I have got to choose between college and getting a job

[nutcracker]

I have just been offered a place for a part time college course starting in september. It is for one day a week over 2 yrs and on completion I would hopefully get a place on a nursing diploma coourse lasting 3 years full time.
I really want to do this course as childrens nursing is what i really want to do BUT we are so broke at the mo that the only way out i can see is for me to get a job.
I know alot of you will say well you can do both but I know I can't.
I started the colege course once before and because of situations at home i gave it up. From doing the little bit of the course that I did, I know that it has to be one or the other. You get given alot of work on the course and I am not the most organisaed of people so I would need the rest of the week free (well free ish cos of ds) to sort work out. I think if i tried to combine a job and college I would soon fall behind with college. My old tutor agrees with me and said she wouldn't advise me working whislt on the course.

So do i get a job to keep us afloat and try and do the course in several years from now or do we live like church mice whilst i go about getting a career ???

[nikcola]

is it that job at the hospital nut? have you had the interview?

[nutcracker]

No i didn't apply in the end because they said it would be different days each week which is no good to me.

[snafu]

It's a tough one nutty and you have my sympathy - I'm sort of in the same boat. What about part-time work so you've still got plenty of time for college work and ds?

Practically speaking, of course you could put college off for a few years - you are still young enough. But how would it make you feel?

[nikcola]

8i dont no what to say nutty only i really wish that i would have done this course part time its so stressfull full time but loads of girls on the part time work but i think i would be hard working and studing with kids imo. i couldnt do it .

could you afford to study for the next 5 years ? maybee you could work and do a diffrent course?

[expatinscotland]

i'd go for the career. think long-term. it's an investment in your future.

[nikcola]

then agin nutty if you study the money you will be earning when you qualify will be worth it in the end!

[beatie]

What sort of qualification would the course give you? Is there any other sort of study you could do at evening classes to enable you to gain a place at college to study nursing?

[nutcracker]

TBH i think that if i don't do the course now then i never will, but we are in debt and struggling even to pay for food and bills some weeks.

[vickiyumyum]

personally i have found it easier to live like church mice and get the course done rather than get a job for a couple of years get used to having the income from that job and then give it up to go to college.
is 2 years the shortest course near you. i did an access course for nursing and midwifery and it was for 1 year 2 days a week.
what about working families tax credit can you apply for help with your childcare costs through that, with your dh/dp working more than 16 hours a week? (sorry you didn't say if you had a partner or not, so not sure if this is an option for you)

[nutcracker]

They do do it 2 evenings a week but thats how i tried it before and it didn't work.

[snafu]

Do you think it's possible that after you've done the course for a while and got settled into a routine you might be able to do some part-time work? How long did you do the course for last time?

[nutcracker]

I would get help with some of the childcare costs yep, but only if the job was about 30 hours a week, else the amount isn't worth it iyswim.

[starlover]

nutcracker, can you get a job at a hospital?
Is it the access course you are thinking of doing? My friend has just got a place at Uni to do Nursing. She chose not to do the access course, but got a job at our local hospital instead and the people at the interview for Uni were very impressed.
I think that doing some appropriate work may work in your favour just as much as a college course to be honest, and you'd be earning money too!

[beatie]

Why did it not work out before? Could it be a case of getting some help with motivation and time management? You could do the course one day per week and not work and STILL have problems doing the course.

[nutcracker]

I have to do the access course because i don't even have english and maths gcse.

[beatie]

I too think that you should investigate other routes into nursing.

[starlover]

ok... what about JUST doing english and maths gcse? alongside some hospital work? I have a feeling you may be able to do them online, or OU... but not 100% sure.

[beatie]

Oh - OK. Hmmm, I'm thinking for you. Could you work at weekends or work in the evenings and then devote your daytime week to studying and looking after DS?

[Gomez]

Can you not do the course full-time and so shorten the period of time you will be studying? Doesn't help in the short-term but you will be earning sooner? Also would help prepare you for the full-time nursing course?

And on a harsher note it is not always easy to get what we want and if really want to do this you might just need to become more organised to make it happen! Sorry..

[vickiyumyum]

i know that when i did the access course it was really hard financially as we had no income coming in, my part time job fell through and couldn't find another one to fit in with college. but when i started the actual degree we get a small amount of funding from the bursary which if you receive wftc doesn't count, but a s long as your dp/dh is orking you should still be ok. and you can get some funding for childcare depending on whter you get any help for childcare from wftc.
its hard and you don't think that you will cope, but you do. i'm nearly at the end of my second year now and still have moments where i feel that i can't cope any longer and need to get a job, but then a bit of encouragment and support form my dh puts me back on track and focused again.
it will be worth it in the end!

[starlover]

do you actually need them for nursing? I did the access course and was told you only need maths if you're doing midwifery...

[nutcracker]

Last time i did it, ds was only 9mths old and i had dd2 at home during the day too, plus we were all living in a cramped flat with noisy neighbours.

Thing is, if i do the course i will be stressed out about money all the time.

[beatie]

Perhaps you were trying to do too much at once last time. Take one year to do just GCSE maths and English via evening class and one year to do the Access course and then get some work to fill in the gaps?

What do you do as a job?

[snafu]

That's what I was going to suggest. You may find the GCSEs are less 'full-on' than an access course. A friend of mine has just finished access and got a midwifery place but I know she did find it a lot of work. Would you consider that? Then you could get an HCA job as well and be earning money and studying?

[starlover]

this is from the NHS careers site...

There are no national minimum entry requirements for entry into nursing and midwifery as each Higher Education Institution (HEI) set it?s own criteria.

However, these are generally around 5 GCSEs or equivalent at grade C or above in English language or literature and a science subject for a Diploma programme and 5 GCSEs plus 2 A? levels or equivalent for a Degree programme All applicants must be able to demonstrate evidence of literacy, numeracy and good character.


so you may only have to do english....