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[Big Time]

Any adults ever go back to school? It's something I have been mulling over for awhile and have decided to commit to.

I got a two year degree a few years ago in Television Production, and have decided to get a four year degree in Computer Engineering. It's a thorough degree that involves a combination of electrical engineering (electronics, not electricity) and computer science.

It will probably take me three more years to get, though, because I can barely go full time and will have to take a lot of different math courses that my communications degree didn't require. I hate math. So much freaking calculus. My head already hurts just thinking about it.

I'm exited and irritated about all of this at the same time.

It's exiting because I'm good with computers and hardware and broadcast equipment and want to learn more. I've worked at TV stations for the past 12 years and I see all the modern automation taking over, making my job obsolete soon enough. I also know that computers are never going away, and I am especially interested in wireless and satellite technology, which is also good job security and pays a lot more than button pushing for the news and master control.

I'm irritated because I know I'll have to take out more student loans, probably private this time so I don't have to put up with the headache of the incompetent state and federal governments, and the private lenders seem more in touch with how much it really costs to go to school. I actually didn't borrow enough last time and tried to work more to compensate, which hurt my grades.

I may also get some grant money as an adult student, and also have a medical condition I have to live with, that I may be able to milk for a few more dollars if they can keep that sensitive info relatively confidential.

I'm 36 and will be almost 40 when I finally finish, which just bugs me for some reason. It probably shouldn't because I know times have changed, but it's like I'm retarded or something to just now be doing what I could have done years ago.

I also have had really bad experiences with college advisor's that have no clue what's going on, and college administration that cares only about using your name and social security number to milk as much subsidy from the government as they can, and controlling your student loan money to make sure they get to it first. It's like some Orwell nightmare that most kids don't have the life experience to recognize. I certainly didn't.

When I was a young man, I was foolish enough to trust them and do as they suggested and ended up taking a lot of useless classes that didn't count toward anything. This time they will have to listen to me and I will keep anything they tell me under close scrutiny. I am also seasoned enough to ignore everyone but the professors in the computer engineering department.

I figured out too late last time that the adviser they assign to you is just done randomly (and mine got changed a lot) and that I need to find my own, unofficial adviser who actually understands the degree I am seeking and is altruistic enough to give me a few minutes of their time each semester.

In retrospect, it would have made more sense for me to go to some trade school out of high school for a year and then go to work to save money to pay for a University, getting me a four year degree when I was in my early thirties. By then, I would have been more settled and mature to make these important decisions.

bah!

[Amerikaner83]

Hey -

My dad was in the Marines for 20 years, then went back and got his BA, MS, and then a teaching certificate, at 46 Years old! So you can do it!

[matthewscott]

Oh, don't worry about being a "non-traditional" student. There were plenty of working adults getting their degrees when I went. I remember a lady who was probably in her 80s typing her dissertation in the computer lab.

As far as the math, that's what kicked my butt. I had to work really hard to get though it.

Do you really need the engineering side? Is there a business or information systems degree that might work better for you? Just a thought. With your experience, the business side might not be too bad.

Regardless, it's a hard thing to do (for a variety of reasons) but at least your going to do it.

Good luck.

[CleverCynic]

I'm 36, switched from IT to a completely unrelated career, now earning my Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

I can be of a lot of help probably if you need.

The very first step ASAP is to fill out your FAFSA to see what you will be entitled to financially and determine your EFC (expected family contribution):

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Don't worry if it's thousands, as it's not the cost of tuition only, it's weighed against the "cost of education" which is roughly 15k higher than tuition and books, so could be as high as 40k for a private school. The EFC you get would be subtracted from that and you would be entitled to borrow the rest and grants. If it's 0, well then that's awesome too.

Next, get accepted to a school and have the results sent there. They will determine your award package for you.

Let me know how it goes.

[matthewscott]

I'm 36, switched from IT to a completely unrelated career, now earning my Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

Hmm, if I knew that I forgot. I did know you were in school though. So how far did you get with the IT degree? What made you switch?

*just curious*

[Big Time]

Thank you all for the encouragement.

You're a saint, CC. I'm sure I'll come here and ask you about stuff I'm stumped on. I'm kind of curious, too, as to why you changed what you want to do. I am determined to make the most of all the money I'm about to spend and learn both hardware and programming languages so I can do everything.

I'm going to study electronics and circuit boards and microprocessors as well as learn COBOL and visual basic and C++ and Java and PHP and Perl, etc. along with whatever else I think of.

I have to finish my stupid taxes before I can finish the FAFSA, but it's the first thing I looked into. It's a heck of a lot easier to do online and without having to bug my Mom for all her info this time. I had to always fill it out on paper back in the 1990's.

I already bought a book to get a head start on Calculus. So much freaking calculus. I can already tell that it's gonna piss me off.

I visited family in Nashville last week and looked into Tennessee Tech and am going to visit Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday.

Staying here where it's warm and dry and I like my job is my first choice, but heading back east is a good plan B.

