I have to learn another trade if I'm going to survive long term I have figured but I'm not sure what to go into I'm thinking robotics or electronics of some kind. Wish I could do nothing like the GAs for a living and walk around in suits oh wait no I don't. Anybody else have to switch fields of work and return to school? And if so did it suck?

My sweet nevermo DIL got a degree in history. That didn't work out, so she went and got certification to be a paralegal. Now she oves her job. You're never too old to reinvent yourself. Go for it. :D

Reinventing yourself is the new normal. I went back to school after the kids were self sufficient. I was surprised how well I did and how much I loved it. I kind of felt sorry for the kids just entering college since they didn't have any real life experience to put a lot of the education into context. You might really be surprised by the experience too.

I went back to school in my mid-30s (a graduate program.) I was learning alongside retired military, former lawyers, accountants, police officers, counselors, and business people.

When you are older, you approach school like a job. You don't have time to play around. Most 30-somethings make good students for that reason.

Thoroughly research any field you are thinking of. Ask practitioners in that field, what do you like about your job? Dislike? What are the employment prospects? If you had to do things over again, what would you do differently?

Good luck, and do let us know how things go.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2017 06:30PM by summer.

I definitely think I will take school way more serious than I did in my early college days.

IT is a good field to be in at the moment.

One of my stepsisters got a two year degree in drafting @ Pocatello ISU almost 40 years ago. She made her livelihood drafting bombs at Los Alamos. (It was a vocational program she enrolled in.)

She's either retired now or will be soon.

Don't let your age discourage you. It's actually an asset in college. Admissions offices look @ life experience which is something you have that someone fresh out of high school hasn't yet.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2017 08:10PM by Amyjo.

Got married the prescribed year after mission. Five kids later, at age 30, with only two years of college behind me (one before mission and one after mission), I finally threw myself back into the fray again and got my degree. (I was also slowly extracting myself from the cult too.) Lot's of changes. Kids are now grown adults and have their college degree's and doing extremely well. One has gone on to become a doctor.

It was hard, of course, but in the end, I think we all benefited. DW also went back when the youngest was 6 and now she too has her masters degree. Nothing like experience to drive the point of getting an education. Kids all waited till in their late 20's to marry and didn't start their families until mid 30's. Every one has left the cult (resigned) and maintained good values. (no drugs/alcohol etc.) Very active in their communities.

I have found that I am not too old and never stop learning. Possibly the main thing I have learned is that their are many questions I do not have answers for and the number only increases. One thing that has really helped me, was to learn and practice; minding my own business and avoid JADEing (Justify-Arguing-Defending-Explaining)..

If someone asks for my opinion, I am not shy about expressing it but it is not necessary that they agree nor accept my points of view. I have learned to laugh a lot, (mostly at myself) and to chill out and breath when things seem dark. Works for me. :)

I went to college when I was 40. I loved it. Being the oldest person in my classes was fun. I loved hanging out with my classmates. I made some lifetime friends.

I was easily at the top of my class because I was one of the few that really studied. I wasn't interested in re-taking any classes.

I loved learning every day. I changed some bad habits and kind of came back to life in a way. I'd been a stay at home mom for ten years so it was a major lifestyle change. It was really good for my kids. I was actually able to help them with their Math and Science homework. They knew there were no acceptable excuses for not doing their school work when they saw me studying every day. Their grades went up and my daughter became very good at Math. It was worth it all just for that.

I made a conscious decision that every subject I studied was going to be extremely interesting to me. I really had to hyper focus on things that didn't come naturally to me. I decided I was going to do whatever it took to do school. I had a lot of 3am study times.

I am afraid of being the oldest person in the class surrounded by a bunch of 18 year olds but I think I am kind of mentally young so it might work out.

Due to a need for a retirement nest-egg, I returned to school last Fall and just completed my second quarter with straight "A"s. I am 56 years old and have been a stay-at-home mom since 1991. The program I am taking is Process Technology at a technical college for training to get a job as an Operator in a refinery, which is a male-dominated field. I got a B.A. in Social Work in the 80s.

I'm busy learning all about valves, pumps, compressors, heat-exchangers, etc. and am enjoying the challenge of the program. The other students in my cohort range in age from 16-35 and have fully accepted me.

Because I have managed to develop some self-discipline over the years and also make sure to do all the readings and turn in my assignments on-time and complete, I am the top student in my cohort. Funny how that works! The first quarter was a bit brutal but I got through it.

You'll do fine - go for it!

Hey Anon tonight

I spent most of my time in process control for power plants and chemical plants. The best operators were those who were not afraid to get dirty. They would go out in the field (outside of the control room) to physically learn all they could about the process(es) and could literally put their hands on every piece of equipment and know how they function.

