thing is, i really want to go back to school, especially doing graphic design. the problem is not so much the tuition (having said that, one school is asking for $13,000/year! ), but how to support myself going back full time.

i'm not looking for answers, but feedback and maybe other people's experiences?

i'm single, no kids, no obligations other than credit card debts and i owe a bit of money to my brother. like i said, my OSAP loans are almost done ($20,000 and a waste of time later ).

i do have a goal in mind. namely, i want to do graphic design and study specifically that (it's really only offered full-time). someone had suggested to me to get some kind of apprenticeship, or even go into something like an ad agency and start at the bottom, ie. work as a junior. another suggestion was to start in my 'field', ie. as an admin asst, in an ad/graphic design agency and see what i can learn there.

another suggestion which i'm acting upon is independently creating a portfolio and shop it around. i'm working on the portfolio, but not sure about the shopping around part.

A friend of mine, when he was 30 years old, took a digital animation program in Vancouver that cost $10,000 for 11 months. His wife (no kids) was working and could pay the bills and he did get a student loan of $4000. I remember thinking that the program and school seemed kind of, well, rinky dinky and not a good use of one's time and money. However, it turns out he was hired by a company near Los Angeles, who employed another grad from the program, and paid my friend $50 k US per year. He has been gainfully employed in the industry ever since. So certificates can make a big difference.

On the other hand I have learned how to build databases, use advanced MS Excel and visual basic programming on my own, sometimes in the job where it was needed. I know other people who have paid many $1000's to learn exactly the same thing. However, it took being in the right places at the right time, and that took luck, and more than a bit of selling of myself and bringing work home to learn and get it done.

Also, after working in a steady job for so many years, you have become accustomed to a certain life style. I know from experience that lots of things can be sacrificed to make a budget stretch.

Maybe you could do all three things simultaneously, chop back budget, take the program and start flogging your graphic design skills (you said you already have them). Many people will see the 'certificate' just because you are in the program.