haha its funny because you say that, yet as I sit here on a friday night studying for my chemistry exam monday imagine how many other people are doing the same thing
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Stay at it!
I have a friend in pharmacy school, she's loving it. We studied chemistry together for our bachelors degrees. We had plenty of nights together where our friends (film students, art, business, environmental studies, exercise sports science, etc.) were out partying and we were at home studying physics, multivariable calculus, physical chemistry, differential equations, or any other nerdy sounding material. None of those partying friends of mine are employed in the area they studied (yes they've been trying), most are cursing school and just getting by working the same types of jobs they had in high school.
My friend in pharmacy school went right to school, I took a year off. By taking a year off, I mean I work night shifts as a maintenance tech at a hotel. I make $12/hour in a beautiful area, but yes it is tough to save money. I drive a 96' pickup, have a 2004 sled (motor is junk now though and I won't be repairing it this season for $ reasons), don't travel much at all. I would say I live within my means, but not without effort.
$23,000 before tax sucks, so I'm going back to school in August at the University of Wyoming to study more chemistry. I really like working in chem labs and using my brain. I don't enjoy removing hair snags from bath tub drains and kissing every guest's *** to make them feel important and want to return to the hotel in the future. I'm not lazy; my bosses are bummed that I'm leaving, but I need to do something more fulfilling as well as make more money. Now I could probably move to a larger city and work as a chemistry lab technician and make about 35k a year in an entry level position, but those jobs tend to be monotonous and I value location higher than that salary.
I should also mention that the research chemistry graduate students do is valuable(anything from new tech stuff to energy production and everything in between), so both the public and private sector provide funding for us to use. Some of that funding goes to cover our living expenses (stipend) and some covers materials/equipment costs. Then the school uses good research results as a marketing tool to bring tuition paying students to the school, and so long as we teach an undergraduate lab class, they waive our tuition. Its a pretty sweet deal, but will be hard work, long hours, and I'm anticipating 6 days a week minimum.
Of course there are a handful of younger people around driving new vehicles, always have the best gear, and never work more than 15 hours a week. These are known as Trustafarians, though there are more of them as you move east of here (I'm on the Western slope of CO).
Anyway, I do know a few guys my age doing very well for themselves. They all share a common thread, work ethic. Anything from a professional land resource manager (running title on land) to a diesel mechanic, these guys like their occupation and put in the time to do the jobs right.
