Workers in Their 40s Are Going Back to School

3,921 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by Over_ed
infinity ag
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This would be a good thing about 15 years ago. Today? All our jobs here are offshored, so what good is it to go to college and take on additional debt?

This is a good idea only if you have the time, money and will not take on additional debt. I did it in my 30s and I paid for it myself - no debt. It was a challenge, but the world wasn't f***ed like it is now.

These days even the gyms are full at 10am on a workday. Not with old Boomers but younger people aged 25 - 50 who should be working.

As folks here say, go do HVAC.

Why Workers in Their 40s Are Going Back to School
A tough job market and the threat of artificial intelligence are leading to some radical career changes
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/why-workers-in-their-40s-are-going-back-to-school-c6b8f6d8

Quote:

It's tough to go back to school in your 40s. But with layoffs, stagnant pay and inroads by artificial intelligence, many of those nearing midlife are heading back to classrooms and trade schools.
Some are making radical career changes, going from chef to software engineer.
Others are getting higher degrees to stand out from peers as qualification standards intensify. Some who skipped college after high school return to the classroom because they can't get top jobs without degrees.
Returning to school isn't easy. Those in their 40s often have to juggle work, family and academics. They take on new debt when peers are entering peak-earning years. The average cost of in-state public college is about $30,000 a year and much more for private nonprofit schools.

For many, it's worth it. People are living longer and aren't retiring at 65.

Cindy Woody earned her master's at 41 and completed her doctorate at 47. "I'm a good investment," says Woody, an assistant professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas at Tyler.
Longevity, she says, runs in her family. Her great grandmother lived to almost 100. Woody worked full time while going to school, quit watching TV and handed off housework to family members while she attended in-person classes at night and on Saturday. She wrote papers between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. or on Sunday afternoons.

More than 1 million people in their 40s are enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Many are looking to make more money in the white-collar world and have greater job security, even at a time when many younger people are questioning the value of a college degree.

Skilled trade and apprenticeship programs, which can cost as little as $3,000 a year, are seeing an influx, too, in part because those jobs are seen as less vulnerable to automation and artificial intelligence. Leaky pipes need plumbers.

One fourth of the 108 students enrolled in a Pennsylvania job-training program are in their 40s, learning plumbing, carpentry, construction, healthcare and other skills. Many have either lost jobs or want better pay.

"This year we've seen more layoffs and closures," says Erica Mulberger, executive director of Advance Central PA, a nonprofit local workforce development board.

One student, Victoria Miner, 48, enrolled in a four-year butcher apprenticeship program, learning to process meat products according to USDA standards. Miner, who raises cattle, felt she needed the training to get taken seriously in a male-dominated industry.

flown-the-coop
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You ok?

You are old enough to know that we have endured bigger challenges than where we are now… he'll just 5-6 years ago, 17 years ago, 24/25 years ago, so on and so forth.

Historically high employment, historically low levels of geopolitical conflict.

As they say, outside, cut grass. But the doom and gloom on offshoring, jobs and bad CEOs is… repetitive.
infinity ag
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flown-the-coop said:

You ok?

You are old enough to know that we have endured bigger challenges than where we are now… he'll just 5-6 years ago, 17 years ago, 24/25 years ago, so on and so forth.

Historically high employment, historically low levels of geopolitical conflict.

As they say, outside, cut grass. But the doom and gloom on offshoring, jobs and bad CEOs is… repetitive.


You can read?

The topic is about people going back to school in their 40s. It is an article from today.

So while this is a good idea to keep learning, I wonder if there will be a return on the investment and people will take on more debt.

You got a problem with my take? If that bothers you then just scroll and move on.
one safe place
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infinity ag said:

This would be a good thing about 15 years ago. Today? All our jobs here are offshored, so what good is it to go to college and take on additional debt?



All of our jobs are not offshored. I don't think even you believe half of what you post.
Kaiser von Wilhelm
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infinity ag said:


These days even the gyms are full at 10am on a workday. Not with old Boomers but younger people aged 25 - 50 who should be working.



This is nothing new. Parks in SF would always be crowded on nice weekday afternoons 20 years ago when I lived there, and guess what? They pulled in 100-200k, but worked just a few hours a day with tons of idle time. People have been "working from home" for a long time now. It's not always an employment or unemployment thing. Or a blame offshoring thing. It's often a "paid way too much to work too little, leaving lots of excess time to fill" thing.

hth
DallasAg 94
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Avg in-state tuition in Texas is $8200.

I'm thinking of going back for my MBA because my nephew is getting his and I don't want him to have one and I don't.

Going back to college... Americans are the most over-educated people on the planet.
MelvinUdall
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one safe place said:

infinity ag said:

This would be a good thing about 15 years ago. Today? All our jobs here are offshored, so what good is it to go to college and take on additional debt?



All of our jobs are not offshored. I don't think even you believe half of what you post.


