How Do You Pay for College Without Help from Parents

sullivlo

OPHereAgain wrote: »

<Snip> No need to quote lengthy posts

Hi OP,

As I posted previously, I was in the exact same situation as you regarding fees etc, so I did the PME with Hibernia and got work subbing in school to pay my expenses etc. I had no financial input from anyone else.

Regarding your subjects... they are my subjects too. I am currently covering a maternity contract for maths (my primary degree has a lot of maths credits) and I have no science hours. The maths conversion course is heavily oversubscribed and doesn't run every year. Also there is a massive difference between liking maths and standing up in a classroom to teach it.

Read my previous post. I have been in your shoes. There are options available but you need to be willing to work for them. There is no magic wand that will magically produce the required money for you.

Finally... have a think on the why you want to be a teacher. If it is for June July and August, there are still 9 months of the year to work, and it's not as simple as it looks. I would advise you to speak with a principal or deputy principal to see about maybe doing some subbing for a few classes, not necessarily your subjects but to be in a classroom environment where you're in charge, to make sure that it is something that you love. I only say this because so many people get in to the classroom assuming they will love it and their reality is not the same. I think 7 people on my cohort with Hibernia quit a few days after our first placement began.

Feel free to post any questions. I am happy to share my experience.

ILoveYourVibes

HelpMePleaseImPoor wrote: »

How does anyone afford masters who don't have parents to rely on?

Get a good full time job that pays well do the masters part time. Make sure there is flexibility involved.

Airyfairy12

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Get a good full time job that pays well do the masters part time. Make sure there is flexibility involved.

Theres no part time option for the PME unless she goes the Hibernia route but it costs 20k

Floricwil

Just to add, I don’t think you’re coming across entitled or bitter either. Genuinely just want advice on how to fund an expensive course without having financial backing. There is nothing wrong with that. For as many people out there who have to fund them selves through college, there are plenty of people out there who also have a helping hand from their parents. There is no doubt that this helping hand makes a massive difference. Looking at these people and realising the differences that it makes for them does not make you entitled or bitter. It’s just observant. And as somebody else noted, it sounds like not only have your parents not financially supported you, the fact that they have stolen from you makes me think that they have actively unsupported you and your education.

From talking to the PMEs in my school, the ones whose parents have not helped them out financially have gotten loans. Maybe this is something you will have to do.

To cover your day-to-day costs, you may need to get a part-time job. Alot of PME students in my school would’ve had part-time jobs on the weekend. During the summer, you can invigilate the exams and correct them afterwards. However the pay for this isn’t great and you don’t get payment for this until November so it may be worth while getting a completely different summer job in a shop for instance. While in the school, you can ask your principal for subbing work. This can be very inconsistent so I would not depend on it.

If you have your heart set on teaching, I would say go for it. As you say yourself the time will pass. If you start the course in 2021, by this time in 2023 you can be qualified.

Best of luck with everything. It sounds like you have had a tough run up to now.

Blush_01

OPHereAgain wrote: »

Hi everyone op here. I would like to say thanks for the advice but I think I didn't explain some of the terminology or what it means so for clarity sake;

Hey OP.

Have you tried to get subbing in a school to see if you'd even like teaching? Have you registered with the teaching council through Route 3 so you can get paid to do this? Depending on where you're living, you might find that helpful to see if the PME in the UK is worth it for you?

I'm doing a 2 year full-time masters at the moment. Living at home, a fair bit older than you. Age shouldn't be the defining element to your decision. I know people with good and bad jobs who have masters and who have no degrees. You might be putting obstacles in your own way.

If you're certain the PME is for you, then go for it. But if you're doing it because you don't know what else to do / you think it'll be easy, you're going to be just as frustrated at the end of the course when you're getting part time contracts that don't cover the rent.

Best of luck with it all.

Homelander

When I did my masters it was after years of saving up money while working full-time in a relatively low paid job, then working part-time while doing the masters, living week to week, sometimes barely making rent. I'm in my mid 30's and it's only now I feel like my career is even starting to be honest and I'm in a position to start saving properly again for the next step.

I think the OP does need a slight reality check... it's perfectly fine to be frustrated and feeling like life is slipping by, that's natural given the hardships and unexpected obstacles mentioned. It happens a lot of people though. Not everyone gets help from their parents, and most definitely not everyone is happily sailing along the career ladder at age 30.

OscarMIlde

Would you consider applying for an MLA job in a hospital? They are quite well paid for the work involved, and would allow you to save for a masters.

Claw Hammer

<Snip no need to quote long post.

Any of my friends who did masters had their parents pay their fees, rent, and all other expenses, they didn't even have jobs in their UG or masters. I've put off going back to college for long enough; I worked all throughout my UG, sometimes multiple jobs at the same time, and still managed to get the best results out of my friends but yet I'm the only one who hasn't gone on to do any further education and had the worst paying job out of the lot of us.

I did have money put aside but unfortunately I've had to take a deep dig into them this year due to being on SW/very expensive medical procedures that the state would not cover. I've also had a parent rob some money off of me so there's that too....I'm not like my friends. I have no one to help me financially, everytime I pay my rent it feels like a sucker punch to the gut, I've lived off 9cent packs of noodles for a few weeks at a time this year. When I was in college my dinner tended to be tomato soup I made from canned tomatoes or half a pack of cous cous which were about 60cent in Aldi.

