This was the first ever semester of college for my girlfriend. There was a program at the private college down the street that interested her so she decided she would pursue it. As it turns out, it’s not going to work out for her because she learned almost immediately that the job market in this area is saturated with graduates from this program and if she was lucky enough to get a job in the field upon graduation the starting pay would be a fair bit less than she’s getting in her current vocation. Even though she knew this close to the beginning of the semester and wanted to bail then, I and some of her friends encouraged her to stick it out for the semester. I thought maybe she would change her mind and decide to complete the program anyway. (She’d definitely have gotten a job.) Or maybe, somewhere along the way something else would interest her and she would pursue that. Or even that she would just simply enjoy the academic life, like I did, eventually. Well, slap me and call me dumb ass, because she is not me. I sometimes like to think I know what’s good for people when I should just not think at all.
She is far too pragmatic and centered in the economics of the situation. In reality, it’s an overpriced program that isn’t worth the time or the resulting wage. Plus the loans to be repaid. She’s already decided she’s not going back next semester. I was hoping that she’d pursue something else, even at another (cheaper) school… she really doesn’t like what she’s doing now. Is being a nurses aide the kind of work you do through retirement age? I can’t see it because it’s so physically taxing. But again, this isn’t about me. I just love her and want her to be happy in her work too. She’s incredibly smart, has a mind like a trap and an aptitude for science. She’s done fantastic – she’s going to get an A in Anatomy and Physiology, and is likely to get A’s in the rest of her classes too. Through it all she’s been miserable. She absolutely hates that she doesn’t have time for the domestic engineering and the other things she enjoys; playing her instruments, reading, watching science programs, playing computer games with me, spending time with the dog and the bird. She doesn’t like having to do anything she doesn’t want to, especially when there are deadlines involved. She’s said if she could find work to do at home she would. But what? So she’s gonna quit school. Truthfully, her misery has been misery for me too and I miss her.