Any Help For Single Father s Who Want To Go Back To School And Being Unable To Work While Doing So?

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I have read that article before. I work OT on the days of my shift if there is any. We don’t have a choice in that.

I do not want to be a medic. I have been an EMT for almost eighteen years. I like being an EMT and I see what medics go through. No thanks! Plus, I am trying to get out of EMS. I’m not getting any younger and the job is starting to take a toll on my body. My lower back has been hurting me for months.

I was joking around with the operations manager one day and said there aren’t many EMTs that are much older than I am. He said back with all seriousness, that’s because they either found a better career choice or crippled.

This job is very hard on the body. Eating healthy is almost non-existant. It’s mostly fast food because you are out on the road and on the go. Most times I am stuffing food down my throat while driving to the next call. Most nights I don’t eat dinner because by the time I get home I am going to bed about two hours afterwards. I might get lucky and have already eaten before I got home and was on the road. Most days I have eaten only one meal.

I don’t want to talk about the mental toll it takes on you.

I want out of EMS. I think close to eighteen years is a good run. I am good at what I do, but it is time to move on. Hence, the wanting to go back to school.

Thank you for your reply!
 
As sad as it is to say, sometimes there are just no good options.

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. So maybe looking at school, right now, isn’t a good idea.

Maybe you need to wait until the kids are older and need less care. Or possibly looking for, then moving jobs to one that would be more accommodating to a school schedule.
 
I did not read every post but from.what I read, how can you possibly keep up with having to stay up 3 days straight every week? You are gonna crack under the pressure or get yourself hurt.

I am not sure where you are from but here is what I did when I needed a job that paid better then $11.27 a hour, which is what I made 6 years ago.

I applied to be a apprentice in a construction trade. No experience necessary, I applied in June and was working in August and the starting pay was $16 a hour. 6 years later and I make more than double that plus a few bucks. Depending on where you live, the pay could start off more or less but my particular union. Is all over north America so you can probably find this apprenticeship program unless you live in a very rural area.

If construction is something you think you can do, you should consider it. PM me if you are and I’ll give you more details. Perhaps I can tell you how to get in.
 
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If you are single, I don’t think there is any realistic way to do this without having to work. If you have children to support (and who need your health insurance), that comes first. We have a responsibility to our families to provide for them, and sometimes that involves doing work we’d rather not be doing.

It probably makes more sense to wait to switch careers until your children are a bit older- it sounds like they are still young.
 
I’m guessing, from lonegraywof20’s descriptions of his situation, that construction work would be too physically demanding for him. Good idea, though. Usually construction workers don’t have to worry about joining a gym and working out, as their job is a workout! Wish I could say the same for mine.
 
lonegreywolf20, have you ever considered working in the hospital lab? Phlebotomy team? Or tech? Or in central processing (registering specimens, spinning them down, distributing specimens to the proper department?)

Training for phlebotomy only takes a few months. Perhaps you’ve already had some experience with this. We have a wonderful team of phlebotomists in our lab, and they are paid at least as well as you are paid.

The central processing people are trained on the job. I know several men who have children and a wife to support who work in our central processing department, so the pay is not awful.

And perhaps you would eventually get interested in working in the medical laboratory, which is what I do. A Medical Laboratory Technician is an Asssociates Degree, and a Medical Technologist (me) is a Bachelor’s Degree. We have had phlebotomists and central processing people, as well as hospital cafeteria workers, receptionists, etc. get interested in our lab, and complete the schooling and registry exam. It’s a good-paying job (although not as much as an R.N.).

And there is a massive nationwide shortage of lab techs! At the moment, we have five openings in our lab, and no applicants! The other hospitals in our city are also advertising for techs with little success. There just aren’t that many lab rats around!

The only thing is, as you know, is that lab techs don’t generally do a lot of patient interaction, so if you’re interested in that aspect of healthcare, lab work is generally not the best plan. (In smaller hospitals, the lab techs often do the phlebotomy, so they get the chance to be with patients.)

Our hospital reimburses tuition if the student agrees to work at the hospital for a period of time (usually five years).
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
I applied to be a apprentice in a construction trade. No experience necessary, I applied in June and was working in August and the starting pay was $16 a hour. 6 years later and I make more than double that plus a few bucks.
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Not exactly a relief for a mid-40’s body with back problems!
 
TheLittleLady said:
Not exactly a relief for a mid-40’s body with back problems
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Yeah, I did not read that part.

I will say however that there are plenty of in shape 40 and 50 year olds I have worked
With in the 6 short years that I have been in this industry. They could out work a lot of lazy younger guys. I am 34 myself and hope to be able to make it to 54 in this trade so I can retire with a full pension.
 
I can’t say that I have ever had any interest in phlebotomy. This may sound weird and all considering the profession that I am in, but I actually have a phobia to needles. I can handle them and see them being used on others, but a needle being used on me, nope. I avoid it at all costs. In phlebotomy classes as you may know, students practice on each other.

I just did a search of the five local hospitals and I’m not seeing a central processing job listed. I will keep looking however.

Thank you!
 
Unfortunately, 18 years of lifting heavy people in as many awkward ways as you can, because sometimes patients aren’t placed in a perfect position for lifting, as well as sitting in a truck for hours and then going and lifting that awkwardly placed person have taken it’s toll on my body.
 
Yes, they are still young. They are six and four to be exact.

I cannot stay in this job until they are older. I have to find something else less physically demanding and that pays more than $12.18 an hour. Which is the reason I would like to do the surgical tech program.

Their starting salary from what I can find is 20k+ more than I make now. It is also less physically demanding and for the most part is a Monday - Friday job with on-call weekends. Which means I have more time to spend with my family and I don’t have to worry about the schedule changes that I go through here.

They recently changed my schedule again from the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday schedule that I asked for to Monday. Wednesday and Friday. This is I think the sixth or seventh time that my schedule has changed in the 2 1/2 years that I have worked here. I cannot keep doing the schedule changes. So I need something more consistent too.
 
I also realize this is stuff I should have done when I was younger. I should have planned better for my future and found a real career, but I didn’t and I have no good reason that I didn’t.

So I am trying to make up for it now.
 
Heck, where I am from even being a security guard pays more then what you make. Have you considered security? I believe there is very little training involved and you do not have to be armed if you don’t want to. Plus, 99% of the time you are probably not going to be doing anything physical except maybe taking light strolls. Might be something to consider. I have a friend who is a least in her mid 50s and she works security in a senior home for like $16 a hour. She is unarmed too.
 
I just looked up their salaries on indeed for the state of Florida and the average is right around what I am making now. There are a few which are much higher, but they are out-of-state. Many are lower than what I get paid now.
 
Have you thought about moving to a state with higher-paying jobs? I realize that it would be hard to leave Florida and the gorgeous weather.
 
My guess is wild horses could not pull him away from his kids.
 
I cannot leave Florida. I have two children here from my previous marriage that I cannot leave or take from their mother.
 
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