I'm at a bit of a crossroads, having a mid-life crisis as it were, and I would like the advice of disinterested third parties. I have a reasonably good idea of the response I would get from my husband and my Dad.
I am considering returning to University, and am a bit stuck considering all the pros and cons and consequences.
Background
I'm 44 and my husband is 43. We are new mustachians. We've spent our working lives essentially spending everything we've earned. We have no debt, but no assets either. We are already making headway after a few weeks effort.
He is in the military and has 7-12 years left in his contract depending on whether or not he chooses to convert his service from 20 to 25 years. If he works till 55, the resulting pension will be more than sufficient to live comfortably on. If he predeceases me after retiring, the survivor's pension will provide me a modest income, half of his pension entitlement.
Goals
We are planning to purchase a home in 2 to 3 years in the area of his final posting, and will be retiring there. Our goal is to retire by 56/55, have the house paid off, and live life on our own terms.
Conundrum
I returned to work after doing some University and spending time as a homemaker. Previous to this my background was in Administration. I have a combined total of 18 years of experience spread from Reception to Office Manager positions, but no formal qualifications. I can't find work in my field in our current city because I am unilingually English and Bilingualism is a requirement here. Currently I am stuck working full time relief in a part time designated position and underpaid for what I do. I earn roughly a third of what I used to earn, and I have no benefits or paid vacation. It's pretty much a dead end job. It just provides some income.
I am fully capable of doing rather more with my life, I just ... haven't. My average grades in Uni were 95%, and I didn't really have to kill myself to achieve that, I just treated it like I treat any job and do my best.
I have already applied to my program of choice, I'm just trying to decide what to do should the acceptance come.
I've applied to the Bachelor of Information Technology program at one of the local Universities. It offers a co-op option, which appeals to me as I have zero experience in that field and no contacts at all. The tuition is reasonable. There is a used bookstore close to campus where I know I can get materials at half price or better. The Campus is a bike rideable distance from my house, and for bad weather days, a commuter train runs right through the middle.
Employment prospects seem solid, and salary levels are not shabby, certainly more than I am making now.
The short term financials (and maybe interim term) are what is making this decision difficult. We have no savings from which to pay tuition. If I continue to work, our household income disqualifies me from government backed student loans. If we take out military student loans then our monthly expenses increase. My personal credit rating is pretty crappy so I probably won't qualify for a student line of credit, though my husband may qualify for a personal line of credit if the bank is willing to ignore me.
If we are very mustachian and I continue to work my current hours, we could pay for it ourselves. Working hours would present a difficulty though. I've seen the sample timetable for the BIT program, and I would be restricted to working nights and weekends, and one of the most important timeframes for my job is Friday from 6am to 2:30 pm. And how feasible would it be to work full time and earn kick ass grades at the same time - with kids and a husband and a household?
What is your opinion of this? Should I just work this crappy job that is far below my ability? Should I stretch, take a risk and put my abilities to the test? What financial approach should I take to this? Any and all advice/guidance/suggestions would be greatly welcome.