Aibu to think of doing a degree as a single parent?

[Ilikelotsofthinngs]

I'm 32, son is 8. Currently work part time in a job I like but is going nowhere. It doesn't give me enough hours and I'm wasting two days a week my son is at school not working or doing very much of anything.
To be honest I'm sick of the grind and being poor and don't want to be poor forever and feel like a failure that I've wasted my potential in life.
I got good gcse grades without much effort and three a levels.
I'm seriously considering starting a full time law degree. Not with any particular career in mind, still don't know what I want to be when I grow up but feel it would give me a purpose in life and better prospects for the future.
The main thing stopping me is money. I've been looking online and I could get a maintenance loan and help with childcare but not sure what else or how loans affect other benefits. I would plan to keep my current job with maybe one less day a week depending on which days I would need to attend lectures.
Any advice about student finances or personal experience of being a single parent student would be greatly appreciated.

I did my degree as a single parent and it was fine. It actually worked out well as I had 3 years where I could be there in the school holidays (worked PT before that)

I did it as a single parent of 2, one at primary 1 pre-school. Haven't ended up using my degree for various reasons but don't regret doing it for a second.

I managed on student finance without working

I'm a single patent to 3 and I'm about to do this but with the OU. I work p/t and going to study f/t. (Kids never see their dad so it's gonna be fun!).

Went to uni at 43 years old. Single parent, 2 kids, one severely disabled. At times it was difficult but there were other single parents doing the same. It can be tricky juggling child care at times, but it was absolutely the best decision ever. I loved it. Take a deep breath, step out of your comfort zone and dive right in.

My mum went back to uni when she was 37, graduated when she was 40 with a 17, 14 and 11 year old. She had to work 2 part time jobs but she got her degree and it’s helped her with career progression. Should add she was a single mum with no help from my dad.

I think doing a degree now is a great idea! But to really make it worthwhile, it'd be even better to tailor it to your ideal job. So I'd start there, and work backwards to see what qualifications you'd really need.

Otherwise it might just be an expensive - and possibly stressful - waste of time, if it leaves you where you are right now, just a bit more educated.

It depends on what you plan to do with it actually and if that will happen.

Given you only work a few days now despite having just one school aged child, do you realistically see yourself having a full blown career working full time? You could have gone full time, worked your way up, moved roles but didn't so I'd be asking my children why not before they followed a very expensive whim.

It would be a huge amount of debt that you may never give back and you would be at a disadvantage compared to other students who likely are younger or the other mature students having a better work experience behind them.

I work four days a week. Its not enough and I'm looking for something else but it's difficult to find anything that doesn't want almost 24/7 availability for crap money.
I used to work 60 hour weeks and even since my son was born I've mostly worked more than I do now.
I did get promoted at my previous job but full time managers jobs there are a 48 hour week including lates which obviously as a single parent is not possible for me.
Of course if I could find a standard 38 or 40 hour full time job during hours I can get childcare I would do it.
I'm not sure what my ideal job would be, normal hours for decent money, maybe working for a charity or helping people somehow.

You won't regret going to uni, even if you can't use your degree immediately it will be a step up to the next stage of your life. By the time your son is at secondary school you could be doing a masters or working at graduate entry level with the possibility of working up (this could be from a much higher starting point than simply working for the next 3 years) Well done for considering it, it's easy to get stuck in a rut and before you know it years have passed. You'll meet new people and see opportunities you wouldn't have seen otherwise. Consider psychology if you like helping people? (I'm biased of course!) x

I did a ft degree with a pt job, but graduated nearly a decade ago so can't comment on the financial side as it's all changed. It was tough at times, but better that for a few years than a lifetime in badly paid jobs with no prospects. I'm still limited because at 14 I can't work away or overnight regularly, but that won't be forever.

Access wise I didn't have to do anything, but I was only a few years past sixth form with top results.

I will say that ft study at home if you also have full child, home etc to care for and a pt job can be challenging. To an extent I coped because I never tried at school and did well anyway so despite working at my degree I only put half the normal effort in. Not sure I'd have coped doing something like medicine with longer hours and far more challenging content.

If you've been out of education a while I'd suggest finding a short online course or similar now, just so you can have a practice run at balancing it all.

I'm not a parent but I am a mature university student. I've met a lot of students who have caring responsibilities doing a huge range of different degree subjects and they do manage to make things work. The ones who struggle most tend to be those doing degrees with placements (eg nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy).

I would definitely agree with the PPs who have said give more thought to the subject you want to do and where you want it to take you - even down to the fact that different degrees can have very different course content depending on which uni you go to. It's a big commitment and you need to be sure that you're applying for something that you really want to spend 3 years studying .

All unis will have their course guides and prospectuses online, they may also have a page with information for prospective mature students. They'll probably also have a team or department you could contact who work on widening participation - at my uni they're called the Outreach team. Part-time study may also be an option if you're not sure about committing to full-time, and there will be maintenance funding available for part-time students available from 2018/19 (previously part-time students weren't eligible for maintenance loans).

You might find that on top of student finance, the uni offers (non-repayable) bursaries to students with dependents. For example my uni offers an income based bursary, and also a bursary for any student who grew up in care, has dependents (adult or child) or who completed a vocational qualification to get into uni.

Good luck!

Hi, I am just coming to the end of an Access course and due to start university in September at the grand old age of 44. My motivation is similar to others here, I don't feel I have reached my potential and want a career that benefits both me and others, so I am doing Diagnostic Radiography.

My Access course has been hard work, but I have loved being back in education and now really value my opportunity to learn again. I had to do the course as I had been out of education for so long and didn't have any relevant level 3 qualifications. The course has really helped prepare me for study again and confirmed I am doing the right thing.

I have a child going in to year 6 in Sept, so need to juggle around that and running a home, elderly parent and some part time work too, so I am going to have my work cut out. I am absolutely determined to do this though, as are all my fellow students on my course, in similar circumstances to me, but all ages.

If you can do it, do it now, whilst time is still on your side. If I have any regrets it is that I didn't do this a decade ago.