Going back to college in your early 40s...sounds like a terrible idea...but Im considering it.

[ramsdude47]

There is a lot of flexibility with nursing and so many different little niche areas you can work in. It pays well enough, and can be very rewarding at times.

Based on everything you wrote I would not recommend it however. I’m pretty burned out on it after 6 years. Mostly just because our healthcare system is broken. Add to that that a large percentage of boomers SUCK, and they are (and will continue to be) the majority of the patients for the next decade.

 

[Fatcamp]

I've heard nursing mentioned alot. Not something I've ever even thought of. Not sure I'd do well caring for other people as I'm about the opposite of a 'people person'...and i can't stand being in hospitals even visiting folks for more than a hour or two.
I have some very successful friends in nursing, but I definitely don't think that would be a path I'd pursue personally.
Appreciate the input though and very glad it worked out for you!

Unless it was on someone's radar already I wouldn't reccomend nursing to anyone. It's a challenging course of study and is a brutal job at times.

That said, I'm an operating room nurse and find it pretty fascinating. After a lifetime in construction it just makes sense that it would be a good fit.

 

[timekiller13]

There is a lot of flexibility with nursing and so many different little niche areas you can work in. It pays well enough, and can be very rewarding at times.

Based on everything you wrote I would not recommend it however. I’m pretty burned out on it after 6 years. Mostly just because our healthcare system is broken. Add to that that a large percentage of boomers SUCK, and they are (and will continue to be) the majority of the patients for the next decade.

This is why I got out of bedside nursing.

Pre-covid healthcare was OK and I enjoyed working in the ER.

COVID was hell and wrecked our healthcare system.

Post COVID our system is worse than ever and I’m exhausted after a decade at the bedside.

I found a chance to move into an education position and jumped on it. Stayed at the same hospital, but now I handle all the new nurse orientation and skills training.

 

[WannaBeRambo]

Title pretty well sums it up.
I'll be 41 next week...and I'm more than lightly kicking around the idea of going back to college to finish out a 4 year degree in one of various natural resource related fields. Im still working on the specifics major wise.
Long of it short...my time turning wrenches and dealing with the general public in a customer facing manner will be coming to a close sooner than later for a multitude of reasons the biggest being that I simply dislike/loath every aspect of the auto/auto repair industry in general after 22 years in it. I can give specifics if anyone wants but I'm not here to b$%ch and moan about all the reasons my job makes me miserable...the fact simply is that the work hasn't brought me the slightest joy other than income for many years and I'm finally at that breaking point.

So I'm thinking hard about retooling to finish out my last 10-20 years of full time work chasing something I enjoy at least sometimes and find purpose in more than just getting POS cars down the road for a bit longer and earning a paycheck.
I'm leaning towards state, federal or oil and gas work that will get me outside and out of the same building everyday. Whether that be fish and game, BLM/Forest service or oil and gas production, etc... I need to do a bit more homework on specific paths, but all will require 1.5 to two years additional education at a minimum to get a foot in any door...and all will likeky be a staggering pay cut starting out I'm well aware. Oil and gas maybe not so much.

While I'm aware that federal employment options are a train wreck presently, I don't forsee that
to be a long term condition and hopefully be settled into a new normal by the time I'd finish my degree. Im not sold on Fed work though, honestly last option I'd likely consider even before the current chaos erupted after many discussions with my father who retires from the Corps of Engineeers in a couple months. Thats a whole other topic for another place and time...but it is still an option.

Any other late bloomers around here with input on returning to the higher education scene later in life?
Any state/federal/oil/gas guys that have any specifics on what to focus on course/major wise for a certain career path.
Any recommendations on colleges in the mountain west to consider for specific natural resources oriented degrees?
My secondary goal in this is finding a career path that gives me better potential in finding meaningful work in the mountain west.

We are moving, its just a matter of exactly when and exactly where...Im seeing schooling may play into that at least at first.
My wife is game for about anything, she knows I need a change more than I do I think. She didn't bat an eye when i threw out the random idea of moving to Larimie for a year or two and living cheap while I finish a degree at U of WY...She just started looking at realestate, elementary schools and churches in the area. Thats just one of many options currently being explored, but the point is she's on board.

Obviously I'm amassing information from many sources, but I figured it couldn't hurt to drop something here in a community of at least somewhat like minded individuals. Some of whom may very we do the type of work I may be looking for.

My next step is to get in touch with a few advisors and send transcripts of previous course work, as I have 2 associates degrees and couple years of early mechanical engineering courses under my belt, and see what kind of course schedules they can work up on a couple degree programs to help me get better grasp on timing. Perhaps see about knocking a few courses out through online programs before making a move to a specific school and dropping my paycheck for a year or two to just get it done.

