Not sure if this is the right topic but looking for thoughts about dh.

[hercules1]

Dh pulled out of his final year degree course a few years back intending to complete his last semester the following year. He had to withdraw for financial reasons as I was doing my pgce etc.

Of course him going back never happened. He got a fairly well paid job in management although never wanted to do this. THis last year he took a career break to be a sahp and to complete his studies with the OU. FOr whatever reasons he didnt do his OU study and is still trying to decide what he wants to do with his life.

He is now 38.

He can either go back to his management role (will be less money now due to different position as his previous one has been taken and no other role available) or he can attend a uni in person to do his final year.

Financially we need him to bring some money in but not too much - around £500 would be great but could be £300.
He may be entitled to a student loan for his tuition fees and some loan for living expenses although this depends on our LEA as he has already had 4 years of loans under the old system of which he is still paying back. THis would mean adding his new loan (if he gets it) on top of current repayments.

However, if he does complete his degree it will give him a away to get out of a job he doesnt like, give him more career options and enable him to do a PGCE in maths - this would mean £9000 whilst doing his PGCE plus £5000 golden hello at the start of his 2nd year teaching.

What do you think? SHould we say stuff it and borrow the money (he can also get a job in the evenings I guess too) or should he go back to his safe and secure job he dislikes?

Jeez - sorry that was long..

am i your dh?

anyway, i'm applying for a CDL this week. if i get it, work waits and i go back to full time study next month - got my place.

if i get turned down for the loan - i'll be on here asking the same question

work is a 3 hour round trip, and i so want to finish this study thing - it'll be such a waste otherwise.

DH is going to do is degree in 2009, he never started but he will be getting loan- like your dh he hates his current job; I will be dong PGCE at the same time but in a shortage subject whoch helps a bit, and he has a little business that will help

we all only have one life; sometimes you have to take risks but to me settling for a job you loathe when there are other avenues seems like a very high price to pay

I just graduated as a mature student- I think it's a great qway to go, personally

THanks for quick replies? What is a CDL?

THe trouble is this past year during his career break dd still went to montessori full time so we have used up all our savings and used credit cards. THe debt is okay with us both workign but it would be adding debt onto more debt. We have also had to fork out for OU fees for this past year too.

Dh already has 4 years worth of student loan although under the old scheme so we pay around 130 a month for them.

You would have to query that with the LEA_ I know mine said 4 years max but also that things changed the year after I began Uni.

CDL career development loan

DH has just spoken to our LEA who said we should be able to get the loan for the fees. DOnt know about living loan but dh should surely be able to get some sort of an evening or weekend job.

you can apply for some living expenses under CDL but can only apply for 80% of fees... i think you can apply for childcare costs too - of course you have to pay it back etc but it might take the pressure off a bit. if it is a first degree surely he should still be covered by most of the stuff from when he stopped? if he didn't use any of his final year allowances/ loans etc?
LEAs are dead canny - check all the rules yourself, sometimes they 'forget' things, or don't apply the rules properly. took wandsworth to the ombudsman years back, and they were forced to cough up.

I would be a bit concerned about his lack of finishing the OU course and would want to make very sure that he was going to do all of the work necssary to not only complete the course but get a good result too. Why didn't he do the work for the OU course? How much does he want to be a teacher? To get on a PGCE course these days you have to show a commitment to teaching, so has he done any work involving children/schools? How does he know this is the career for him? Because at 38 he really needs to make up his mind and you need to be sure that this financial risk will not just end up with a course completed/not completed and no career change at the end.

Hi. He found it difficult he says to get motivated at home to ist down and do it and also chose hard units which he found difficult after a good few years out. Of course there are no guarantees going to classes will be any different but it's got to be better. I figure he has a good few years left in him so worth him changing while he still has a chnace but still a worry.
I've been a teacher for 8 years now so he hjas an idea of what it's like. The good thing with his final year is that part of it is spetn teaching in a school so he will get the experience plus get to see if it is for him or nor.

Still a big decision though.

So he's not got a place for september at the mo? I'd be wanting him to volunteer in a local school this term tbh, rather than wait until he's back on the course to see if he likes it and if it's for him or not... then he might be able to use his existing credits to get onto a different course. Otherwise you could be stuck with him on the course doing tp and then deciding he doesn't want to teach after all. so he's still a sahp at the mo with no job or course? (that's not a criticism btw - it just makes it easier (maybe) to arrange for him to spend some time volunteering in school before he makes his mind up.)dh would love to be a sahp.

After lots of discussion he's going to go back to his job. Cant face another year of budgeting and more student loans.

hope it all works out for you xx

Hope it works out for you both. Maybe he could look at ways to make his job more interesting, and hobbies outside work to keep his brain ticking over?

Hi, he already does a lot of voluntary work that is very time consuming. This added to my worries about him taking another year off as rather than studying he tended and could in the future use his "study time" to do more. At least if he's working, I wont mind so much how much he does.

Ah that's good then. It must be rubbish to have a job you're not that interested in without hobbies and interests to make up for it.