Dental assistant to dental hygienist

I am currently enrolled in a registered dental assistant program and will be done next month. I am considering furthering my career as a dental hygienist. Only thing is, idk if I should wait or go ahead and get my foot in the door. If it were you, would you work as a dental assistant for a little while and get more familiar with the terminology then try to enter the dental hygiene program or should I go ahead and try to take my pre-requisites? It'll take probably 2 years to finish those.