If anyone has anything insightful...or just wanna tell me I'm an idiot for even thinking about it...Im all ears

Lot more common than you think. I went back in my 40’s and halfway through got hired as senior manager based on experience and courses I took (I would not bank on that.)

Couple thoughts occur…
Things are not getting cheaper and anything steps back in salary I think it going to hurt you harder than you think.
I think you will regret taking major salary cut. I also think prices are going to increase substantially in the next few years, can you sustain that?

Federal and certain other employees get generous PTO and I think the better strategy is to find a gov’t job that pays well and gives you lots of PTO so you can do extended trips.

Reason is you are still young enough to be able to sustain a rugged hunting trip, but a lot of people after 55 or so, start getting medical or family issues that preclude this. So rather then keying your job around being outdoors as a job requirement, better to have lots of time to enjoy the outdoors on your own terms. May later spend that time helping mom at the senior home….

If you end up with a medical condition the prevents you from being outdoors a lot, that could mean your new career is over. I see most of the field work being done by young people. Probably good reasons for that.

Finally, is your retirement savings on track? I had 400k in th bank by 40. (Focused on Roth). This is very important, as the $400k was earinging interest and dividends, basically “free money” fattening my savings, so I did not have to. It made it a lot easier to get the $1.5M goal I se for myself.

I think it’s great you wanting to better yourself, but at the end of the day, if you are not bettering your financial situation as a result, you are buying a non-performing investment.

If i had to do my live over again, I’d find a job with a pension. At 40 you may be able to accomplish this.

(PS I think most of the non-noob fired employees by Trump are going to get their Federal benefits and pension and come back as contractors billing at twice their salaried rate. In other words, workforce cost will increase, but that’s off topic.)

 

[WannaBeRambo]

This is why I got out of bedside nursing.

Pre-covid healthcare was OK and I enjoyed working in the ER.

COVID was hell and wrecked our healthcare system.

Post COVID our system is worse than ever and I’m exhausted after a decade at the bedside.

I found a chance to move into an education position and jumped on it. Stayed at the same hospital, but now I handle all the new nurse orientation and skills training.

That’s something else people need to factor in. Our world is far less stable since 9/11 than it was before. AI is going to change things that we can’t even imagine and the USA alone has gone from 3 $1B disasters per year before 9/11 to 18 in a year now. Insurers, even in Iowa and other places you would not expect, are pricing that instability in.

 

[loganwayne]

I say go for it. That said to get into fed/state jobs your going to have to do temp work and move around.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Inspiring thread. Sometimes I feel like I'm starting late at 29. Switching from hands-on welding and mechanic roles into more project management focus.
2-4 classes a semester while working full-time depending on the season and difficulty of classes.

An old manager told me "You should only go to school if you are interested in learning. A new title won't bring you anything you can't already get."
That spoke to me and I refound a love of learning with online courses. I always hated school!

 

[pacoalcracker]

As stated, AI is going to replace a lot of office/white collar/technical jobs over the next 2-10 years, its already taking place, so choose that career, or the next career very carefully. A company that has say 10 positions, will only need 2 or 3. With humanoid robots also on the horizon, who knows where that is going. At any rate, it's never too late to start a next career if that's what makes you happy....and forget about whether it's going to make you financially better or not.....more money does not make you happier. Being content with your life does.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Worked 10+ years at a job I didn't care ten cents about.....but it paid well enough to raise a family and buy a home.
Been on disability since 2005.
A little more money would make me a little happier, but we're doing OK.
I can't complain.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Figured I should update. Ive been doing alot of homework...and probably way too much thinking on this matter last few weeks.
Transfer credits are a bit bleak due to time lapse. I could still knock out a bachelors in numerous fields of study with minimal transfer credits at UC, MT tech or UWY or a handful of online education providers in 3 yrs depending on major and any sort of co-op/internship requirements. Its doable, no doubt I'm capable, but its a big chunk for 3 yrs tuition especially out of state for the potential returns I'm seeing in job listings in various states/localities.

That is the biggest part that I can't make add up... the ROI financially for any degree/career path that seems remotely appealing to me at this point. Obviously money isn't everything, but its necesssary to a point and a bit more of it makes many goals much more easily attained and life a bit more comfortable...especially given that things are looking to be getting a fair bit more expensive across the board for quite some time if things maintain their present course.

