Do I quit my old job for something new?

Hi M20 Ive been working as a dialysis technician for about nine months, and I genuinely love my job. Even though I hate waking up at 4 AM, I come to work with a smile on my face every day. I’ve grown to really care about my patients and coworkers, and I take a lot of pride in the work I do. I’ve also been doing well enough that they recently started training me in other areas of the job, which makes me feel like I’m progressing and becoming more valuable there.

My biggest problem is the pay. $20 an hour is decent, but I’ve started realizing that a lot of my coworkers who are older than me have more financial freedom because they have partners or family support. I’m trying to build that stability for myself, and right now I’m still living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to get ahead.

Because of that, I’ve been looking into other jobs that pay more. I found an RBT position that starts at $20 an hour, and because I already have clinical experience, I think I could potentially negotiate for a higher starting wage. The problem is that I don’t know if leaving my current job is the right decision. I love what I do, I’m doing well, and I’ve already invested nine months into this job and built relationships with my patients and coworkers.

At the same time, this could make a huge difference financially. I’m going back to college, and having a higher income could be the difference between being able to move out and having to continue living with my parents. I’m just really torn because I don’t want to leave a job I genuinely enjoy simply for money, but I’m also exhausted from constantly worrying about bills and living paycheck to paycheck.

My mind is honestly a mess right now, and I could really use some perspective on whether staying somewhere I love is worth it when the pay isn’t giving me the financial stability I need. The biggest thing that makes me want to start is once I get my license I can make about $24/$27 an hour.