I'm not starting until Jan 2009, so I have time to get all my ducks in a row.

[CleverCynic]

Hmm, if I knew that I forgot. I did know you were in school though. So how far did you get with the IT degree? What made you switch?

*just curious*

Ok, well early 20's Plan A was pre-med and I got really close to finishing a degree in Biochem. However, the tech boom was emerging and I was a private enthusiast, so anyone who knew even basic DOS command was really in demand. After a while the headhunters kicked in and the jobs kept getting better and better. By my 4th year of college (out of 5 since i had a lot of math and stuff to catch up on from being lazy in high school) I was making 50k plus bennies. This kind of stole my thunder at school and began taking more of my time, and I figured I was pretty set anyway as far as being happy with a decent career.

I only did the usual stuff actually towards the IT, A+, and I did two cores and an elective towards the MCSE which made me basically an MCP... as far as I went as the job I had didn't really require me to have it and I left to open my own business. I had a bunch of systems I reconditioned from a major company's upgrade, and I started selling them and then finally working out finance deals which turned into a full blown rent to own company with about 100 systems out at any given time at $100 a month payment a piece. It was great for a while, then I had an opportunity to merge with a financing company that cuased me to move further from my client base and made collections difficult, plus it turned out they were going under, and really were depending on MY business to save THEM rather than complementing each other. Now displaced and living on residuals, I started a rock band in Tampa to stave off the depression and take it easy. Once broke, we moved to NC and IT jobs were nowhere to be found, the market had become saturated after years of schools popping up and thousands of true professionals emerging. On top of that I had gotten behind on the networking side dealing mostly with standalones for several years which didn't help. I ended up at Bellsouth DSL for $8/hr and said that's it, gotta do something major now that I had a family and 3 kids to support. I didn't want life to be hard forever, and I knew that no matter what I did, the years were going to pass anyway, and each of those years I would desperately want something better for myself and my family.

SO, the obvious choice was to take the first step in the journey of 1000 miles. Went back and finished my Biochem degree, got into grad school, and now 4 years later I have 2 years left and everything is on track. Also, because my income was SO low the year before I went back to school, I was entitled to borrow everything I needed, and actually had more access to money than I did working full time, plus I could continue to work as needed to fatten the bottom line. Overall affect is a very comfortable life now with a great goal and eventually a truly self-sufficient and recession-proof career with what I consider to be an enormous salary. Truth be told I'd do it for a lot less and still be looking forward to it.

SO, draw your inspiration if you can. There are lots of degrees and programs that, if you decide smart, will guarantee you a better future... and I promise you, in 4 years or so you're still going to want the same things... may as well be finishing.

[CleverCynic]

Thank you all for the encouragement.

You're a saint, CC. I'm sure I'll come here and ask you about stuff I'm stumped on. I'm kind of curious, too, as to why you changed what you want to do. I am determined to make the most of all the money I'm about to spend and learn both hardware and programming languages so I can do everything.

I'm going to study electronics and circuit boards and microprocessors as well as learn COBOL and visual basic and C++ and Java and PHP and Perl, etc. along with whatever else I think of.

I have to finish my stupid taxes before I can finish the FAFSA, but it's the first thing I looked into. It's a heck of a lot easier to do online and without having to bug my Mom for all her info this time. I had to always fill it out on paper back in the 1990's.

I already bought a book to get a head start on Calculus. So much freaking calculus. I can already tell that it's gonna piss me off.

I visited family in Nashville last week and looked into Tennessee Tech and am going to visit Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday.

Staying here where it's warm and dry and I like my job is my first choice, but heading back east is a good plan B.

I'm not starting until Jan 2009, so I have time to get all my ducks in a row.

Ok, couple things, as long as you have your w-2's, you can select "I will be doing my tax return later" and make some progress now.

Second, since you're 36, you're long emancipated so no parent info will be needed, only your household income will be considered.

And last, careful about moving so close to going back to school unless you are going to a private school. You'll lose residency status and your tuition will shoot up tenfold at a state school. You'd have to pretend you never left and use your parents address or something and hope it flies, however, if you get selected for "verification" when it comes time to figure your financial package, there's a chance they'll notice your w2's or recent employer was in another state... that makes telling them you've been local for the last 2 years pretty difficult.

This is critical, when applying for the school, make sure you tell them you've lived in whichever state you plan to attend for at least 2 years. Some states it's only 1. I got lucky because my father lived in NC for 5 years before I moved there, and I had basically NO income for the year before that, so there were no questions asked when I said I had been there at his address for years. I was able to start immediately at the resident rate.

[jasen]

I went back to school myself. Still in it. I chose a school that offered a lot of online classes and night classes.

At this point, I really don't care about the quality of the education so much as getting the paper. IT is a hard field to advance in without a degree now. My experience counts for a lot (been in IT since 1993), but some companies absolutely require that BS/BA.

I'm almost done now. School is a hell of a lot easier than I remembered it being. Maybe I finally grew up.

Probably not though.