Anyone here dissatisfied with their life or job and looking to return to college for another degree or switch careers?

Sometimes it's not possible to do this kind of thing until later in life, when our kids are grown or we have a different outlook.

I've been researching different grad programs, some of them overseas, and truly excited about the possibilities. BTW, looking solely at fully funded grad programs, leaving me with the cost of travel and housing/living costs.

I've been wanting to do this for a long time but a little chicken about just taking off and doing it. It may seem kind of silly but kinda wish I had someone who wanted to do it with me.

I went back to school this past August. I already have two bachelor's degrees, one in youth ministry from a small Christian school in Northeast Georgia, and the other one is in Elementary Education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte that lead to being certified in the state of NC to teach grades K-6. However, being a female, and being from Eastern NC, churches were not really wanting to hire a female youth pastor and this was before I was willing to branch out from the Baptist so I went back for my teaching degree. Little did I know that the economy would go down hill while I was in college and that trying to find a teaching job in my rural hometown would be extremely difficult. Because of the lack of money, moving to a larger town was not an option for me even though it would allow me more options for work. In the end, I am glad that I stayed put and worked in retail for five years.

With some encouragement from my mom and financial help from my parents, I went back to the local community college where I am working on my Associate's of Applied Science in Medical Office Administration and I am on track to graduate next spring. Hopefully after this, I will be supporting myself because this education is going to open a hell of a lot more doors for me than my youth ministry and teaching degree combined.

In Connecticut the pay is higher for teaching and the churches do hire female youth ministers.

I hope to go to Yale for a doctorate in religion, having degrees already from MIT and Duke Law School. About time I did something useful.

"Jump G..Dammit Jane, Jump! You've dreamed of this moment, you've planned so carefully and lived it late at night soaring the air currents in indescribable glee. It's time to live your dreams not just dream your dreams! Jump G...Dammit!"

AmIDarkNow?

YES!!! I went back for a Ph.D. - and am now considered an expert in my field.

And I'm way older than my peers. It is NEVER too late

I went to grad school for a Master's in Religious Education. It was going to be Divinity, a 93 hour program, but I ran out of money. This is 63 hours w/o the Pastoral Counseling. I graduate in December after almost 3 years. I am also getting my TESOL certification to teach English as a Second Language. I will be 59 this year. You can do this!

You are still young.

If you have a clear, specific idea of what you're trying to accomplish then I say go for it! Otherwise... might not be the best use of your time and resources imho.

I think that sounds amazing! What a fantastic opportunity to travel and gain more education at the same time. I am currently thinking about going back to school and getting my masters degree as well. I say go for it! Best of luck to you on this fun adventure.

I'm considering returning to school. I started attending a community college at 23, but my studies came to a halt when I had a cerebral hemorrhage at 26. I tried returning to school at 30, but with the comb ination of late night classes and a hectic customer service job left me feeling burnt out. I couldn't remember most of what I studied so I ended up dropping my classes.

Now that I have a job with a lot of downtime (I work as an Assistant for an Architectural Firm) I'm considering returning to school to get my Administrative Assistant degree (since I have over ten years experience in that field). I may have to take "special" classes since I'm disabled (thanks to the cerebral hemorrhage).
Sometimes I think that I should get my degree in English Literature since I enjoy writing (poetry mostly), but luckily there are many independent courses that I can take on that. :-)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2017 10:50AM by severedpuppetstrings.

I went to grad school in my mid-30s. I think you will find that there will likely be a number of older students in your program who are also looking to make a change. Don't worry about going with a friend. You will quickly bond with your cohort (the students who enter at the same time you do, and progress through your program with you.)

If you have to borrow money, keep it to a minimal amount. The ideal thing is to get a job as a graduate assistant, teaching assistant, etc.

If you're looking international and want to avoid tuition, you should look at Germany.

German universities don't charge tuition—not even for foreigners—and these days there are quite a few Master's programs in English, at least in some fields. A PhD in Germany has no coursework, only a thesis, which can usually be written in English.

There are some fees, but they total maybe a few hundred bucks a year, not thousands. It sounds too good to be true, but somehow it really is true. The one potential snag is that you need a recognized Bachelor's degree. Each German state has an official list of recognized colleges and if your alma mater isn't on it, you aren't eligible for grad school in that German state. It's a pretty long list, though.

Interesting idea. Is the housing situation still really bad in Germany? It was some years back.

I only really know about housing costs in my own smallish city, which are quite reasonable for student digs. You can get a small studio-type place for maybe 200€/month; double that and you can get a larger space with a couple of rooms.

I'm sure larger cities will cost more, as everywhere. It should be pretty easy to find out prices just by googling, though. It's how most people find apartments anywhere nowadays, after all, and google doesn't care whether you're asking from across the city or across the world.

Quality levels of German universities don't vary as much as in, say, the US. There have been recent efforts to recognize a handful of "elite" institutions but this is going against generations of egalitarian tradition. Most places still have about the same standards.

Coincidentally, just today I received my official acceptance letter for a Master's program in Speech-Language Pathology; I'd received my unofficial acceptance notice via email last week.

I already have three college degrees, including a PhD, and my husband and I only finished paying off my PhD loans (which were substantial, though well under six figures) about a year ago...and I am 45. I will be MUCH older than most of the students entering this program in the fall.

So, why am I doing this? Well, although I love many aspects of my current job teaching at a community college, there have always been other aspects of it I have intensely disliked, and after 15 years or so in that career, the negatives are only getting worse. (I should add that, like about 85% of the instructors on my campus, I am an adjunct instructor; the full-time faculty where I teach have very cushy positions indeed, so were I full-time, I wouldn't mind the negatives so much...nor would I even have to deal with several of those.)

I never would have been able to return to school even a few years ago when my twin sons were younger because I was constantly mentally and physically exhausted. Now that they are older, things aren't so intense, though I know it will still be hard going. They will only be in second grade next year, and I also have an older child and will still be teaching at the community college, albeit only one night a week. I am also fortunate that my husband earns enough that we will be okay financially, though we still will need to make some sacrifices. It's rather daunting, in other words, returning to school at this age, but I am nonetheless very excited about it. I don't want to spend the working years I have left being unhappy and frustrated much of the time with my job, despite generally being a very happy and optimistic person.

I encourage you, no matter what your age, to just DO IT! It is almost never too late to start a new degree or a new career. Good luck to you.

Congratulations! The SLPs that I have spoken to over the years are generally a happy bunch. They do their job, they fill out some paperwork, they go home. I think you will like it. If I had it to do over again with my master's, it would be for SLP.

Thank you, Summer! That is encouraging.

I graduated with my Ed.D. at 50. Older students are common. Don't put up artificial barriers to your destiny. Illiteracy rates in USA are high for adults in basic and also in health. You'LL always have work in education.

Got my terminal degree at age 47. Go for it.

I may going back to school in the fall if all goes smoothe.