would drag it out to be 7 years.
    I'll have to seek employment that can work around me. I hope those employers still exist.

    • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 19:00

      Doing a Part time job, will you be able to earn that much to pay the debt?

      • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 19:07

        Probably not, lol

    • moar bargains on 21/01/2017 - 15:35

      Do you mind if I ask what industry you work in? Many employers (particularly Government) are pretty open to letting you drop to part time and study part time as well. Some will even give you study leave (I.e. paid time off to study) if you can convince them it's relevant to your work. If that's not your current job, you could look for somewhere where that might be the case?

      Just another couple of thoughts to complicate things :)

  • PJC on 20/01/2017 - 18:23
    +4

    Focus on paying your debts. It really is uplifting to say "I owe nobody a dollar".

  • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 18:52
    +2

    Study + work part time is a choice for someone who has particularly no significant responsibility of family, wife or children. But when you have debt upon you and working is a necessity of your life then go with study part-time and work full-time. Take weekend/evening classes after work and study part-time. It will take time but will give good result in the end.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/01/2017 - 20:52
    +1

    New job bro

  • [Deactivated] on 21/01/2017 - 08:40
    +2

    Was intrigued when I saw what you wanted to study when I saw it says 5 years. I'm studying chiro! Just finished my second year and about to start my 3rd.
    If you are old enough / deemed independent you can claim youth allowance from centrelink. This will mostly help you to cover your basics weekly. However, that won't help with your debt.
    From experience, first year is tough. It is 5 days a week, 4 of them start at 8am (where I study at least). Casual work is your best option unless your employer can give you PPT hours that suit your study (it's a lot in first year). I work in a bottle shop which is great as I can go from uni to work and do 4-9 or 5-9 a few nights a week.
    As for the study, you could always do your undergrad over 4 years instead of 3. And given uni is only really 6 months of the year, you can try work extra during the breaks, especially summer!
    If studying is what you want to do, just do it. The 5 years will pass anyway, so it's up to you how you choose to live them. You won't regret it once you've done it, but you'll definitely need a plan of how to pay off the debt.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/01/2017 - 08:42

      PS. I also work at a chiro clinic doing admin work for now. I absolutely love it, and I find this career extremely rewarding. The hard work is definitely worth it!

  • nikey2k27 on 21/01/2017 - 22:32

    You have no saving and $5000 owing credit card. you need work if you have $500 saving.

  • Limitless on 21/01/2017 - 23:47

    If you hate your job and it is getting you down then quit and talk to someone.

    But you should find a new job, pay off your debts then start a new life with a new career move only after you a debt free.

    And maybe start to budget better…

    • Tnetennba on 24/01/2017 - 17:48

      He definitely shouldn't quit until he has some other job that will pay enough to pay the debt, though.

      • Limitless on 24/01/2017 - 19:52

        He should if he is miserable. Perhaps he spends so much because his job sucks and pending money makes him feel better?

        Cut up the credit card and quit. People shouldn't get credit cards if they don't have the funds or responsibility to use them in a smart way and quitting now (I assume he has maybe 4 weeks notice) will force him to find a new job in order to survive.

        • Tnetennba on 24/01/2017 - 20:06
          +2

          You are ignoring the fact that his life could be way, WAY more miserable if he has no means to pay off the debt at all.. If he didn't find a job (it's not always so simple), He could even struggle to pay the minimum payments on the existing debt.

  • Doggiie on 22/01/2017 - 13:32

    I feel that since you have too much debt, you're kinda stuck in chains. Maybe you'd want to work another year before you consider part time study and work.

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