Good luck. It is a good position to have.

Thanks for the encouragement! I am not afraid of working hard or getting dirty. I may not be young, but I have years of life-experience and general wisdom to bring to the job. A nearby refinery has lost 50% of their operators to retirement in the past five years. The fact that I am female and older will actually work in my favor for employment - or so I've been told by several people in the industry. My ex-husband is a petroleum engineer and is convinced that I will make an excellent operator. I'm hoping he's right. :-)

Don't be afraid. Don't fear any of it. If you do have fear, this is a chance to overcome it. Once you do, you'll look back and be amazed at the fear you had, and what caused it.

The first day I had a math class I sat in the parking lot for at least a half hour trying to get up the courage. I had huge math phobia, and for good reason. I actually vomited because I was so stressed out. I still made myself get out of my car and go to class.

I was very very fortunate that I had a teacher who was my same age, and totally understood where I was coming from. Turns out that there's a huge population of Americans with Math and Science phobia. The reason being lousy teachers through their school years. They graduate HS thinking they can't do any of that. The truth is they had crappy teachers.

Once I had a teacher who actually "taught", I got straight A's for my entire college adventure.

I learned that if you have issues in any one subject you need to talk about with your counselor before you sign up for classes. The school counselors know which teachers will help you through this stuff, and which ones won't. Take advantage of all the resources the school has to offer. Those resources are there for a reason.

I'm finishing up my first degree almost 20 years after starting college the first time. There is no typical student these days and don't let your age discourage you. Several of my profs obtained their doctorates later in life, so that gives me a lot of hope.

The only thing I will tell you is make sure you are really ready to do it when you do, especially with all you have dealt with recently.

Right im trying very hard to get myself right both mentally and physically as fast as possible to see if I could start in the fall but you're right I'm not quite ready as I stand right now.

I forgot about this till now after reading some of the other posts- Last month when I put in my application for graduation, there was an older, Native woman right in front of me. I think she had to be in her 50s at least and when the bell was rung for her, I got a little choked up for her. It's only too late if you give up and think you can't do it.

on returning to school and getting 2 degrees (hint: I was 50+).

notmo

Dude, I'm 65 and I'm in school.

I started my undergraduate degree in 1968. I finished in 1991. My last exam was U.S. history--there were questions on my U.S. history exam about events that were still 20 years in the future when I started college.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." --Mahatma Gandhi

Dang that's impressive

I had a big advantage in Sociology because of my age. There was a lot of discussion about the Vietnam war. The kids in my class weren't born yet when that happened.

I had a bf in Vietnam. I have a box of pictures and letters. They were pretty fascinated by that. The letters gave them a real feel for what it was like to be an 18 year old guy in the middle of a war in the jungle. They were shocked that he was drafted and had no say in the matter. They couldn't imagine that.

That class was an easy A for me.

I have two bachelors degrees; one in youth ministry and the other one is in elementary education and I am licensed to teach grades K-6 in the state of North Carolina but jobs are few and far between in the community that I live in. If I wanted to I could move to Raleigh or back to Charlotte or another large town but with what is going on with my parents, I want to stick around for a while and help care for them. Also, I don't have the start up money that would be needed for me to move.

So with the help of my folks, I am enrolled at the local community college in the Medical Office Administration program that will allow to work in reception, billing, insurance and coding areas of the health care system. As long as things go well, I should be graduating next spring. I am hoping to work in a hospital for a few years here in the area and then I am thinking about moving back to the Charlotte area or up north to Concord NH where my mom is from.

I will graduate this year with a Master in Divinity. I am 59 years old. The last time I wrote a research paper, before I began the program, was on an electric typewriter. I hope to work in Hospice since I am also a nurse. You can do anything you put your mind to do.

I did at 34. It meant my kids had a comfortable middle class life and paid for university. Now I have a secure retirement. One of the best decisions I made.

More education almost always increases your earning capacity and employability.

https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm

Other than lucky entrepreneurs, Professionals make the most over the course of their lives. Whether you want to be a lawyer, accountant, doctor, or other professional, do what it takes. School is hard, but can be fun and challenging if you do it right.

In my last college class, I was 30 years older than the oldest student there.

I'm going to enroll again in the spring.

I say go for it! My husband earned 2 degrees: an Associates' in Electronics, and then, at age 44 he got his Bachelor's. English is not his first language, either. So in other words, he did it all using his 2nd language, an old man to boot, working full time, and all at the same time while we were raising our 4 children! But it was well worth it. He was among the oldest in his classes, but it was fun because all the young students liked him and were always inviting him for get togethers, or asking him for advice about different things.

