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So. I'm contemplating going to college and getting a degree. Thing is, I'm 26 yrs now, and have been working full time since I was 19. No college education to speak of (a little part time math and that's it).
Has anyone here been in the same position, perhaps done the same thing? Frankly, the prospect scares the living hell out of me, yet the prospect of becoming stuck in a rut because I lack a proper theoretical background scares me even more.
Edit: The program I'm looking at is 5 years long. | |
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04/08/07
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mlbot
I hear you can get a sweet grant to go to school if you are of monoteste ancestry
04/08/07
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minisystem
yar, why not, eh? more expensive than reading wikpedia all day long, but maybe better?
04/08/07
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crabster
jdg: Haha, what kind of question is that? I guess some are. As for university and money, there are no tuition fees, but living is part subsidies, part loans.
Also, this fucked me up: youtube.com /watch?v=1qqYWDalS8k
Or does embedding work now?
Video
edited: Apr 08 2007
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jarvis
i am in the exact same spot crabster. i'm 26, have already had a 'career' for 6 years in the print industry, and gave it up to work at a record store in hopes that i can dedicate more time to school. right now i'm in community college getting some gen eds out of the way and catching up on math (luckily i get to hang out and do my homework w/ my girlfriend as she's going for a phd in math!). right now i work 40 hours a week and am taking 8 hours at school. to be honest, it really sucks. that doesn't mean it's not worth it though, because once i get over this hill i'll be able to start taking classes that actually hold interest to me. i have no clue how long i'll be in school, but i've opted for an industrial design program with some sort of engineering minor (computer or electrical). i'm still trying to figure out how to swing the work/school in the other direction (more school, less work) and i figure that will come when i transfer into a proper college/university and basically will have to rely on loans. the loan part shouldn't be scary though. i was making decent money in my last job and had stupidly worked up a large debt but managed to pay it off in a little over a year, so knowing that i could get an even better paying job means that college could be payed off in a very realistic span of time without it cutting too deep into your life (at least depending on the size of the loans you take out).
if it's really what you want to do, go for it. you just have to make sure you're into it because sometimes it can be very hard to self-motivate.
04/08/07
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jarvis
oh, i also had an uncle that didn't go to college until he was 31 and ended up with a phd in psychology. that's kind of inspiring to think about.
04/08/07
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djugel
I need to go back... but I'm not ready... I'm just about to turn 26 as well.
04/08/07
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yaxu
My vote is to go back to college for sure, but 5 years? Is this an undergraduate degree? If you already have 6 years work experience then you might well find the first couple of years of this tedious. It's really annoying having people teach you stuff you already know. Consider something like a taught MSc as well. Then you'd get to do one or two years, which would be more focused on your interests, you'd get better resources and so on. Your experience should get you on.
04/08/07
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Tripnik
I just got out last spring. I burned out pretty hard at the end partially because I took myself way too seriously, and partially because I was an idiot. It's difficult to really mine the gems from a scholastic environment when you've never been away from one. Now that I've been out for almost a year, I'm starting to review a lot of things I "learned" the first time around (luckily I kept a lot of my books and notes) and really internalize things. However, I think I could have taken a lot more from the experience had I been more mature and had more real life experience so I knew what I had when I had it. I'd like to do grad school at some point, but feel like I'd need to spend a few more years just living before I try to tackle that.
I'd do it if I were you. You'd be doing it the right way.
04/08/07
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reehc
do it! I worked in a record shop for 4 years and then decided to get out and get a qualification, 4 years later I've got a good degree & am just now finishing up a masters. I know how you feel- jumping out of the comfort of a wage seems pretty crazy but its well worth it! & 5 years will go by like nothing! & also your work experience can be nothing but positive thing.
04/08/07
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Highdropod
yes! i'm just shy of 30 and going back to school. i've found that this time around i am less prone to be on my way to class, meet a friend and end up getting talked into going to a park to eat mushrooms and drink massive amounts of booze. i'm not single, but college seems to be a good place to meet hot girls and play chlamydia roulette.
04/08/07
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Dozius
I started back at school when I was 24. 26 now and couple more years to go. I'm infinitely better off and I'm glad I decided to go back. I might even put in a few more years and go even further. It's never too late.
04/08/07
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lunatinker
i started college late - around 26 years old also. straight As until dropping out for Computer Science. Good stuff.
Loved psychology and philosophy and IT classes. Even learned a little in my English Literature classes.
So, you find it a little irritating when your classmates play "high-school" with some issues, but
you also have a steadier hand and a better aim at a target. Its worth the adventure with a clear aim.
I learned enough programming skills that now, I am solidly into PHP and mySQL and now other RDBMS craps.
Teachers are like roulette - some of them are worth every dollar paid. Ask fellow students regarding which instructors
are teh shit. and good luck! FAFSA in the US paid almost all my tuition and books. get poor for one year, then go. lol - sorry. it works.
04/08/07
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utofbu
Im currently in a similar situation crabster. Im 26. I have some college, but debt and finances have really dictated my fate as of late. Get to school man. I cannot wait to get back to it. Use school for the purpose of refining your own internal self discipline. Realise as quickly as you can that the point is only partially to listen to professors. It is also to challenge the professors, so find ways to do that..
You are never too old for it.
Im the equivalent of a sophomore undergrad. Im 26 and I am currently out of school, If you start now and I start again in a year we will graduate nearly the same. Lets do it!
04/08/07
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prajnaji
Universities help us... but it's the love of learning that gets us through. Jeesh, I have a bachelors in architecture, that I haven't used for 15 years. If one loves to learn, one can learn from life and all the wonders in it. But does a BA really teach anything? Nawww....
04/08/07
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jogn
Aren't universities free in sweden? You're really lucky, i'm stuck with debt. If education is free, you should just take it. It's obviously something you've thought about for a while. I don't quite get what you mean by lack of technical background, but some things might throw you off, higher level calculus is one, and thinking in sequence for programming.
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