<prompt> Human: Hi rpersonalfinance TL;DR: The title says it all. I want to quit my job and go to school full time, but I am not sure if thats a good financial decision.I am 29 years old as of today, and I really hate where I am in life. Ever since I was little, I had big dreams of becoming a scientist when I grew up. I still am just as passionate about the sciences, with particular emphasis on environmental and atmospheric science. Due to a series of unfortunate events during high school, I grew into a depressed adolescent and gave up on my life. Sorry if that sounds like an excuse, I was immature. I spent years climbing out of that funk, got a job at a telecommunications giant when I was 20, and Ive been with them ever since. Ive moved up in the company, slowly, but I make less than 50kyear and I am not passionate about what Im doing.In 2015 I began part time classes at a community college. I have accumulated about 20 credit hours since, and at this rate, I wont have my degree until Im well into my 30s. I dont want to sit at my desk job for the next 6 years while I work through school. Additionally, I dont make that much for someone who lives in the Bay Area of California. Jobs in the meteorology field would nearly double my income, and Id be doing something I love.Despite my low salary, my job provides me with some incredible benefits: medical, dental, 401k, over 200hrsyear of PTO, and most importantly tuition reimbursement. I currently do not have student loans, I have about 50k in my 401k, and a 5k emergency fund that I have been slowly draining due to rising rent costs. If I were to quit my job today, I obviously dont have savings to live on. Community colleges in California are cheap, so Id continue there until I have to transfer to a state college to finish the degree. Ive estimated that my cost of tuition and books would run about 8k-9k, but Im not sure how I would pay rent and other living costs. Is this how student loans get so out of control? Has anyone had to face this challenge before? What do other people do in this situation?  <response>: You can be going anywhere from half to full-time solely with online andor evening classes if you really desired. I took 11 credits multiple semesters in a row plus summer term classes while working full-time. Take advantage of the tuition reimbursement - as long as theres no big retention strings attached e.g. You must stay 2 years after completion or pay all of it back.Hell, Id even try to use your PTO for taking day classes - like take an 8:30-10 TuTh class and just ask to come in at 10:30 those days and use PTO for the hours. That would make taking more classes even more possible while working. 