The course I want to do (PME; 6k per year for fees for 2 years and then rent and living expenses) does not have a financially viable option like springboard, or so I believe. How does anyone afford masters who don't have parents to rely on? I know some people get loans but they need to start being paid back straight away, you don't get a grace period till you start working and SUSI is only 2k per annum towards the fees, no maintenance. I can't do it through springboard, so how do others pay their way through to college who don't have the bank of mum and dad to rely on.[/QUOTE]

There are 3 ways to pay for college without help from family.
1. Get sponsorship.
2. Getr a scholarship.
3. Pay for it yourself.

In the card game of life everyone is dealt a hand. Some get good cards like a supportive, well off family. Others get a poor and obstructive family. Whatever you get it is up to everyone to play the cards they get. Once an adult it is a matter of finding a path. If you have the brains and ambition you can achieve your targets.
I come from a poor family and often think it would have been great if I came from a better off family. Straight into work before the LC even ended. There is nothing I can do about it other than do the best with what i have.
You need to think laterally. Forget about your peers who have family support. Find other people like yourself if you need to but whatever you do, don't wallow in self-pity.

JustAThought

OP a it sounds like you’ve been struggling financially for too many years and need a break.

I know someone at the moment doing teaching in Maynooth - its almost all virtual and they now have a 30 hour a week job while ‘studying’. It will pay for a car for them - but would probably pay for year 2 for you if you got a CU loan for
year 1. Or took a job for a few
months and paid a chunk off the fees upfront.

I diversified from my original degree and caReer path a few times. I two cases I worked full time and odd hours and paid it myself - BUT I negotiated with the college a payment plan which was not something they officially did - but I put together a viable positive case and they agreed to it. That allowed me pay the 10k+ fees I was supposed to pay upfront when I didn’t have it.


You say you have been ill and on SW for some time. Do you have a case officer you can petition? I know someone whose professional qualification (1yr) was funded by them (Project Management) - it dosn’t necessarily have to be a springbord course or on their list to be funded but you will need a positive plan to positively present to them.

Then could emergency SW office payments help with deposit for a room and also SW to get rent allowance. You are now an adult if nearly 29. You have no support from your parents and no income - so negotiate with it. That is what tens of thousands do. Why do you think the ‘homeless’ figures are so high?

follow your dream but focus on a positive outlook - I lived with a teacher (twice+) and they are suposed to be leading by positive instruction and positive support. This is a forum for asking and complaining all right but if you had that level of honesty or outlook at an interview or were olanning to be that way in front of a class every day for a year (or life) I can’t see that they’d prioritise you.

Finally - where are you based? Can you get a (different) pharma job somewhere with your qualifications and give yourself a break - move out to rent a not too expensive houseshare room and put a few hundred a month aside for college fees but keep the job going . There are 7 months from April til Sept - enough to earn a chunk of the fees and negotiate a payment olan with the other ideas above. You’re too smart and too young to have this level of despair and misery. You need and deserve a break and some joy and happiness and not endless frugality.

r93kaey5p2izun

OPHereAgain wrote: »

I had a cousin who got a permanent teaching job a few years ago shortly after qualifying without connections (his subject was woodwork so it wasn't a highly in demand subjects like Irish or Maths), I know he is the exception but I am trying to stay positive here.

Just to note OP, so you understand the reality when comparing your prospects to your cousin, that Woodwork is an extremely in demand subject. More so than Maths, and at least equal to Irish. I know several schools who have had no takers for full hours permanent Woodwork jobs over the past two years. Impossible to get a Woodwork teacher to stay in Dublin especially! Biology and Science will not offer anywhere near as good a chance. Not the worst subjects as you said, but please be aware your cousin had one of the most in demand subjects.

Airyfairy12

OPHereAgain wrote: »

The UK option sounds good however I know that it's been very difficult for people who trained in the UK to have their teaching qualification recognised in Ireland but yeah that seems like the most viable option atm.

Liverpool offer a course that pays you to do the pgde, Scotland is another good option for cheap fees and lower living costs, you can also sub while on placement so that would cover living costs. It is difficult to get the qualification recognised by the teaching exam and you will have to do the Irish history of education exam but its doable, there are lots of UK trained teachers working here.

ILoveYourVibes

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

Theres no part time option for the PME unless she goes the Hibernia route but it costs 20k

Ok.

Sorry I didn't know this fact OP.

OP do you have anyone else who can help besides parents ? Partner etc? Other family?

If not you could work and save for some years. Then do the course.

You could do a diff course with better flexibility.

Or you might just have to accept you can't do it.

Or if you are comfortable taking on debt. You can try to get a loan to cover somethings. But loans never cover as much as you need a lot of the time. But it might be worth looking into.

Oranage2

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Ok.

Sorry I didn't know this fact OP.

OP do you have anyone else who can help besides parents ? Partner etc? Other family?

If not you could work and save for some years. Then do the course.

You could do a diff course with better flexibility.

Or you might just have to accept you can't do it.

Or if you are comfortable taking on debt. You can try to get a loan to cover somethings. But loans never cover as much as you need a lot of the time. But it might be worth looking into.

I'm not sure the pme is 20k, it's 15k but with a 1600euro tax deductible. Then 1500 for the gaelteach, so probably closer to 15k

Blush_01

Oranage2 wrote: »

I'm not sure the pme is 20k, it's 15k but with a 1600euro tax deductible. Then 1500 for the gaelteach, so probably closer to 15k

No need for the Gaelteacht for Secondary.

If you pay the €15,000 over 2 tax years, you're looking at a €900 rebate per year, the max annual fee claim is €7,500 with a €3,000 deductible before you can claim your 20% back.

OP, if you really want to do this, register under Route 3 at the moment and apply for subbing jobs, once you have your TC number you can get paid for subbing, they're howling for subs at the moment. You have 3 years to sit the History of Irish Education exam then.