Yes, I went back when I was in my late 30s to get another degree, this time accounting. Side effects

I felt a lot older taking classes with those youngsters

I felt a lot younger spending time with those youngsters

I make a lot more money than I ever have

This is a terrific idea, Adam. If you choose to go the community and technical college route, I think you will find that many students are your age or older. The average age is 29! Do talk to admissions counselors as well as faculty in the areas you are considering. Ideally you will find a program where you can earn a series of stackable credentials (industry and postsecondary certificates, credentials and degrees) that allow you to enter and exit progressively more advanced education programs or job opportunities without having to duplicate courses. Counselors should be able to tell you about job placements and salaries associated with each credential, certificate or degree. Community and technical colleges offer excellent value for money in education.

I went back to school at 45. I'd been a legal secretary for 20 years and had been divorced about 8 years. My retirement plan had been finding another mormon man to marry. Then I discovered the truth about TSCC, resigned my membership, realized I didn't want to have to marry to have someone take care of me (and that if I wanted to try out a relationship it didn't have to involve marriage until if and when I wanted it to), found a sense of self-esteem I'd never had, and realized that after I graduated I'd still have 20 years to work and I didn't want to do it being a secretary.

It was hard. I still had a child in high school, I still had to work full time, but had flexible hours and I went to school full time. It took me 2 years to get my bachelor's degree as a paralegal. When you're in the middle of it you think it will never end. But it's now been 14 years since I graduated, my salary has more than doubled, I got outta Utah and work for the corporate legal dept of a Fortune 100 company and have a job I truly enjoy.

It is SO worth it. And 33 is so young. You're looking at over 30 years of work life after you complete your program. Always keep that in mind when it gets hard. It will be over before you know it and even if you have to take out some student loans, you'll be well past having them paid off and you'll look back and cringe at where you would have been if you'd stayed in the dead end position you were in. Best of luck.

I went back to school at 27 for "post-Baccalaureate undergraduate" pre-med courses; again at 31 for a Masters; and again at 38 for a PhD which fizzled and turned into a second Masters. If I were to do it again, I'd probably skip the last one.

I'll echo the advice of others here and say go for it--but be cautious about taking on a lot of debt.

All good advice I'm nervous to set up an appointment with a counselor at the technical school it's all pretty overwhelming I haven't been to school in ten years but I am more ready now than I've been in a long time so I got to make the call.

The advice and the stories in these comments are very reassuring

It's ok to be nervous. Just do it anyway. You'll be fine. I was nervous too. My appointment with the counselor when I was 40 was the first time i'd ever set foot in a college building. I wasn't nervous by the time the appointment was over.

I was nervous, too! Keep in mind that the schools *want* students. They expect people to come to them from all stages in life. You will be fine, and I think you will find the people at your local community college to be very welcoming.

I've taken a ton of classes at my local CC over the years, both for my initial teaching certification as well as for certificate renewals. The CC has become like a second home for me. I love it, and it's always been a great experience.

Yes you can do it. I was out of college for 28 years, and had to make up one year of lower classroom work before getting into a Master's program. I graduated at age 58, but some of the younger ones came to me for help.

I feel like I was smarter back in the day and I don't know if that smart person is still within me haha that also worries me I feel like I lost a step but I won't know unless I dive in.

Badass,

If you're uncertain about a major, any local community college should be able to let you complete an occupational interest inventory (one popular test is called the Strong-Campbell, but there are several). That will tell you where your interests line up with various professions.

I would recommend avoiding technical or for-profit schools until you are absolutely certain the investment will pay off. There was an episode yesterday on NPR's "Fresh Air" about how such schools make the average student poorer and with less educational choices.

If you like computers, math, or biology at all, tech is the obvious money-maker. Even taking one course in a computer language (e.g., Python), statistics (with a computer package) can make you more marketable.

You will find you are smarter than you think. I dived in to a program where critical thinking was mandatory, and lets face it Mormonism does not allow that. I never thought in a million years I would succeed, but I have with a 3.6 GPA. You will find, once out of the church, you suddenly realize you have a brain. Also there is no one in the background doubting you or making snarky comments.

You are encouraged to ask questions! I had no clue I was so smart. I was on the Deans list every semester. I was taking classes in Math and Science. I'd never taken an Algebra or Chemistry class in my life. I decided to be a tutor in those subjects so I could really learn it.

Also, it didn't hurt my self esteem at all when the 20 year old guys were hitting on me. I turned them down because I was married, and old enough to be their mother. But hey, they were pretty cute.

I'm 58 and starting school next week. It will prove you can teach this old dog new tricks.

Nice, well I made an appointment to meet with a counselor on Friday she said they have something there that can help me figure out what program best suits me or something like that so hopefully it goes well.