He believes that the job he does correlates to everyone else's job and every job is going overseas…it is just not accurate…I am not sure why I clicked on his thread, I won't any further…
BigRobSA
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Indian H1B CEOs!!!!!!!!1
Over_ed
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Statistics:

As absolute numbers and as % of students - over 35 and over 40 peaked in the late 2000's.

Much of the reporting uses over 35 as the category, btw.


Anecdotal:
The story uses a student going back for a PhD. THIS IS NOT THAT UNUSUAL TO BE OLDER.

More, education/educational leadership focuses on students that want to be administrators. This also is dominated by working people going back to school later. Similar to MBA's, but probably (my guess) tend to be even older because most are teachers that get tired of teaching and/or want more money.

So it has been much higher, and their examples are nothing special.

My conclusion: Clickbait article.

Monywolf
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DallasAg 9 said:


Going back to college... Americans are the most over-educated people on the planet.

not at all true
MRB10
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Who says I'm not working when I go to the gym at 10a? My calendar is blocked.
ts5641
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Seems like you'd be better off learning a specific skillset rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars listening to a professor tell you how racist you are and how evil your country is.
DallasAg 94
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Over_ed said:

Statistics:


My conclusion: Clickbait article.




And the sad part is, once he started clicking those articles, it fills his Inbox and the cycle perpetuates itself.

It is like my wife. She'll say, "Is it true the Aggies are going to wear burnt orange in the CFP?" Or... "Did the Aggies move the CFP game to Miami?"

Some really stupid stuff. And I'm like "Babe, I don't know what site you are getting that, but you really need to stop clicking that."
docb
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BigRobSA said:

Indian H1B CEOs!!!!!!!!1

That's it. CEOs saving money and our government allowing it to happen.
flown-the-coop
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Has the Bureau of Indian Affairs weighed in on these fees?
beanbean
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A fellow department manager at my job, white dude in his 40's is stepping down to go back to school for computer science. He does alright right now and our line of work seems pretty safe from AI. I'm like, "dude are you sure about this?"
YouBet
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beanbean said:

A fellow department manager at my job, white dude in his 40's is stepping down to go back to school for computer science. He does alright right now and our line of work seems pretty safe from AI. I'm like, "dude are you sure about this?"


Is he aware how terrible that sector is right now and that there hundreds of thousands of laid off tech workers way more qualified than him?
IIIHorn
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infinity ag said:

flown-the-coop said:

You ok?

You are old enough to know that we have endured bigger challenges than where we are now… he'll just 5-6 years ago, 17 years ago, 24/25 years ago, so on and so forth.

Historically high employment, historically low levels of geopolitical conflict.

As they say, outside, cut grass. But the doom and gloom on offshoring, jobs and bad CEOs is… repetitive.


You can read?

The topic is about people going back to school in their 40s. It is an article from today.

So while this is a good idea to keep learning, I wonder if there will be a return on the investment and people will take on more debt.

You got a problem with my take? If that bothers you then just scroll and move on.


Reading is fundamentalist.
beanbean
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YouBet said:

beanbean said:

A fellow department manager at my job, white dude in his 40's is stepping down to go back to school for computer science. He does alright right now and our line of work seems pretty safe from AI. I'm like, "dude are you sure about this?"


Is he aware how terrible that sector is right now and that there hundreds of thousands of laid off tech workers way more qualified than him?

Apparently he thinks he'll be fine and it's going to be worth the money he's about to spend on it. Blows my mind.
Ryan the Temp
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I've gotten two more degrees in the last four years and I'm getting my second Masters now. It's all part of my plan for a second career once I can start collecting my pension benefits in a couple of years. A doctorate would be nice to have in my second career and open up more prospects, but I don't think I would have enough years left in the work force by the time I get a doctorate to make it worth it.
BonfireNerd04
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You know, at this point in my life, I really wouldn't mind taking a few years off from work to get another college degree. If I could get it paid for...
BigRobSA
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flown-the-coop said:

Has the Bureau of Indian Affairs weighed in on these fees?

Dot or Feather?
flown-the-coop
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BigRobSA said:

flown-the-coop said:

Has the Bureau of Indian Affairs weighed in on these fees?

Dot or Feather?

It would be racist for me to make such a distinction.

All Indian First Peoples Misidentified Potential Origins
Of Human Species Who Never Migrated ANYWHERE Lives Matter.
Over_ed
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Ryan the Temp said:

I've gotten two more degrees in the last four years and I'm getting my second Masters now. It's all part of my plan for a second career once I can start collecting my pension benefits in a couple of years. A doctorate would be nice to have in my second career and open up more prospects, but I don't think I would have enough years left in the work force by the time I get a doctorate to make it worth it.

I was doing similar, taking senior and masters level courses in Sociology and Art History among others. Think I was up to another ~60 hours. Stopped last December. But purely for my "rounding", at 70'ish no desire for another career, or degree.

It was in a multidisciplinary degree, I think I had not seen an advisor in 6 years. So pretty much any graduate class I could get the faculty to say yes and almost any undergrad class.

I'm out, unless I see something fun to do with what's left of hazelwood hours.
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