Working and having a good career may not be enough for people who have a passion for academic pursuit. Having graduated from higher education also means salary raise. But before quitting your job and be a student again, you should consider some things.
Academic for passion or career
Contemplate the motivation for your desire to continue studying. Which one is the primary motivation, to get a raise or to get knowledge that is entirely different from your career? For example, if you have years of experience in working professionally as an accountant, but your passion is to get a degree in pure math, the two subjects intersect with each other. During the enrollment, you can get part time jobs that deal with statistics or selling your service as a private accountant. Strengthen your online profile on LinkedIn and seek for a gig that spares you time for studying. Also, prefer to look for a part-time job online, since it is more efficient and effective.
But if your desired subject is different from your expertise, then you can use your hobby to get the extra income. If you are good with teaching kid, your foreign language skill can get you translation job or part-time teaching job.
Do not get entangled with a difficult side job, because your passion is in an entirely different field and is going to spend much of your energy and time. If you pursue astrophysics, for example, but your previous career is in culinary, try to get extra cash from part-timing as a kitchen helper instead of aiming at the primary chef position, even if you feel qualified for that. The point is, do not waste your experience, but also do not overburden yourself while doing the part-time job.
Studying abroad
Use the currency difference to your advantage. If you live in countries with strong economy, then studying in good universities abroad with lower currency rate can be a good choice. There is a lot of benefits for this option. You can learn a new language, meeting new friends (which also means expanding your networks), and getting the chance to know the working culture of another country.
Enrolled in a good university abroad can also give you access to scholarships that are not accessible from your country. Consider hitting the good marks throughout the semesters, getting scholarships, and then do research your career.
What to do with the degree
Pursuing pure passion is a good thing, but you need to think of what to do with your career. Do you want to change it? Or somehow, you’ve managed to find a connection from both fields, and plan to build a business with your synthesized knowledge.
Being a lecture is a noble profession. You need to consider this profession if your academic interest is in fields like history, politics, or philosophy. Some universities offer double majors, and you should think of taking two majors: one is of your career, and another is your passion.