The harsh reality of making the decision to go back to school

Making the decision to go back to school is not easy. I am sure we all have seen commercial encouraging us to go college or trade school after being in the work force as an opportunity to improve our skills or increase our employment opportunities. All of those things sound nice but making the decision to pivot back to being a student again is not always easy.

I can tell you that when I decided to go back to school for the first time, it wasn’t overly stressful. I already had a degree. I had graduated a couple of years earlier. I was working for the State. I was taking advantage of a program the State offered where they paid for my degree. So, in my world, everything was sweet. I was working full time with benefits with a government job that was paying for my degree. No problem.

The second time around wasn’t as easy.

At the time, I was a naval officer. I had some awesome friends. I had just been commissioned after Grad School. My income was twice the salary of what I was making when I left the State. I met (and eventually married) a great young lady. I was recommended to a once in a career position after my first duty station. Every thing was cake.

Making the decision to go to back to school (even though it was Law School) was terrifying. I would have to resign my commission. I would lose all of my benefits. I would have no salary. And, if things didn’t work out, there was no guarantee I would have been able to go back into the military.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time in Law School but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was bit paranoid. When I left the military, I was driving an old car on its last leg. I didn’t know what my job prospects were. I hadn’t lived on financial aid for almost a decade.

And the biggest fear was that I didn’t know if I would be successful in completing school. All of those ads about the future means nothing if you aren’t sure if you can survive the present.

In the end, everything worked out but think about how many people have found themselves in the position of having to decide if they are able to take that risk. The risk worked out for me but sometimes, that risk may be overwhelming.

Making the decision to go back to school is a real life experience and one that may impact your life is ways you expect or may not expect. Just know you are not alone in facing that reality.

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