School on my mind

Since high school I've known exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. And I am practicing in that profession currently. How I decided on my profession is a whole other blog post. With my chosen profession I knew that my education would require more than an undergraduate degree. I was fortunate to get accepted into graduate school right after college and obtained my master's degree 2 1/2 years later. I was happy to get all my schooling done with as I knew that if I ended up working after college it would be hard to find the motivation to return to graduate school later on. So doing what I've been doing for 8 years now it's been on my mind to possibly go back to school to get my doctorate. Since I already have my master's in my field, I could easily enroll in a doctorate program that is mostly done on-line with a few class meetings on campus. I could still work full-time but would need to find the motivation to get back into "school mode". Getting a doctorate degree wouldn't give me any more money but would definitely enhance my clinical knowledge in areas that weren't covered in my post-graduate program. And with more and more new graduates entering my field with doctorates it wold be nice to be on the same level playing field (at least in terms of degree). Plus having a doctorate helps my field in getting the increased autonomy it needs.

But going back to school would be at least a 1 1/2 year - 2 year commitment (one class taken at a time). With the hubby and I planning on try to have a kid in the near future, I can't imagine being pregnant and having a baby and working and trying to accomplish school at once. And being the age that I am I don't want to postpone kids until after school. I am definitely getting up there in age and starting to rot (is what my mother would tell you).

For now, it's a continued dilemma...