Trying to wrap my head around what I think I'd enjoy doing enough to make the upfront sacrifice and investment of going back to college is proving to be a big hurdle.
I think part of my problem there is being burnt out and stressed out to the point of just plain old depression, likely for a couple years now. I've just very recently been coming to terms with that and realizing how much it's affecting me mentally and physically...and admitting to myself that despite my perceived personal resilience, I'm in no way immune from depression or it's effects.
It certainly can make sorting through one's thoughts and trying to plan a career change challenging.
Im not going down the political rabbit hole here, nor do I spend much time trying to keep up with the 'news' anymore... but to say the current state of affairs in this country isn't weighing on my mind and complicating the thought/planning process would be a lie.
Part of me is wondering if a more lateral move to a place we would rather be than the midwest that would provide sufficient stable income while adjusting and evaluating possibilities in the new location might be a better option.
The agricultural equipment maintenance/repair field might be of interest and is something Im looking at a bit more, but not sure my body is going to tolerate that kind of work for much longer.
Presently I'm taking a step back for just a bit to deal with some family drama related to my wife's grandmother passing soon and gearing up to move the auto repair business into our new facility in the next month. My wife and I are both just in maintain sanity mode at the moment and have decided to table adding any avoidable additional chaos to our plates until after our Wyoming/Colorado trip in June. Hopefully some mountain air, time in our happy place and putting a couple major stress factors behind us the next couple months will help bring a bit more clarity to the situation.
I much appreciate the input and conversation on this matter and the numerous PMs recieved. I'll make sure to update this again as things progress and come together. Thank again folks!

 

[Felix40]

As someone who has worked in natural resources all my life (state and federal), I wouldn’t even consider starting over at 40. Jobs that pay anything are so hard to get. I finished my masters in 2010 and up until 3 years ago my family has been living paycheck to paycheck. A good job in natural resources will maybe pay $55k a year and there’s a ton of competition for them. I don’t know what you make now but look at the salary range for some entry level jobs and see if you can live on that. Keep in mind that you aren’t going to land a biologist position right out of school, even if the “minimum requirements” are a bachelors degree. You’ll be looking at technician and seasonal jobs to start out. It can be done but it’s going to be more than 2 years before you are out there killing it. I’d plan on 5-10 before you get to the point where you are actually making a comfortable living again.

 

[rodney482]

not just sounds, it is

 

[TNRB]

Smart paying attention to the need for slowing down and gaining clarity. Good luck

 

[fatlander]

If you don’t have a good financial advisor, I’d start with finding one and talking with them about the pros and cons.

No way I’d take on debt, and the cost of 4 year degrees are pretty astronomical for the ROI in the environmental field.

As Felix mentioned above, good jobs in the environmental space are hard to come by. I studied freshwater ecology in school, had an amazing job, and made no money. I pivoted to environmental compliance, taking a better paying job that was still no money. In five years, I’ve been fortunate enough to climb the ladder to making pretty darn good money with awesome benefits and more pto than I can ever use. With that said, I drive a desk, have to manage people and projects, and basically work in finance. I switched my major in college to ecology after taking some business classes and deciding I wouldn’t drive a desk for a living, oh the irony.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Title pretty well sums it up.
I'll be 41 next week...and I'm more than lightly kicking around the idea of going back to college to finish out a 4 year degree in one of various natural resource related fields. Im still working on the specifics major wise.
Long of it short...my time turning wrenches and dealing with the general public in a customer facing manner will be coming to a close sooner than later for a multitude of reasons the biggest being that I simply dislike/loath every aspect of the auto/auto repair industry in general after 22 years in it. I can give specifics if anyone wants but I'm not here to b$%ch and moan about all the reasons my job makes me miserable...the fact simply is that the work hasn't brought me the slightest joy other than income for many years and I'm finally at that breaking point.

So I'm thinking hard about retooling to finish out my last 10-20 years of full time work chasing something I enjoy at least sometimes and find purpose in more than just getting POS cars down the road for a bit longer and earning a paycheck.
I'm leaning towards state, federal or oil and gas work that will get me outside and out of the same building everyday. Whether that be fish and game, BLM/Forest service or oil and gas production, etc... I need to do a bit more homework on specific paths, but all will require 1.5 to two years additional education at a minimum to get a foot in any door...and all will likeky be a staggering pay cut starting out I'm well aware. Oil and gas maybe not so much.

While I'm aware that federal employment options are a train wreck presently, I don't forsee that
to be a long term condition and hopefully be settled into a new normal by the time I'd finish my degree. Im not sold on Fed work though, honestly last option I'd likely consider even before the current chaos erupted after many discussions with my father who retires from the Corps of Engineeers in a couple months. Thats a whole other topic for another place and time...but it is still an option.

Any other late bloomers around here with input on returning to the higher education scene later in life?
Any state/federal/oil/gas guys that have any specifics on what to focus on course/major wise for a certain career path.
Any recommendations on colleges in the mountain west to consider for specific natural resources oriented degrees?
My secondary goal in this is finding a career path that gives me better potential in finding meaningful work in the mountain west.

We are moving, its just a matter of exactly when and exactly where...Im seeing schooling may play into that at least at first.
My wife is game for about anything, she knows I need a change more than I do I think. She didn't bat an eye when i threw out the random idea of moving to Larimie for a year or two and living cheap while I finish a degree at U of WY...She just started looking at realestate, elementary schools and churches in the area. Thats just one of many options currently being explored, but the point is she's on board.

