Study angst!!! Should I complete MBA with 4 DC and is there any point???

[thefabfour]

I know this is crazy, but bear with me...

After the first two children, I began an MBA part-time. My DH has completed one at the same instituion and his career has progressed really well since. He now earns three times more than he did without the MBA.

I was working part-time at the said university and was able to get it for next-to-nothing. I then went on and had one more baby (planned) and another one (unplanned) in quick sucession (13 mo gap).

My DH had just started a new job with lots of pressure and what with the demands of four children under 5yrs he was very keen for me to finish work and put lots of pressure on for me to do so. I agreed on the provision that I could complete my study even though we would have to pay for it.

I have been a SAHM now for just over a year.

I've got just over 18 months to complete if I want to and feel just about in position to do so. It will be tight though and lots of hard work.

Problem now is that he is dragging his feet about paying for it as it will cost several thousands. I feel really irritated as I paid for a large chunk of his from my maternity pay for DC1 and paid off a large part of his CDL for a previous qualification of his.

My other fears are:

1. Can I really complete it within 18 months with 4 small dc's?

1. Also, is there any point? Will I realisitically be in the frame for any big jobs with 4 dc's to care for?

Just really feel that I have been forced into SAHM-dom.

I know it could have posted this in the Further Education section, but I guess what I'm asking is , with a large family is there any point in me completing this ?

If youve started you may as well finish even if you arn't in the position to use it for a few years. If you dont complete you'll have to start all over again and think of all the work youv'e done that will be wasted.

I am not qualified to speak on the large family aspect - and am new to MN so may not have much (any?) cred - but I did do a Masters just before my maternity leave and my four penn'orth would be:

1. unless you can pay for childcare to give yourself some uninterrupted study time, this is likely to depend on your DH's willingness (or not) to support you, both financially and in taking on some of the domestic/childcare load.

2. you need perhaps to decide why you are doing the course and why you would continue with it: to keep pace with your husband? to prove to yourself that you can? to keep in touch with your pre-SAHM self? to improve your job prospects? Any of these would, I think, be valid reasons for doing the course and if it's anything to do with the first three then it is arguably less important whether a big job materialises at the end of it. Look at it another way: how would you feel if you jacked it in? Would you feel relief or regret, either now or later? You're best placed to judge whether you would find a job that matched your qualifications and fitted with your family life. Would you want part-time work? If so, how many such jobs exist in your field? How open are employers in your field to flexible working? If you wanted a full-time job, how would you feel about buying-in help at home?

So, I'm sorry to reply with more questions than answers. It sounds from your posts as if you're ambivalent (at best) about being a SAHM, so if you're keen to get back into employment then the MBA would probably be a good investment of time and effort, especially if it would mean that you could get a bigger job and bigger salary, making it
more affordable (if that was what you wanted) to work part-time. But there are some issues here about your husband's attitude and how your studying will affect family dynamics. I'm tempted to say go for it, or else you may be forever pondering the what ifs?, but only you can judge what the fallout from that might be.

MadBad- wow think you've got it spot on! Will respind further later- school run...

Hi, am new to MN too, really feel for you; my dreams of career transition from technical work to organisational change consultancy via an MA from a 5* Business School were broken when pregnancy No3 turned out to be triplets! The Business School let me take a break and I completed the MA 3years later & my 5children attended my graduation.
Maybe taking a break could be an option for you-have you tried talking to your tutors?
I started working in career transition when the triplets were 1, and do a few days a month. Now they are 7, I'd like to do a bit more.....?!
Hope this encourages you that you can keep following your dreams with a big family- just a bit more slowly

Hi fabfour

You don't say what line of work you're thinking of doing, but if I were you, I would start having a look at job adverts in the line of work you're in, to see what currently employers are looking for. Why not contact a few recruitment agencies who deal with positions in your field - ask them for their advice. Alternatively contact your professional institution who should also be able to help.

Much the same as degrees nowadays, an MBA doesn't automatically open the doors to high salaries. Experience, skills, personality are also big factors to create the package that is you.

FWIW - an MBA will be incredibly expensive, difficult (difficult alone WITHOUT even considering you've got 4 kids aswell and probably don't get a lot of time to yourself) So you need to be really clear to yourself on why you're doing this course. In my pre-baby days I studied my MA Marketing part time in the evenings and I found it hard juggling work and study. You've got to contend with 4 children (who won't understand why mummy has to do homework, read text books, do projects, write a dissertation etc), a husband, and no-doubt being responsible for running the home whilst your husband is at work PLUS MBA level of study and committment. After having done a degree and masters in marketing, by far the most valuable has been my CIM Diploma and so you should seriously look into the professional qualifications for your chosen career.

After having explored all your options by talking to your course tutor, talking SERIOUSLY to your husband about his commitment, researching what is required by employers to do the job you hope to get as a result, then if you still think it is worth it, then you have my admiration and good luck to you!!!