Thinking about going back to school
 

I am thinking about going back for a master's degree. Somebody is offering to pay me $22k/yr plus tuition to do research, and I am trying to figure out how to swing that.

What would you do/change in your life if you suddenly had to reduce your income by 65%?

and will your income increase by 200% once you get the degree?

Increase 200% over what it is now? Probably not, but it will increase a bit AND I will be an expert in a much better field than I am in now. Right now I am a very generic "mechanical engineer" with no special skills or experience. If I do this, I will be at the cutting edge of the carbon fiber industry, doing things that are impossible right now. I assume that would make me significantly more valuable to somebody. Especially the company funding this research.

If this is something that really interests you I would find a way to make it work. You are building a useful skill and making an investment in yourself. I am not saying it will be easy or even fun but it could change your entire life.

you suggested you make roughly 63K a year currently and it will decrease 65% to 22K.

I'm asking: Once you get your masters, will you make roughly 200% more than the 22K you'll be stuck at for the next few years (~66K)?

Basically I'm asking if you'll make money down the road with this venue and it's worth the loss of income now.

Who would you work for when you are done? "Cutting Edge" usually means more money, but the flip side to that is that there are fewer companies that are interested in your new skill set.

My senior project advisor is good buddies with some shoeless hippie who started a little business in Mojave called Scaled Composites.

My advisor's name is George Leone and he now teaches composites at Cal Poly SLO. I'm sure he could help you decide.

I have actually had to turn down 2 job offers that would force me to move because they are a paycut that I could not financially take without living in the projects eating ramen. The flipside, is the growth potential was much better than where I am.

So to answer your question, there is very little I could do to reduce my income by 65%.

That is pretty much my train of thought. I just cannot wrap my head around the money. I have written out a budget, and $22k covers rent, insurance, my one car payment, university fees, gas, and that is about it. The girlfriend has offered to buy all the food, and probably will pay more than half of the rent, but I do not know beyond that. I am proposing to her soon, and after that we will probably have "our money" instead of "my money" and "her money" and that might make it a little easier to fathom. After that, combined would be over $60k I think.

Oh. I rounded, but that is about right. I will absolutely make more than $66k when I am done, though I do not know exactly how much.

What means you? He sounds like he has relevant information to my scenario, though I'm not sure what specifically you're saying.

I'm saying he's got a lot of industry-specific experience as well as technical knowledge and he's a good networking source. He worked with Burt Rutan 20some odd years ago and is now an educator.

I'd find more dudes like that to chat with about how to move into your preferred technical area before committing one way or the other.

I can see if he's available to let you bend his ear.

I am pretty sure about the actual schooling part being worth it, I just don't know how to survive on such a huge pay cut. I know there are plenty of people in the world who make less than that, but I am honestly baffled and impressed that they do not starve. I made up a budget last night, and with the girlfriend paying 3/4 of the rent and all of the food, I still only have $50/mo left over after expenses.

Sometimes leveraging a manageable amount of debt is your best option. Contrary to popular belief, when handled correctly, debt is a powerful tool.

As true as that is, I am going to give it a shot living paycheck to paycheck first and only incur debt if I absolutely have to. Out of curiosity, what kind of debt would be best for a situation like this? Racking up credit card debt does not seem wise, and tuition is paid for so I can't imagine student loans are available (though I will be responsible for my own fees and books and stuff, so maybe).

except i can sell my house for more than i "bought" it for...

Student loans will still be an option as long as you're a student. Shop a rate and pick a good one. I've actually found, however, that taking out an auto loan is a lower rate than student loans. We took out a loan against our Jetta that's paid off. Problem, of course, is no deferred payments on an auto loan.

Anyway, take out some student loans to make it happen if you get in a bind. Problem solved.

Change your lifestyle live on 22k a month. Roll that other 40k per year into some financial plan and you probably couldn't make up that difference with your educational change.

At a really conservative ~5% you're doubling your investment every 5 years (after 5 years you'd be north of ~220k another 5 years and you're over 500 etc...). As you can see your money will start out performing your job changes even if your pay were to increase 50% or more.

