What is the right decision?

[Dominic]

have no clue what you should do. I just have one question:

what in the hell are you having a child for when you're still in school andbarely making ends meet???

That's not the point, mom. But if you really want to know, I decided to down 3 bottles of wine last christmas and I guess I got caught up in the moment... But I'm excited to travel this new path...

[kiemo]

Unless you want to be working construction the rest of your life finish school.

Becuase once you start making the money at the construction gig you are going to find alot of reasons why you wont be able to quit becuase of the money it pays.

This isnt even considering the kid factor, which is huge also. Kids take time, lots of time. So putting together the loss of time + greater money in construction gig and it should be easy to see how a 6 month delay can easily turn into a 2 year delay, which can then easily turns into a lifetime delay.

[TxSteve]

gotta finish school

it will be a tough semester with all the changes; but go ahead and get it over with.

34$ an hour is pretty good pay (at your age/education); but you definitely don't want to be stuck there for a long time.

it will be much easier to finish school now and get into the "professional" world than it will be to take a semester off and get back into it

[Dave G.]

Finish school.

I know a lot of people who defer for a year and "planned" to return but never did for various reasons. They liked the job, or the pay, or they kept getting offers from other people to work... they never seemed to find enough time to get around to finishing their degree, which is going to hurt them in the long run. Without that degree, your options (and pay) in the future are going to be severely limited.

You should only quit school if you're happy not working in the field you're studying in, because there's a very big chance that once you do leave, you never will.

Get the degree finished. I understand the desire to sacrifice this for your family, but ultimately what's best for you is going to be best for them in the long run anyway. 10 years down the road you don't wanna be stuck in a job you hate because you never finished school, and have so many financial committments that you couldn't finish it even if you wanted to. You won't be as happy as you could be, and that's going to affect your family too.

[jakethebake]

A lot of big four-year schools have night classes or self-paced classes, depending on what classes you need. also, depending on what you need, you might be able to take evening classes at a local community college and transfer them to graduate. Check with a student advisor to make sure you know ALL your options.

[Zurvan]

I voted stay in school - if you leave, there's a very high chance you'll never finish. Construction is good work, but very hard. Consider if you want to do that for the rest of your life.

I change my mind if you will not have enough money to support the baby if you stay in school. Kids are expensive, but if you can provide for it, and finish your education, that's what will likely be best long term.

I went to college with a guy who had a baby at the end of his second last year. He was VERY tired last year, but he made it through, and he now has a good job, and it was worth the effort. It's possible to raise a baby & finish school - it's hard though.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
But I'm excited to travel this new path...

[/ QUOTE ]

Not the best way to go about it, but it sounds like your attitude is good and there's no point dwelling on the mistake. Plenty of people make great parents w/o a lot of money or being in ideal situations. It's just harder. Over the long-term if you really want to do well by your family though, make sure you finish the schooling.

[Rick Diesel]

Does the construction job give you benefits? This is a huge factor, as a lot of college kids that are still living on their parents benefits do not realize the cost involved here that you will need to take on if you quit school for yourself, let alone the cost of benefits for your child.

[durron597]

Night school/graduate in May.