Anyone on here gone back to school as an adult?

I went back to college when I was 29. My son was born when I was 30. Nuff said...

Be careful about going back to school with the options that are available to you when you finish.
The fact that you have a new degree/license with no experience, is what kills the deal when looking for work!
Kids in school/university now a day and ones who have graduated with degrees, can't use them due to the fact they have zero experience.
No one wants to hire without experience. Specially people who expect to be paid what their ticket says they should.


now

... we have TEMP FOREIGN WORKERS to deal with, that work for peanuts!

Do it but make sure it is something you can make a middle class living with. I went back to school in my mid 40s and finished a 4 yr degree program I dropped out of 15 years prior. Also picked up an advanced degree and I was able to make better money.

torontoke said:

So without getting into all the details of my downward spiral i have been contemplating taking the jump and going back to school to make a serious lifestyle change.
Have any of you gone back to school as adults? I have a real hesitation about it when i consider how long it will take and how old i will be by the time im done.
Id love to hear your thoughts and stories on it.

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I did, and it's made all the difference. It broadens your perspective, horizons- and options. They might hound you to repay your student loans, but NO ONE can ever take your education away from you. No one can give it to you, either- you must work to get it for yourself.

You'll find no shortage of other non traditional age students once you get to class, and they tend to be more serious, better prepared and far more helpful to their group mates than the 18-24 kids.

Even if you had the world by the balls, I'd still recommend going back to school.

Finally, there's the self respect angle; it's an accomplishment, one to be justifiably proud of. It took me ten years, but it's the part of my educational experience I cherish the most.

Doobius1 said:

I went back to college when I was 29. My son was born when I was 30. Nuff said...

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LOL look out for the college hotties!

Thanks for all the good advice everyone.
I guess it does come down to choosing something that is equal parts rewarding and worthwhile.
I would love to take something that leaves the option of working from home open. On bad days theres no way i could "go to work" so that will play heavily on my decision.
When i was a teen i wanted to be a surgeon, went to a special gifted elementary school and all.
When my shrink said if money were no object what would u do i said become a dr to stick it to wsib and fight for patients rights. She laughed and said wow setting your goals a lil high. I dont have the time money or motivation to go to med school so im open to easier options lol.
Decisions decisions

torontoke said:

Thanks for all the good advice everyone.
I guess it does come down to choosing something that is equal parts rewarding and worthwhile.
I would love to take something that leaves the option of working from home open. On bad days theres no way i could "go to work" so that will play heavily on my decision.
When i was a teen i wanted to be a surgeon, went to a special gifted elementary school and all.
When my shrink said if money were no object what would u do i said become a dr to stick it to wsib and fight for patients rights. She laughed and said wow setting your goals a lil high. I dont have the time money or motivation to go to med school so im open to easier options lol.
Decisions decisions

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How about something on the lines of medical billing? I had a family member do this from home and did quite well for herself. Really not sure if theres a need for that anymore, was just throwing something out there.

torontoke said:

What schooling is relevent to growing cannabis i missed those options lol

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electrical, HVAC, plumbing, horticulture, permaculture

Lol funny u listed those c ray.
My best friend is a plumber he has i should take electrical. My other friend is an electrician and he says take pluming. I dont think id be happy doing either one. Horticulture would be fun but i havent seen it offered near me and i dont know about the potential $$$ or jobs associated with it.

All the trades have a physical element, some more than others. If I were you I would like into heavy equipment operator. Mobile Crane operators make real good money but theres lots of competition for apprentices,

redi jedi said:

All the trades have a physical element, some more than others. If I were you I would like into heavy equipment operator. Mobile Crane operators make real good money but theres lots of competition for apprentices,

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There is great money in being a crane operator when they have work but they have alot of downtime too that isnt paid so the wages arent that good when averaged out.
I used to use a company boom truck alot when i was welding and when it wasnt enough we hired cranes.
Those apprentices work hard for several years to get operator jobs. Appreciate the thought tho
I think i need to focus on non physical jobs for the preservation of whats left of my mobility. I dont really have an off switch and constantly push my body beyond what i should be doing. That has to stop

torontoke said:

There is great money in being a crane operator when they have work but they have alot of downtime too that isnt paid so the wages arent that good when averaged out.
I used to use a company boom truck alot when i was welding and when it wasnt enough we hired cranes.
Those apprentices work hard for several years to get operator jobs. Appreciate the thought tho
I think i need to focus on non physical jobs for the preservation of whats left of my mobility. I dont really have an off switch and constantly push my body beyond what i should be doing. That has to stop

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Heavy equipment operators always have work...the most physical part is cleaning the machine at the end of the day.

redi jedi said:

Heavy equipment operators always have work...the most physical part is cleaning the machine at the end of the day.

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Cranes dont run in bad weather. Rain and snow shut them down and most guys ive met in the industry complain about shortend days. And the climbing and rigging was the hardest part ive seen. Most of the time the customer helps the crane guys pack up and clean at least we did but that was because my boss was cheap and wanted them to leave

Something else that popped into my head is a CNC operator/machinist.

torontoke said:

Cranes dont run in bad weather. Rain and snow shut them down and most guys ive met in the industry complain about shortend days. And the climbing and rigging was the hardest part ive seen. Most of the time the customer helps the crane guys pack up and clean at least we did but that was because my boss was cheap and wanted them to leave

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Heavy equipment aka dozers, loaders, graders, excavators, back hoe....

Ohhhhh ok now im smokin what ur growin.
I thought about those too.
Not sure if there is much schooling in those. I will look into em thanks

torontoke said:

Ohhhhh ok now im smokin what ur growin.
I thought about those too.
Not sure if there is much schooling in those. I will look into em thanks

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lol...ya mon

Ya not much schooling at all...Durham College in Whitby has a course

torontoke said:

Lol funny u listed those c ray.
My best friend is a plumber he has i should take electrical. My other friend is an electrician and he says take pluming. I dont think id be happy doing either one. Horticulture would be fun but i havent seen it offered near me and i dont know about the potential $$$ or jobs associated with it.

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Web development can be done from home, it's plenty lucrative and doesn't require weird hours, hauling/lifting/installing heavy or dirty things.

torontoke said:

Thanks for all the good advice everyone.
I guess it does come down to choosing something that is equal parts rewarding and worthwhile.
I would love to take something that leaves the option of working from home open. On bad days theres no way i could "go to work" so that will play heavily on my decision.
When i was a teen i wanted to be a surgeon, went to a special gifted elementary school and all.
When my shrink said if money were no object what would u do i said become a dr to stick it to wsib and fight for patients rights. She laughed and said wow setting your goals a lil high. I dont have the time money or motivation to go to med school so im open to easier options lol.
Decisions decisions

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Why not become a doctor/surgeon? Why is that setting your sights too high? What's wrong with being too ambitious? If you want it badly enough, just do it. There is always a way to work it out. You're an adult, you can run circles around those kids in college. Get some student loans, double up your course load so you can graduate quicker. Just having a goal can help focus the path you choose.

Or, what else is there in the medical field that might provide you with the same sort of feeling of accomplishment? How about nurse practitioner? Physiotherapist? X-ray technician? There are hundreds of job classifications in the average hospital. Something in administration might be good perhaps. I know a woman whose job is as a fundraiser for a major hospital. That's all she does.

Widen your vision, think about where you want to end up, and then create a plan to get there.