Leveraging your manageable debt is not your best option when you make a substantial amount of money already. The financial loss is too great and is a considerable loss that can not be recovered. Obviously it's a difference in philosophy but that's how I operate. I've averaged more than 10% on my portfolio in the last 12 years.

I wish I could educate 18 year olds on a regular basis about saving and compound interest but I only ever get 40+ year olds and have to take bigger crappier risks when investing. Their results are nowhere near as good.

Someone making 30k a year out of high school could easily make more money then a Dr or a Lawyer by the time they retired (given all was equal). By the time they were 34 the high school graduate would have netted so much more (they now have money to grow instead of paying off debt). Anyway. Do it if you love it. From a financial stand point of pure numbers it doesn't make sense in my opinion.

On a different note some people have extreme passions and truly love what they do. I have never found that in my many jobs. I believe I've found a nice balance of my job being pretty good. It's not my dream job but i figure after 40 I can settle down and retire from normal work and work for my passions. I'm content.

That is where I am. I don't hate my job, but I am not passionate about it. I don't see any good way to get into something I am passionate about with my current education and skillset, so this masters program would put me there.

Don't forget the difference between the situations say five years after you're done.
Compare some passion with added skills to less passion and stagnant skills.

Doing nothing does not mean that everything will be the same over time (entropy at play).

I've been at 21K-26K since 2011. 2010 I was unemployed and living on my savings and odd-jobs the first 6 months.

You can live on 22K, especially if you have someone else covering some expenses like rent.

Your cap on rent and utilities is 600 a month. Get smart about heating the place. blankets on windows, make sure your doors seal well and either fix it yourself or bitch about it to management. Get used to it being a bit cold inside. I am blessed with an actual working fireplace that not just cosmetic. I more or less heat with wood that I get free from neighbors who have huge old crappy cottonwood trees. In ME I bet firewood can be had cheap.

No idea on how to get cheap internet at home. I assume its essential to a masters degree. That sucks.

I get no-cost health insurance, and that's ficken huge. So thankful for that. Sucks to be everyone else in this income bracket.

You don't eat out more than 2 times per month and that's not more than 20 bucks. Sadly, this includes bar tabs. You can usually get a decent burger and a beer for 20 bucks or a tad more at a small local place. Learn to love cooking, and budget time for it. it also heats the place a bit. In my home you will find basically nothing pre-made. Its all crap and its expensive in terms of $ though cheap in terms of time. You buy potatoes and produce and eggs and cheese and bread. Meat is a rare treat, though you can make a damned nice steak dinner for less than a trip to a bar.

Used Tires. Kiss those nice Rivals and the 6ULs they ride on goodbye folks. Edit: Just got new tires. I lack discipline.

Doing this and with 0 debt I can save about 300 a month right now, even with the odd occasional gotcha expense.

Regarding school: Most of its a totally suckers game for people. We are creating a whole new lower class with degrees worth less than the tuition. Which is fine, previously our economy was dependent on getting people into homes they could not afford. This is great, we get sort-of-well-educated people handing over every dime while being productive now rather than saving. It might be enough to prop up our economy for 5 years or so.

Your situation is obviously very different from that. But I would strongly suggest you do some informational interviews with firms that might employ you with the degree that would not without and see what you can really find out first hand. it sounds like you are on track to do exactly that.

Without doubt, getting someone else to cover the costs of training and education is the way to go. Working on that myself right now :)

You know it's not free tuition if its costing so much money... Probably be better off if you kept job and paid your tution and did it part time. Mind blown.

Spare tires poverty life sound like mine....but I was *banking* much more than 22k a year.

IMHO you need to decide if the education is worth it. If you lose interest and decide to break the lease on your life after 1-2 years, are you willing to start over at entry level with a touch of real world experience and a touch of research experience?

Seriously dude:

If this will open the door to a more enjoyable career, DO IT. You're getting PAID to go to school and get an education. Yes you're giving up income in the meantime, but essentially you're giving up, what, $120k in exchange for your schooling??? (3 years of 40k/year lost income).... That's nothing. I'm going to be paying some $90k for tuition only for my wife's schooling, plus books, plus still have to provide for our way of life over the next 3 years.

