This makes me think you might benefit from taking a single part-time class after work. It lets you get your feet wet and see how you like it. If you crash and burn on that, you know school isn’t viable. If you do awesome and feel like you could have done work + 2 classes
You might also benefit from talking to people in the field, and see how far in to your training you’d need to be before you can “tag along” as an intern/apprentice/observer (I don’t know if psychiatrists do this? I know nurses and dentists do) - Again, something that lets you get a more hands-on feel without the full commitment.
If you’re still in the market for third alternatives, you could also look in to making a second income off of a hobby—freelance writing, code video games for the iPhone, etc.. There’s a wide variety of options out there, and you can generally teach yourself the relevant skills.
Lastly, keep in mind that changing your mind is allowed. If you do a year of school and find your marriage fraying, your grades dropping, you can step back, treat it as a sunk cost, and walk away if you need to. It’s not ideal, but it’s probably a worthwhile risk given the potential gains.
tl;dr: Get an idea of what it’s like via easy routes, ease yourself in. If it works, awesome. If it doesn’t, you haven’t lost as much. Be aware of burnout, and be aware of how BAD the looming burnout might be.
This makes me think you might benefit from taking a single part-time class after work. It lets you get your feet wet and see how you like it. If you crash and burn on that, you know school isn’t viable. If you do awesome and feel like you could have done work + 2 classes
You might also benefit from talking to people in the field, and see how far in to your training you’d need to be before you can “tag along” as an intern/apprentice/observer (I don’t know if psychiatrists do this? I know nurses and dentists do) - Again, something that lets you get a more hands-on feel without the full commitment.
If you’re still in the market for third alternatives, you could also look in to making a second income off of a hobby—freelance writing, code video games for the iPhone, etc.. There’s a wide variety of options out there, and you can generally teach yourself the relevant skills.
Lastly, keep in mind that changing your mind is allowed. If you do a year of school and find your marriage fraying, your grades dropping, you can step back, treat it as a sunk cost, and walk away if you need to. It’s not ideal, but it’s probably a worthwhile risk given the potential gains.
tl;dr: Get an idea of what it’s like via easy routes, ease yourself in. If it works, awesome. If it doesn’t, you haven’t lost as much. Be aware of burnout, and be aware of how BAD the looming burnout might be.