Posted by deirdrehbrt on February 7, 2006, at 22:05:26
In reply to Any point to going back?, posted by fairywings on February 6, 2006, at 19:49:00
Fairywings,
Let me tell you my story. I dreamed of being an engineer as a child. Bad things happened in my family, and I didn't do well in school. I didn't go to college. I went into the Air Force. I did take some college courses then.
Got out (Air Force), and got local jobs as a technician. Got married, had a family. Worked for G.E. for a while, and took a few courses at the local university.
I was recruited by a small high-tech company and did a mix of hardware and software engineering. Got divorced, had a 4 year meltdown that's still not completely over.
There's no way on the Goddess' green earth that I'll ever run into a serendipitous job offer like that again, having been out of work for years, and no degree.
So. Dee's back in school again. With my previous credit, I was able to get into a software engineering program as a junior. I should be graduating in June of 2007.
I'm 45 right now. I'll be almost 47 then. Older? Yeah. But I'm doing really well. I have a 4.0 GPA right now. That says something. I'm really working on straightening out my life. I've been in and out of the hospital almost every six months. Right now, it's been 5 months since my last meltdown, but I think that with the desire to succeed in school that I can maybe break that cycle. (I've also quit drinking, which wasn't helping out the med situation any)
It's going to be work. I'll have to keep doing well to convince any employer that I'm worth hiring. I do have good experience though. I stayed at each of my last jobs for 6 years. I have a letter of recommendation from my last employer, and I did excellent work.
If you can get into a program that offers an internship, or somehow gain some experience in the field that you are training for, that might help. Also, people are retiring later. If you are going in at 40, or even later, a company who really wants you can reasonably expect that you aren't going to retire anywhere soon. Even in my case, I could conceivably be working after graduating for more than 20 years.
To that, I bring to the table much more experience than a fresh new graduate. I've been exposed to lots of different ways of doing things. And going to college later means that I'm extremely dedicated to succeed in my chosen field. I've had time to check things out, and I've made a major financial and time commitment to my future. These are things that a human resources department won't overlook.
Older people tend to be more committed. Younger people are looking to expand their resume. (on average) Younger people are looking to move up the ladder. Older people want to make a contribution.
That's just my "old person's" viewpoint right now, but I have to believe that I'm doing this for a reason. Another part of the reason is that my oldest daughter graduates from High School next year, and I want to have a decent enough job to help her go to college. I certainly won't be able to do that working at Subway.
My 2 cents.
--Dee
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:607016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/studs/20051123/msgs/607368.html