Since I lost my last job a little more than a year ago when I was starting my transition, I have been having a really difficult time finding my way back into a good paying full-time job. I have managed to get a part-time retail job, but I'm not happy there and the pay isn't high enough to be paying on my student loans. One of the things I always said at my old job while we were in the midst of recession was that I would go back to school for a graduate level degree if I were to ever lose the job as a way to escape from a bad job market until it recovered. Well, now that I'm in that boat I've been thinking that going to seminary might be the route I go if I do choose to go back to school.
First off, I should mention that I wasn't happy in my old job. I only stuck it out for as long as I did since I didn't feel like it would be possible for me to find better. When I look back, I often feel like I chose the wrong major back in college. I double-majored in chemistry and Spanish back in undergrad school, but I don't think that the sciences was the right choice for me given that I cannot seem to do lab work well. I've considered using my Spanish degree to start a second career, but I'm having a hard time at that since I lack experience. I hear that the best way to go second career is by going back for a higher degree. The reason why I'm looking at seminary is due to my recent experiences with having a loving and accepting church that has embraced me in my transition and the impact that has made on helping me to keep going during this difficult time.
The main reason I'm worried about going back to school is due to money. I already have an obscene amount of student loans that have been in deferment for over a year now and are just getting bigger from gaining interest. I'm afraid of going back to school only to end up in the same boat of being unable to find a job that pays for my loans and having a greater amount of debt. I'm also worried about it being impossible for me to be ordained as a transgender woman, especially considering the track record of my denomination (United Methodist) with allowing LGBT persons to serve openly.
The other big question is what I would do with my degree. I don't know that preaching is my thing so I'm trying to figure out what else would be out there. For the last year, social justice has been on my mind a lot. I also feel like my bilingual skills would make this a good direction for me to pursue. I'm still at the point where I can carry on a regular conversation in Spanish 6 years after graduation and without actively using my skills on a regular basis. In fact, the whole reason I chose that as a second major was since I was excelling at 300 level Spanish courses and really enjoying them. I have even thought about learning a 3rd language because of how much I enjoyed foreign language courses throughout high school and undergraduate.
So, those are my thoughts and questions. I'm sorry if this got to be a bit TL;DR for some people, but I'm trying to find some guidance as to where I might go next. I'm open to suggestions of schools to consider as well as resources for scholarships and financial aid. Once again, money is a huge concern here and I would like to know that I will be able to afford going back to school before I do it.
