Too Old to Go Back to School and Change Careers?

Older and wiser.

35 is a little older for school, but it's still doable. I went back to school when I was 31, and I survived, with a kid too.

 

You might also see if you can get accepted straight into an MBA program, since you already have a bachelor's degree. You might have to take some undergrad courses to fill in some pre requisites, but you would still be ahead of the game if you came out with a Master's degree in the same time frame that it would take you to get a 2nd BA.

Good luck.

 

Nah. In 1996, when I was 35, I had a kid and we were living in Atlanta. Mrs. rimrocker and I both had good, well paying downtown highrise cubey jobs. But the commute was killing us and we decided we didn't want to raise our kid in the smog and materialism of Atlanta.

So, I completely switched careers and took a job with a Federal land management agency in Moab, UT. We went from a city of 4 million to a town of 4000 and we cut our income by 2/3. I went from a cube to an office with this as my secondary office:



The first couple of years were tough and we've had to move more than I wanted, but since then, I clawed my way back to good pay and I really enjoy what I do. Our second starts 1st grade this year and Mrs. rimrocker will go get another job this fall, so we have made it through without too much heartburn and some really great rewards.

I say go for it.

 

no its never too late to go back, but you will be strictly going for the education i dont think you'll be invited to the keggers and panty raids so be prepared for that.

i remember there was a guy in my econ classes my third year that was in his late forties that was coming back to school because he stopped going to school when he was a kid to go on tour with some ballet thing or dance troupe all over europe and then kept doing that but never went back to school. from what he was saying he made a lot of money doing that and pretty much was set for life but came back to school just to learn.


i think its worth it if you think it'll better your life.

 

Funny, I'm thinking about doing the same thing. One of my friends who used to work in my department here now works in accounting with no prior experience. She loves it and is going to talk to her manager about me moving over there as well. They're about to introduce a tuition reimbursement plan that I would take advantage of to go back and get my accounting degree.

 

You're never too old.

I am thinking the same. I don't think I want to do this field rest of my life.

 

Great idea, do that!

 

That's actually what I am doing as well. I will have mine in a little over 2 years taking 2 classes a semester.

 

I've always had a lot of older students in the college classes I've taught. It's a rare class when I am actually the oldest person in the room. However, my experience is that the older students do BETTER in class, even with the additional demands of work and family. They are that focused and driven. I think they can pick up concepts as well as anyone; that doesn't slow down with age. I believe that people have a better chance in college if they're over 25, because their minds are more focused. It may have something to do with the brain not completing its wiring until the mid-twenties.

 

Wow, someone in my situation. I already had two degrees in chemistry and college teaching experience, but felt like I wasn't quite in the right fit for me, and went back to school for music education at 31. I'm halfway through that now. It's good to hear that someone can do that and make it.

The logistics haven't been as much of a problem for me - yet - but I'm crossing my fingers for the future. We don't have much of a household to run, but my fiance is just getting started with his career, and even while being in school full-time I have been the main wage earner. He does the housekeeping and has also been in school full-time. I still adjunct teach in my old field, and even managed to teach full time for one semester (and carefully schedule it to not overlap my classes - made the money but it was not easy). Since I'm a music student, going part-time is usually not an option because of the commitment it requires. It will also take several years no matter what. We want kids fairly soon but I'm not sure how we would manage. I didn't know I was going to have this relationship when I first went back to school. Anyway, I'm careful how I spend my money and have found ways to keep my lifestyle cheap.

BetterThanI, what kind of music are you in and what is your job now? Were you able to do anything to help yourself through school? I have found that financial aid and scholarships don't tend to go to the older students; all I get is loans. My part-time work can pay for living expenses, but not tuition also. I'm about to transfer, and I might find a better situation, but on the other hand I might have to deal with getting around out-of-state tuition.

ima_drummer2k - I guess you decided not to go through with the music thing? I know you were thinking about getting back into it at one time. I understand family responsibilities. However, hopefully this is something you would like to do and not just something you feel pressured to do right now.

