Manageable or not: full time graveyard worker and nursing student for junior college (day classes)?

predicament: being a husband, a father of one child, and a mortgage payment to pay, will it be realistic to be in a day schedule nursing program be manageable? what are my alternatives? quitting work to focus school but opt for a student loan?

Well, the long term benefits of a very worthwhile career which will give you skills that'll never go out of demand, need hardly be mentioned. The future bodes waaaaay better for you in that direction than you clinging to that graveyard worker job and running yourself into the ground (no pun intended).

Take it from somebody who knows all about the dedication, and the singlemindedness of purpose needed to focus on what you will have to learn. You will need adequate sleep, and lots of study time. But it will be taking you somewhere valuable and valid, step by step, day by day, lesson by lesson, test by test. You will be honing those skills and absorbing that knowledge, that will eventually bring you qualifications you'll be able to apply for just as long as you are able to go on working.

If I were you, I'd seriously begin investigating getting a student loan, and heck, you know what else came into my head just then? Why not start keeping notes on your life and progress along this road? I can smell a fascinating book about the journey of one hardworking man with a family and a mortgage payment, towards realising is dream of a successful profession that benefits society and at the same time brings enormous personal satisfaction. Your day by day battle to make it, with all the ups and downs, and irritations and hardships, but with the determination to never stop putting one foot in front of the other on a road with a beckoning destination.
I'd read an inspiring, motivating book like that, and I am sure many would.

There is a girl in my one philosophy class who works a full time job, trains for a marathon, is pledging to a sorority, and has the time to take 21 credits.

She was in the hospital this weekend because she literaly passesd out from the exahustion and had to be put on an intervenous drip because she had been eating cookies as her primary meal because they were the only thing she had time for...even so she still intends to follow this schedual she has set out.

So yes, it is "manageable", but your health will deteriorate greatly if you don't have any time to rest, and your school work will suffer if you have no time to study.

Don't bite off more than you can chew. I would do this go to school part time 6-9 credits, not full time. Try it. Or do what I did in college get a part time job at UPS working 4 hours shifts 5 days a week from 10-2 in the morning and have classes in the day. I did this for a semester and it worked fine. I needed money for a car and UPS pays great. I made 11 bucks an hour and benefits, plus if you get into a jam you have loans to fall back on. OK,taking out loans can be bad but losing a house is worst. When you do become a nurse you will make a lot of money.
Going to school is better in the long run. Heck I am 60,000 dollars in school loans but hey I have masters making 80,000
it is worth it instead of working at UPS i sit at a desk

I was a nursing student, a single mother, a girlfriend ( meaning I had to find time to spend with my boyfriend), and I worked part-time weekends at a hospital --with a mortgage payment. I did two 12 hour night shifts on the weekends.
You can do it- if you have a good support system. Meaning, will your wife let you off the hook for a few things for a couple of years? Nursing school is demanding. Aside from class hours, there is a lot of studying and clinical preparation. Eventually as a nurse , you will be in charge of 4-6 patient lives at one time. You have to know what you are doing.
With that said, if you need to take out a loan or two to get through. DO IT. The hospital I worked at paid $4500 a year for me to go to school, because I was a nursing student. Also, once you graduate, every hospital has loan repayment plans for the nurses. Check out the hospitals in your area. My hospital pays up to $12,000 of your student loans for you after a year of employment. Plus, most nurses now days get $1000-$5000 in a sign on bonus, which can be used to pay loans later.
Also, since I only worked weekends, I got paid and extra $4 an hour, on top of my base salary. After all my differentials , I averaged around an extra $6 or so per hour. Ask the hospital in your area if they offer weekend option pay.

Then after you pass the NCLEX take a week off with just your wife!