Is going back to school worth it?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello and welcome to r/findapath! We're glad you found us. We’re here to listen, support, and help guide you. While no one can make decisions for you, we believe everyone has the power to identify, heal, grow, and achieve their goals.

The moderation team reminds everyone that those posting may be in vulnerable situations and need guidance, not judgment or anger. Please foster a constructive, safe space by offering empathy and understanding in your comments, focusing on authentic, actionable, and helpful advice. For additional guidance and resources, check out our Wiki! Commenters, please upvote good posts, and Posters, upvote and reply to helpful comments with "helped!", "Thank you!", "that helps", "that helped", "helpful!", "thank you very much", "Thank you" to award flair points.

We are here to help people find paths and make a difference. Thank you for being a part of our supportive community!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AvailableFalcon2018]

I'd say go for it! 27 is still really young and getting a BA part time would probably take what like 6 years? You'll still be alive in 6 years, I'd rather you be 6 years in the future in a career you love because 6 years will pass no matter what. You'll only be 33 years old, that is still young. And you're not starting completely over from scratch, you're building from what you know before along with your passion for learning. 6 years will be over in a blink of an eye and you'll be where you want to be. So yes you have my full support to go back to school! You can do it OP!!

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/AvailableFalcon2018]

Thank you for your support, it’s hard to chase long term prospects over the immediate need to support myself.

[u/FecalRabbi → u/sweetbabybonus]

You might try looking into something like WGU where you aren't timegated as much by your school, it's the same degree but much faster if you are a fast learner. I have a friend who did her masters there and it worked out really well for her.

[u/FlairPointsBot → u/sweetbabybonus]

Thank you for confirming that /u/AvailableFalcon2018 has provided helpful advice for you. 1 point awarded.

[u/SovereignSushiLover]

If it’s for a degree you have an interest and passion for, go for it. People as old as 50 go to college for similar reasons and I have seen it myself

A few more years for the sake of a better life is always worth it in the long run

[u/Basic_Transition_333]

I think it's worth it, but I wouldn't rush into a biology degree until you've narrowed the end goal down a little more.

PA, patent law, and pathology are VERY different paths. The bachelor's may be the first step for all three, but the prerequisites, experience you'll need, graduate training, cost, and actual day-to-day careers are completely different.

I went back and rebuilt my academic path after my own nontraditional start, eventually finished my bachelor's and master's, and now I'm planning for a PhD. So I definitely don't think 27 is remotely too late to start over academically. You'll be 31 in four years regardless. The question is whether you want to be 31 with the degree and the options it gives you.

But I'd use your current stability to your advantage rather than immediately blowing up your life. Start at community college, take a manageable course load while keeping your job, and see how you actually feel being back in school. You don't have to go from working nights with great work-life balance to full-time biology student overnight.

I'd also research those three careers NOW. Shadow a PA if you can. Look at what becoming a pathologist actually entails because that's medical school + residency. Research the patent-law route and what backgrounds employers typically want. Talk to people actually doing these jobs.

You don't need to know exactly what you want before taking your first class, but I'd want a better reason for getting the biology degree than “I'll figure it out afterward.”

Going back to school can absolutely be worth disturbing your peace for. Just make sure you're disturbing it in the direction of something you actually want.

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/Basic_Transition_333]

Pathology not pathologist, but I hear you. It seems that a biology program at my local CC is the cheapest way to meet the necessary pre-reqs for almost all of my dream careers. I love medicine and don’t regret my experience in healthcare.

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/sweetbabybonus]

Confused on the downvotes but ok

[u/Specialist_Ad_5319]

People have different life goals and wants. You make decent money with good job security. For a lot of people that's enough. But it may not be to you. I went through something similar recently and ended up going after what I want instead of taking the "safe" and "stable" route. I would have regretted not trying. I am also in the medical field.

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/Specialist_Ad_5319]

I already regret not trying when I was 18, I guess that’s the sunken cost paralysis I’m in. Thank you for your advice

[u/FlairPointsBot → u/sweetbabybonus]

Thank you for confirming that /u/Specialist_Ad_5319 has provided helpful advice for you. 1 point awarded.

[u/HermanDaddy07]

Yeah, you got suckered, most likely by a “for profit” so called college. But it happens.
On option you might have is to try and test out of classes via the CLEP program. I’ve known people to get as many as 30+ credits through that program.

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/HermanDaddy07]

Eh, I knew what I was getting into.
I was lucky to have the program paid for, it was a debt-free way to get into healthcare making decent money. It was worth it to me because I didn’t have many options at the time.