You have an opportunity to get PAID to go to school to do something you love. How can you possibly pass that up? Live as cheaply as possible. Have the GF pitch in a little more. If necessary, take out a few student loans to make up the difference.

Enjoy your new career, and PROFIT. The quality of life to be gained by doing something you enjoy should not be understated IMO.

I'm all for going back to school esp if you feel stagnant/unhappy in your current situation and there's more earning potential in the future. Imagine how you'll feel in a 5-10 years doing the same stuff you're doing now. You'll want to turn a gun on yourself everyday walking into that office.

Oh, and in case I didn't mention earlier, this is the same program/degree/position I was trying really hard to get into 3 years ago, but they couldn't get funding together, so it fell through. I gave up on it and resigned myself to my vanilla career path for a while, but then the friend offered it up last week.

I bit the bullet straight after undergrad and got my masters straightaway, but it allowed me to get the job I wanted (and still have). It has been worth it every moment. I've paid back every bit of what it cost me and am only 32, so i'd say go for it wholeheartedly.

So why're you waiting? There could be worse things then taking a chance and finding it wasn't for you.... You didn't say but I assume still get to live in the great state of Maine?

University?

Good luck!

I'm not waiting. I am going to submit my re-application today. Yes, I would stay in Maine. I would have to move back up to Orono (yeah, university of Maine) from my current location 3 hours south of there. I like the Orono area better anyway.

Student loan. Seriously. Go to the school and talk to a financial advisor. They will help you get a loan to pay for your food, rent/mortgage/electric bills/books/etc. while you are a full time student. That 22k/year is meant to be spent on things that will keep you sane, (tires/gas money/occasionally going out to eat/obamacare...oh wait, if you're making 22k/year, then I'm paying for your healthcare instead of you.../model rocketry club membership dues/etc.) You shouldn't be trying to stretch pennies when you're getting your masters - you might just have to spend a little bit less on two-week vacations to Lanai.

The wifey just started her masters part-time. She was racking her brain for months trying to figure out how to pay for it all. It's almost as if we "old" people are convinced that student loans are meant for teenagers coming out of high school. Once I explained to her the costs/benefits of a student loan, it was a no brainer for her - and she's continuing her full-time job in the process.

I will see how I fare for a little while on 22k first; I just hate the idea of debt hanging over my head when I graduate. I don't have any loans now.

Canadian here, so a bit of a different context. Just make sure the school from which you get degree has some currency in the field, if you know what I mean. When I finished my Bachelor's (Economics), all my profs told me to the do M.A. and told me to do it at one of a handful of schools. If I didn't go to one of those, they told me not to bother.

I have no regrets about doing my M.A. It has opened so many doors.

- Masters in Eng are pretty rare and are sought after, at least around here
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Absolutely do it. In the engineering field a MS is the sweet spot from a cost/benefit perspective. A MS is significantly more valued than a BS and then the incremental benefit of a PhD is relatively smal. I don't know if you mentioned how long the program is but you should be able to finish a MS in two years which is a drop in the bucket in the big picture. Don't be afraid to take some student loans, consider it an investment in yourself.

Yeah, Portland isn't the same as Orono... Anyway, good luck to you and FWIW I agree on the 'no debt if I can do it' thing. It leaves you with a lot more options later on.

:vash2:loans

Yous a ninja.

I haz a sad for you for that much loans. Worth it?

I'll bet I could live on 22k/yr in a place like Orono. I might dream of more sometimes, but I'll bet I could live comfortably enough on that. Knowing that it's not forever, that there's a clear and distinct finish line would make it easier.

My thoughts exactly. If I were going up alone, I would find a 3 bedroom house or something and get a couple roommates, rent would be $300/mo, I'd eat really cheap, carpool everywhere (and ride my bike to school/work). Instead my fiancee doesn't want a roommate, but she will be making decent enough money that we can afford $1000/mo in rent anyway I guess. Just got engaged on Friday, so I still haven't really transitioned my thoughts to "our money" yet but I imagine that will help a bit. Then I won't feel like I'm mooching quite as much.