Obviously I'm amassing information from many sources, but I figured it couldn't hurt to drop something here in a community of at least somewhat like minded individuals. Some of whom may very we do the type of work I may be looking for.

My next step is to get in touch with a few advisors and send transcripts of previous course work, as I have 2 associates degrees and couple years of early mechanical engineering courses under my belt, and see what kind of course schedules they can work up on a couple degree programs to help me get better grasp on timing. Perhaps see about knocking a few courses out through online programs before making a move to a specific school and dropping my paycheck for a year or two to just get it done.

If anyone has anything insightful...or just wanna tell me I'm an idiot for even thinking about it...Im all ears

This is my advice. Coming from a guy that has made a career change. From Forestry to contracting. At age 46.

I graduated with a forestry resources management degree. It was a broad based degree. It took 139 hours of course work. Outside of the first year, your core classes will be in forest management, business, and economics. Any field that’s going to put you eligible for the blm and forest service field work is going to have pretty much the same.

So, if you don’t like 400 level calc., economic, and business course's be aware that’s going to be 2/3rds of your core work.

I only point that out because if you don’t already posses higher math skills, you aren’t going to finish in 4 years. It’ll take you at least 3-4 semesters getting caught up to handle the course work.

Not a lot of people are aware of this. Forestry related degrees are demanding. The core classes will have you studying every day. It’s a full time job in itself as defined.

If you have the prep skills for these curriculums you can finish in 4.5-5 years. If not, bank on 6-6.5 years.


I enjoyed the curriculum. But, I wasn’t tasked working a full time job while going to college.

That’s the reality. But, the good news is you can and will complete it if you decide to do this. Just be aware that accredited forestry require this.


If you decide to do a wildlife degrees, it’s going to require a masters degree to get hired with a permanent job quickly in most areas. Not all but most. And, the only way to get grandfathered in is working a lot of years in “temporary” jobs. That’s not the whole reality but, it’s a good bit of it if you are a white male. Be prepared to move and stay moving until you get hired permanently.

State jobs will require a lot less pay and almost always require a masters with any wildlife majors. Forestry majors can hire on readily with your 139 hour bachelors degree. They just don’t make very much money.

I’m not trying to deter you. I’m telling you this so you can plan accordingly.

The last thing I’m going to tell you is that the idea you are going to be working in the woods, managing forest ecosystems is just that in forestry majors, if you intend to make a wage that allows you to raise a family. On the federal level you will make decent money starting out. With years of service, you will be squarely in the middle class income. So, you gotta decide if you’ve got 20 years left.

Wildlife jobs will never pay as well. But, you’d likely enjoy it more. Because as a forester, you will be working with loggers. Some of my best friends are loggers too. But, economics generally make it a dog eat dog world. And, you will get tired of doing your job well and never satisfying the logging crews. Never. Prepare yourself.


Like I said, that’s reality. However, if this is what you want to do, you’ll do it and be glad you did. Just know it’s not setting on a log eating your lunch in the middle of no where. Alone with nature. There will be some of that. But, there’s going to just as much if not more of the above.

Good luck and God Bless

 

[Predator_SD]

DO IT man!

Best of luck to ya!

 

[StuckInTheEast]

The real rub is looking like money...its just not feasible.
I'd don't like throwing numbers around, but most entry level positions with a bachelors in anything natural resources/forestry/wildlife is gonna pay about a quarter what i make presently.
Half I could probably make work but most of what I'm finding tells me I'd be lucky to get there in 20 years.
Engineering, would be closer to half starting out and could get me back closer to current level in 5-10 years after completion...but thats still 8-12 years from now to get to the same point.
If I stayed the present course I could likely retire in 10 years comfortably and work at whatever, when ever for sustainable income to not touch savings/investments until "acceptable" retirement age....I just don't have 10 years of this line of work left in me.
I can't quite put into words why I've grown to hate it so much. Lots of little things and lots of factors outside the control of what goes on in my shop that effect the whole industry.
I'm exceptionally good at what I do. I've no issue with keeping myself up to date and investing in myself and my skill set. I could count on 1 hand the problem child vehicles that I haven't managed to sort out over last 10 years.
However, my drive to go diagnosis and fix vehicles, deal with the public in general and be the perpetual barer of bad news is just gone...I consciously make an effort to start fresh each morning, I seldom make it to lunch without questioning why I'm still doing what I'm doing short of the income.
As stated above, I'm gonna try to step back the pressure Im putting myself for a bit in hopes of finding some clarity.
Got a list of things that need done around the house to have it market ready, so will shift my focus there till we get back from Wyoming in June.
Once again, appreciate all the great input here folks. I will most definitely update once I find a bit more clarity on the matter.