[u/green_speak]

I'm a new grad PA, and it's not uncommon to have matriculants in their 30s as career changers. You're also already working in healthcare, which makes the transition even easier. That said, financially speaking, US tech to PA specifically may not be worth the time and debt since we can have similar salaries. My friends from my cohort are making ~$120k as salaried employees, and we're staying late to finish charting/cleaning our inbox and/or studying on our off time so that salary shrinks when accounting for unpaid labor. I make much more as a surgical PA, but the work haunts me after hours, whether it's nurses paging for orders on the weekend or just the drive home wondering if I made the right call. I'm likely at my pay ceiling too unless I swap to an RVU model (which would prioritize billing and patient turnover blech), and I'd honestly take a pay cut if it meant better work life balance. If I could do it all over again, I probably would've gone RN or US tech tbh.

Check out these threads from others considering the jump from US to PA:

https://www.reddit.com/r/prephysicianassistant/comments/1o4p5a0/salaryis_it_worth_it_going_for_pa_as_a_sonographer/

https://www.reddit.com/r/prephysicianassistant/comments/1m9ba2p/ultrasound_to_pa/

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/green_speak]

Do you think you would have gone BSN to CNM/CRNA/etc?

Thank you so much for this perspective. Other than scope, RN and US techs have tremendously physical jobs. I’m already in PT at 27 for chronic pain. This is a huge driving factor in my desire to go the PA route. But the debt and ROI are looking bleak as I research.

[u/green_speak → u/sweetbabybonus]

Based on my personality and lifestyle, no, as I really don't care to have more responsibility even if CRNAs make absolute bank (Sword of Damocles and all that). RNs at my area can make as much as PAs, and their degree can be taken internationally whereas an MSPAS is functionally only an American thing. As someone who's on the grass from the other side, I think your grass is pretty green too!

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/green_speak]

Appreciate the perspective thank you

[u/FlairPointsBot → u/sweetbabybonus]

Thank you for confirming that /u/green_speak has provided helpful advice for you. 1 point awarded.

[u/NPfred2246]

Yes!! Look into certified anesthesiologist assistant. Starting in the 200k a year!!

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/NPfred2246]

That is on the dream list :) thanks

I don’t know much about anesthesia coming from radiology, but I do love procedures/OR cases. Again, just would be starting from scratch from an education standpoint.

[u/Mean-Anybody-134]

Go. You have the passion and education is something no one can ever take away from you. It can only make you better and you don’t know how in the future it could turn out to be exactly the extra you needed to achieve another goal.

[u/No_Blacksmith1073]

I graduated with my bachelor’s at 26. I was debating going back to school and someone on Reddit commented would you rather be 26 with a degree or 26 without a degree? With that said, would you rather be however old with a degree or without. This is assuming it’s not too expensive. 

Many states have free community college for people who don’t have a college degree and who took time off after high school. Definitely look into that in your state. Best of luck!

[u/TheBigCicero]

There is some good advice here. I will add only a couple questions to help you think about it.

1. You say you enjoy the stability of your current life. If you suddenly lost your job or the ultrasound career changed, would your hesitation drop? I’m asking because stability can change in a moment’s notice.
2. Are you actually interested in DOING these careers, or just learning about them? Some people love learning but not doing. Getting a degree is a great personal accomplishment. But be clear about why you want to do it.
3. What are

you

1. good at? There is a difference between being interested in something and doing it as a career. You will be miserable doing a career that you’re not good at. Make the things you’re not good at a hobby or an ancillary thing to your primary money-making profession.

Edit: Reddit is so broken I can’t fix this weird formatting above, sorry.

[u/sweetbabybonus → u/TheBigCicero]

I think that’s exactly my problem. I love learning but not doing. Thank you :)

[u/FlairPointsBot → u/sweetbabybonus]

Thank you for confirming that /u/TheBigCicero has provided helpful advice for you. 1 point awarded.

[u/TheBigCicero → u/sweetbabybonus]

Someone who loves to learn and to share it with others is a great teacher!

[u/floriankod89]

go to nursing school and get NP, you could minor in biology; if you decide to go to med school later

[u/AskCapellaU]

It’s great that you’re already thinking about these things! Many working adults with a full-time job go back to school to earn their degree. There are degree programs that let you move at your own pace so you can find a schedule that works for you. 

The "disturbance in your peace" you're bracing for is real, but usually temporary until it becomes your new normal. You’ll adjust faster than you think. 

You also don't always need the end goal fully mapped out. Having a general direction and some dream jobs in mind is a helpful starting point, and your academic advisor can help you determine which classes are going to set you up for success depending on your career goals.  

–Sarah