Going back to school as an adult?

[Labradorks]

Has anyone gone back to school as an adult (as in a 40 year old, give or take)? Specifically, starting from scratch. Not a graduate degree, but a bachelors. Even an associates.

Was it worth it to you? Would you do it again? How did you manage full-time work, life, etc. while also going to school?

I would love to hear your stories!

[Bamps]

I did. I was a goof in high school, my buddy had the most cuts in the school, I wasn't far behind. Suspensions, cuts, etc., and the dean of students called me in the continuation school I was in and told me to not come back when I turned 18. I took a GED test and have an "equivalent". I landed a good job but it ended and I found myself with three kids and a wife to feed and no craft. I very QUICKLY determined that underground mining was not my cup of tea. I got a low paying job and went to vocational school while working full time. Sleepy, tired but determined. Yes, it was worth it and I now stress that no matter what, the more education you can get, the better. Work out a plan "A" plan "B" and "C" and be prepared to change or adjust as the economy shifts all over the place constantly.

[bett]

i went back to school after graduating from college , 13 years before. got a masters and then a 30 credit degree above, in administration.

i was for sure, the oldest in the class and had to sit right under the prof's nose, so i could focus. and did it all after teaching an entire day. some days i got home at 11 at night. my kid's remember me doing it and recently said "how did you do that"?

like i had a choice.

[POPTOP]

DH is doing this now. He works nights, class is in the evening so he goes to class and straight to work. Last course was 2 nights a week; this one is only 1 night a week. We are not spring chickens as in we get senior discounts. After completing his last course, he got an amazing raise. On top of that he got his yearly raise. It's not easy but he really likes the courses he's taking. We hardly see each other; he's either at school, studying, working or sleeping. Don't make the mistake of trying to take on too much, like multiple classes at the same time.

[Mr Kleb]

I did.

My current career has been in office support/administration. I had moved from Texas to Canada and adjusted to a new home, new job market, new country. I began feeling like opportunities were passing by without having some kind of formal training. So I enrolled in a college's diploma program (the Canadian equivalent of an Associates program) in Office Administration-Executive. It meant that we moved back to the area where Faye has mostly lived since the 90s.

The program was accelerated, which is a nice way of saying that the two year program was packed into eleven months. I started in September and completed the program the following August. The first six weeks or so were very, very stressful. The program and the pace were very challenging even with my background. It was great to get hands on experience with a lot of new MS Windows applications, new concepts (and new takes on old concepts). It was helpful to do scary stuff - present a 3 minute PowerPoint that made sense, and with a team prepare and co-present a 25 minute Powerpoint. Long story short, I did OK and got my diploma.

Faye was fantastically supportive throughout. She egged me on, provided an environment conducive to studying. Trying to do it without her support, let alone doing it solo, might well have ended badly. It also helped that we were very, very fortunate to have resources enabling me to focus on school and not have to worry about working.

Was it worth it? Yes. I almost certainly landed a contract position because of the diploma. The diploma certainly didn't hurt in getting an interview for my current position. I learned tech stuff, sure. I met people, sure. More than those tangibles, I earned the sense of accomplishment of doing something not at all easy and doing well at it. I also learned a little about working through challenging (and the aforementioned scary) stuff. Would I do it again? Yep.

Would I recommend it? Each person has to decide that for her/himself.

My accomplishment pales compared to what my dad did. In the 1950s he was a draftsman. He went back to school, working full time, with four kids, mom home to run the household, and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Now that took some gumption.

[CraftHer]

I went back to college in my late 20s. I was old enough to realize that my future was longer than the next party. I remember being frustrated with all the "kids" that goofed off while I worked and studied. I thought I was so mature. Now that I'm in my 40s, I realize I wasn't.

At my graduation, there was a woman in her 80s that was getting a bachelors degree in history. She was asked why she decided to get a degree in her 80s and she said the 4 years is going to get here. The only question was whether she would have a degree or not at the end of that 4 years. It really resonated with me.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

[Woodrow_Woodchuck]

I was a carpenter/craftsman and had an injury at about 42. The Dr's told me there was no way I could ever return so I took a year, while recovering, and thought a lot. I liked math so went back to school. Sold the house to pay for it, got an apartment in town and a full time job in sales. Quite a life change! My 8 year old black gal wasn't the happiest at leaving a great country location and moving to an apartment. She also did not think much of me leaving at 7 in the morning and not returning, except for a brief outside jaunt, until 9 at night. Then, not playing with her, doing homework.... She was a trooper though! Unfortunately, she did not last through the ordeal until we could have another country home.

It was the worst several years in my life!! Class at 8:00 am every day, right after school go to work, come home, do homework/study all night, get up, go to class at 8..... This was doing a 40 hour work week and 12 credit hours at school. No fun at all.

My advise is to first speak to your professors, tell them your situation. All mine were very understanding and would allow me to slide on an assignment or two, as long as I caught up and maintained grade. They understood you are not a 20 year old, partying all night, you had to go to work, get other assignments done, and made priorities. Be ready for lots of sleepless nights, getting school projects done, and drinking strong coffee to stay awake in class. That or the glorious nights when you could get 4 hours of sleep!!! Let your boss know at work also. Mine were very understanding also and would cut me some slack if I had a big test coming up.

Funny story there! I worked at a pet shop and would have a stack of 3 x 5 cards in my pocket. As I went around cleaning the several hundred fish tanks, I would pull one out and slide it onto the lower right corner, so I could see it while I wiped the inside. They didn't obscure the tanks, but I would have 10 tanks ahead with a card. Most were physics or calculus and gobbeldy gook to everyone. In between cleaning and helping customers, every now and again you would have someone come by and try to guess what the answer was to the formula on it! Rick, the owner, was great about it because he understood what I was going through. He would stop back, shake his head and make a comment like.." I hope you are not just having fun, I'm paying you to take care of the fish!"

Would I do it again? No way! Maybe if I could support myself with a 20 hour a week job, better if school was the only job. Did it help in the long run? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that it opened doors to interviews I would not have gotten. No, in that I did not need the degree to do the jobs I had. As a Sales Compensation Technical Analyst, and SYS Admin, I already knew more than the young folks with higher degrees. They could do the A => B =>C but when it came to A=> C=> They had no idea that B was in there or how to look for it.

But, go back to school and give it a try!! Just do not get too far into debt doing it.

[KenZ71]

Yes, twice.

Just before we were married I started and completed a 9 month 3 day a week certificate course in programming. Best thing I ever did for my career.

3 years ago DW started nursing school. She was working as an admin assistant, now is a RN in an Operating Room. It was tough on all of us, she was in school most nights so I was feeding kids and taking them to sports practice. Huge sacrifices were made and huge commitment but so worth it.

[amyb]

Education is good!! I haven't gone back to school per se, but I am getting another certification (ITIL foundation) and I went through Comptia Security + certification last December. Any sort of education that keeps the brain going is great.. so go for it (I am 55 years young by the way)

[smartrock]

You said you weren't talking about a graduate degree, but that's my only experience. I was about 30, one child and a second arrived before the end- it took me 5 years to do a 2 year program part time, took one semester "off" when one of the kids was born. Worked all day, class after work 2 days a week, would get up at 5 am to study while the kiddos were still asleep. I was exhausted but at some point, I felt like I had too many credits to just throw all that work away and quit. It was tough and we were fortunate to have a very flexible babysitter. My kids were also so young that I didn't have to also try to fit in after school activities.

As for your age, some people think well, I'll be 42 or 44 or whatever age before I finish my degree. The thing is, you'll be that age with or without a degree. If you think it will make a difference in your life, I'd do it. Good luck and let us know what you decide!