I work 50 hours per week hard labor. How the fuck do I go back to school? I want to do something like environmental science, ecology, marine biology, mycology for my bachelor’s and from there I’m not sure but I can’t keep breaking my body like this. I’m in the US, have no support network, and worried about how much everything costs and how to thread the needle of housing, food, tuition, loans, etc after quitting my job.
Honestly, I think that being a therapist might be the ultimate move but in my state you need a master’s to get licensed so my undergrad would just be something I want to learn and could fall back on. I love helping people and would orient myself towards ND and queer folks because that’s also what I am. Other than that I could see myself getting really into field work because I love being outside.
hmmm if you want to be a therapist, a BSc in marine biology might be a bit circuitous.
There are probably other job titles you could access that help people without doing a full masters.
If you haven’t done so yet, request a paper copy of course catalogues from some institutions (colleges and universities) nearby or elsewhere if you want to move. Just flip through them to get an idea of what’s available. You can get into health, education, or administrative with 6-12 months of training. There are all kinds of jobs. Have you thought about Disability Support Worker? It might be up your alley and the training is shorter. There are also various lengths of social work education programs from 6 months to MA. Firefighter? It’s a growth industry… But you have to be around cops all the time.
You can also try looking at it from the opposite angle… check out job postings where you want to live and consider education to match the job you want. Look at job websites for municipalities, schools and other institutions where unionization is likely.
When switching careers, consider how likely you are to get a union job.