 

Good call. With an accounting degree you can work late nights year round. No sense in restricting yourself to football season

(and I knew this was a cleverly disguised HEY I KNOCKED UP MY GIRL thread).

Congrats all around.

 

Mine wasn't perfect either, but in my case its leveraged in three ways.. the preregs that I am taking (I am hoping for at least A's and B's, in the six courses I have to take, to bring my GPA up to around a 3) plus the GRE and a Praxis exam. They weigh all three things in, so if you do good on the two tests the GPA doesn't mean as much.

Though it did have to be a 2.30 I think in undergrad work at the university I am going to. You can check with the different masters programs to see what their requirements are.

And congrats on the baby!

 

Awesome ima!

 

It really depends, I think, on what lifestyle you want to live and the statement of cash flows in your personal finances between you and your wife (how much is coming in in terms of income and how much has to go out in paying bills, debts, expenses, etc.)

When I was single, I went back at night, 2 classes per semester, to get my MBA as my company reimbursed me as long as I made at least a C in my classes. Because my bachelor's was in math, I had to take 6 undergrad business classes before I could really get into the meat of the MBA program. Counting those prereq classes, I had 54 hours and by not going in the summer, it took me 2 and a half years to complete it. Now that I am married with a child plus another one on the way (the wife is 8 weeks pregnant - like you, I didn't really want to call attention to it plus there's still the chance of miscarriage so I am hoping I am not jinxing things by revealing this but...), there is no way that I can do something like that again. However, if your wife is supportive of you doing this and you being gone several nights a week isn't going to be a problem (especially once your baby gets here), then you should be okay. I just know that after working a full-time job and all the responsibilities I have at home with the family that trying to go back to school at night, even in a part-time basis would be damn near impossible for me.

On your GPA and getting in - a lot of places will require you to take the GMAT. If you even think that you want to get your MBA, I would schedule taking the GMAT as soon as you can. I went to MTSU (the same place I got my undergrad) and they required a certain score that was added after you multiplied your undergrad GPA by 200 (or some other factor). My undergrad GPA was pretty good (unlike my graduate GPA in math), so I didn't have to score that high on the GMAT to get accepted. The GMAT is a lot like other standardized tests - has a section on verbal as well as math and I think a reading comprehension but that has been so long ago that I can't remember for sure (I took mine like 7 years ago).

As for changing careers, you have to realize that you will probably be entering into an entry level job and despite your experience in doing what you are doing now, you probably wouldn't get recognized relevant work experience unless your job now is finance/accounting based. If it is, then you should definitely get a raise; however, if you are going from IT or HR into accounting, I wouldn't expect them to give you a salary that would be akin to someone who has 5 to 10 years of experience in accounting if you follow what I am saying here.

I thought several times about going into insurance as well as several other fields but each one would require me to start at the beginning/entry level job. And considering that I have a mortgage, home equity loan, car loans, etc as well as monthly bills, I can't afford to quit the job I have now and take a huge paycut. It is the classic dilemma of being "locked in at a job" - the good news, though, for me is that I am in HR now (have been for the last 4 months) and I love it a lot more than the department I used to be in. Also realize that having a baby entering into your family is going to automatically increase your costs. You'll have to add more to your grocery budget, get diapers, formula (unless the wife breastfeeds), clothes, etc. So, unless you know for sure that you will get a raise in salary, I wouldn't advise changing careers (and you may have said that already and I just missed it). Good luck if you do decide to go back and get the MBA or 2nd bachelor's and congratulations on the new addition.

 

Perhaps you can go for an MBA or something. Maybe even have the company pay for it if they will. That way you can get a business graduate degree, and it will help promote you in the future, without putting your current career on hold.

 

ima

do you regret the music degree? I have to believe there's value in studying something you love even though it may not work out for you career-wise down the road

 

You got the investment, then go on and get that diploma young man!!!

 

Don't do it online,worse than not doing it at all. If you want to invest your time and money, do it at the best school you can go.