learn & live....

From: Kathy, Freshman, Cal State Los Angeles

QUESTION:

I have been browsing through the questions but haven't found any information regarding my situation.

I am almost 33 years old, and last October, after spending a decade in unfulfilling, low paying jobs, I decided to resign in order to return to college to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, with an option in Human Resources.

I spent 7 years at my last job. However, I have been horribly confused as far as whether or not I made the right choice of quitting a job I held so long in order to go back to college. Sometimes I feel that I am too "old" to be doing this, that perhaps I should just stick with a decent job, move up in a company and retire (my Mother has done this with only a high school diploma, she makes a decent living). Yet sometimes in my heart of hearts I feel that these days a college degree is an absolute necessity.

Therefore, I have the following questions:

• What are my chances at my age of securing employment with a college degree?
• Do employers prefer to hire recent graduates who are younger?
• Is it worth being out of the job market for a few years, at my age, to pursue a college degree?
• Is it worth pursuing ANY degree at all at my age?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

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From: Brian Krueger

ANSWER:

Hi Kathy -

First of all, 33 years old is not old (I'm in my 40's--it's all relative). And it's certainly not too old to go back to school to pursue your education.

But the answers to all of your questions is: "It depends." Specifically, it depends on why you are going back to college. If it is just to make more money, it will likely be a marginal decision. But if it is to do more meaningful and fulfilling work, the answer is a definite yes.

You're suffering from some angst right now over whether or not you made the right decision. That's OK and natural. You'll get over it as you get closer to your goal. But if you didn't stick it out, you will spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder wondering "What if..."

Most employers value age and maturity. It will be a positive for you. This is not a competition for good looks (where all of us "oldsters" would lose out to our younger counterparts). This is a competition for who will be the best employee. And almost universally, the older, the wiser, the more mature and the more stable. You will have an advantage when you finish your degree.

Stick with it.

Brian Krueger