Take a job or to carry on studying? Which would be best to support dd?

[learningaswego]

I had my dd last Jan (2011) after I graduated from uni the July before, needless to say she was not planned but I wouldn't change anything for the world. My family have been fantastic and hugely supportive and my mum and dad had me, my daughter and my boyfriend living with them until we could sort out our own situation. My partner has now got a good job and things are not as tight as they could otherwise be.

Whilst I've been caring for my dd my own mum has been really eager that I carry on studying to make myself as employable as possible in the future, particularly with the current job crisis. The fact I got a 2:2 does not make it easy to get a job as many graduate employers won't even let me apply for their schemes. With that in mind I have been studying for a Masters part time, which is good as I get more time with dd and it is genuinely interesting --- but to be honest I feel completely sick of further education. At 23 and that is all I have ever done (professionally anyway) and I would just love to have some financial independence. Is that so bad? Currently my boyfriend would never have me go without, but that doesn't change the fact that I need to ask for cash everytime I go to tesco's to stock up on nappies and have the constant worry of getting my card rejected whenever I fill up my petrol tank.

Do I plough on for another year, just so I don't let my parents who have supported me so much (and are willing/ have already funded some of my masters) or am I not a bad person for dropping out and taking on a job where I can be more independent in supporting my family? All my friends are telling me to carry on with my studies, but I don't have many with children of their own who have been in a similar situation.

Feeling very lost with confused allegiances.

Would really appreciate any advice people could give me - have any of you been in the same situation?

I would plough on with the masters, I'm sure you'll be glad of it in the long run and you'll find it a little bit easier to work once your DD is a little older. My sister did her degree while her DS was small and she said she would never have got round to going back and finishing it off it she'd taken a break.

I completely understand that you are fed up with studying and want to earn some money but if you can finish the masters I'm sure it will help your job hunting.

Hiya I can see where you're coming from. I suppose ultimately it depends on what you were planning to do with your degree/what job you wanted at the end of it.
Some friends of mine have done degrees but have gone into lines of work not related to their degree. So now they question whether it was really worth it - obviously you could argue whether the fact they have a degree (regardless of the subject) got them the job..
I think I'd be inclined to want to work to support myself/ my family.
But then like the others have said, if you think a few years down the line you'll wish you'd finished it, maybe you should carry on. Cos I think, even with all the best intentions, it will be hard to pick it up again later on.
Good luck

The answer is do both! I was never so rich as when I did my Masters, grants, part time work, teaching ... You may as well finish as you've started, it's not as if there are squillions of jobs out there ... but get something part-time, anything, then you'll appreciate being at home more. I went back part-time when my DS was six weeks and although it was hard leaving him I appreciated the money and the freedom and enjoyed him all the more for having had a break. Good luck!

Sorry to be mean, but you said that trying to get a job with a 2ii was difficult. Do you think "2ii, and messed around with a Masters but didn't complete it" sounds any better?

The finances are a separate matter: sit down with DP and work out a joint family budget. It's ridiculous that you feel that you need to go cap-in-hand for money.

Is the masters necessary or highly desirable in your field?

What kind of job would you get now and in 1, 5, 10 years if you quit?

Can you get a PT job?

Personally I would keep at the masters. Quitting doesn't look good, especially on the back of a 2.ii because it gives the impression you can't cope.

Totally agree the finances are a separate issue. If you live together your money needs to be together.

Hi all, thanks for the comments and reading my post.

Just a bit of context and background:
My first degree was in Physics and I suppose the sort of job I would be looking into would be teaching - I've always liked the idea of it but the reason I didn't go for it straight away was because my family have been telling me it's something I could always come back to - whereas going from teaching into another career may be harder (mum's a teacher so based it on her experience). Have a couple of interviews for GTPs and PGCE lined up so am hopeful that it could work out.

The Master's I've started is in Medical Imaging. I tried going for the NHS training scheme which gets you the masters while you train for a job, but it didn't work out. he hope was that if I did the Masters self funded that it would show I really want to do it so then I could apply direct to hospitals and hopefully they would take me on. However, with all the changes going on, applying direct to the hospital for the position (clinical scientist) is no longer possible. This comes from the nhs website and my university lecturers who also work in hospitals. Having spoken to my tutor (who also works in the field) he told me that I might not be able to apply for the position, but if I managed to get a lower one I could work my way up and maybe in 3-5 years could get into a related field to my interest. Whilst I could apply for the scheme again and again (which I plan to do) realistically I will be up against candidates with 2:1's and 1st's (got a 2:2) so naturally expect to be culled at the first hurdle.

My concern is that I would be studying for something that ultimately won't increase my employment prospects. One of my friends did the same course, graduated with a 2:1, has done her masters in Nuclear Physics and is saying she can't get a job anywhere - either overqualified or lacking experience.

Really don't mean to sound like a complete moaner, appreciate what you guys think. Just wanted to explain the background a bit more so I don't sound too much like a quitter and that if I did leave it would be for legitimate reasons.

As for the money, I keep bringing up a joint account or something like that, boyfriend agrees but works long long hours so says he's knackered but will get round to it. All it does is make me feel worse that I'm not bringing anything to the table. Think I still have a bit of a 'guilt' complex about having dd early and I worry that subconsciously maybe he feels a bit trapped with me draining all his money. I don't know. Maybe it's all in my head.