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

[StuckInTheEast]

All good input thus far. Appreciated folks.
Much of this I've considered, a thing or two I haven't.
I guess what I was getting at as far as colleges in particular would be more asking if anyone has first hand experience with say Montana tech or UW Larimie, etc for a specific course of study...or perhaps any you might avoid for the same reasons.
I'm not in anyway looking for someone to make a decision for me, just any relevant first hand experience that might shed some light or throw some shade on certain places.
This is a total fishing trip at the moment.
I know I can find work of some sort about anywhere with my skill set but I'm not turning wrenches on anything day in day out after I leave the automotive field. Not sure my body will tolerate that 10-15 more years...this is where the degree aspect comes in. Finding a path to use the brain more than the back is a big factor too.
It seems a majority of those types of opportunities will require a degree to even be considered for, as many of them should.
Without taking this down the political rabbit hole...Ill definitely agree with the sentiment that the political environment is certainly being factored into my thoughts on this matter more than it would have ever been before.
I'm not a fan of alot of things going on right now. but trying to keep faith. Glad I didn't jump ship a year or two back for a Fed job of any type right now though.
Hopefully some common sense comes into play here soon it's been pretty crazy lately, I'll leave it at that.

 

[Kurts86]

I’m not sure which academic advisors you are talking to but they are not the useful ones to point you in the right direction, universities with decent career centers are much more helpful. Academic advisors are just professors checking a box or they are recruiters for the universities who have never worked in your field.

Ideally you make contacts in your future job field with mid to high level people and ask them where to go to school, where to look for internships and what to expect for time and $$$. You will get a lot better feedback from someone who has managed and hired for a given field, has worked with HR, seen the job codes, pay ranges and written job descriptions than anywhere else.

Your school should be picked after you know what degree you need with 99% clarity. This is a huge mistake people make by picking a school and then a degree. The university you pick may not be where you plan to live long term but if the program is top tier and specialized companies will recruit from there.

Once you are in a program you need to get involved with the student competition, honor and volunteer groups to pump up your resume. There is a snowball effect to early career opportunities/internships and these accelerate hiring opportunities. In natural resources these are almost mandatory as getting a full time job after graduating is often a multi year process. This is less so with engineering by comparison. It varies by field so consider this wisely.

 

[cbat]

I did at 58 and got into real estate. Lots of oppurtunities

 

[waspocrew]

I had a classmate in medical school that was 41 when we started. He absolutely hated his accounting job. Great guy and seemed very happy afterwards. Do what makes you happy - life’s too short to waste it working a job that’s miserable.

 

[wesfromky]

One other thing to consider is that for a lot of the jobs you are looking at, is that you will be competing against younger people, many with advanced degrees and relevant internships. They can work cheaper and relocate easier. Can make do with less expensive housing, etc.

Public sector advancement is not easy - positions are capped and you have to be willing to move/change jobs to advance.

From my time in public sector, there is also a sorta culture that discourages self motivation and ambition. Once people have put in enough years, they only have eyes for that retirement. So, you might be ditching dealing with customers, but you will still have to deal with people, many of which, are probably going to be frustrating.

Personally, if I was you, I would not deal with going back for this type of job. Find a way to pivot your skills to something marketable in the areas you are interested in living. And, maybe that means staying with what you are doing now, just a new environment.

 

[jmez]

I don't think it is ever wrong to further your education.

 

[Bigtmiller]

Frank the Tank

 

[Fatcamp]

I’m going to differ a bit here….

Unless you are FOR SURE CERTAIN that you can land a great paying job when you graduate, I think it’s a terrible idea to go back to school in your 40’s unless you get your education for free or damn near free without loans.

There are many reason for me saying this but the primary reason is most people never complete the schooling and end up in a bigger hole than where they started. Seen it more times than not.

Prove me wrong if you decide to go, and I wish you the best of luck.

Couldn't agree more. Better be damn sure this is something you want and that there is a solid career at the end of it.

Worked out great for me. Others not so much.

 

[Tod osier]

I guess what I was getting at as far as colleges in particular would be more asking if anyone has first hand experience with say Montana tech or UW Larimie, etc for a specific course of study...or perhaps any you might avoid for the same reasons.

All the public doctorate-granting universities in the mountain west offer some sort of natural resources or natural resources adjacent degrees and are notable in some aspect. To get more useful advice you need to be much more specific. Like I said in my other post, there are hardly more than a handful of them to winnow through.

 

[NCTrees]

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.

Not too late and not a terrible idea. If you are considering getting into forestry, first off, I would focus on the school. A lot of good ones out there. Make sure it is SAF accredited. Once you’re into a program, do what you can to find seasonal jobs and /or work around class schedules. It’s as much a trade as it is a profession so boots in the dirt experience will carry you a long way. I couldn’t recommend the USFS for obvious reasons right now and, even longer -term the bureaucracy seems to crush people. Most western states have state employed foresters, those seem like a pretty good gig. Good pay, excellent benefits. If you’re seriously thinking about getting into that field, send me a PM I’d be happy to expand on this to the degree I can.

 

[Fowl Play]

The income part is the biggest hurdle to get myself over actually.
Most of the pursuits I'm entertaining are likely to pay a fraction of what I earn now especially starting out. However, there are other benefits to weigh out as well and I'm at the point in life I'm well aware money isn't everything...but its still a big security factor.

Knocking out a few online courses to get back in the swing before hitting a campus for the stuff that often can't be done online due to labs or field studies may be a good start. We'll see what I get back from advisors over next couple weeks after I get my transcripts sent out and evaluated.
I'll look into WGU...I've not looked there yet.
Thanks for the input!

What would be your "dream job" that you actually want to work towards with this degree? Spending money on a degree that you know will result in less money long term is not something I would recommend for anyone. What is the motivation? Just going by your username of "stuckintheeast" and your desire to look for a college located in the mountains.... seems like you are being called by the West

Not saying this is what is happening, but figured I'd mention it. I love being on the ocean. Marine Biology was the major I chose when I applied to college. I loved diving, exploring, studying, etc. thought it would be a dream job. During my orientation week the Dean of the Biology department sat us all down and had a very tough discussion with all of us. Talking about how we would graduate and most of our jobs would be sub $50K, be dependent on government grants (that may or may not come), etc. He asked me if I had considered any other major's when I applied. Honestly, It was between Marine Bio and Aerospace Engineering I said. He very bluntly said that I should switch my major and be an engineer that owns my own boat and goes diving on the weekends I switched my major that day!

I owe allot to that guy. One of my roommates for all 4 years was Marine Bio. Groomsman at my wedding. Financial stress is ruining his "dream job". I see work differently, pick the highest paying job that you can tolerate/ still feel fulfilled in that provides you with the time and money to do the things you actually love doing. If spending time in the mountains is your dream, you might be better served finishing that mechanical engineering degree at a good university (that may or may not be located in the mountains) and then choose an employer out West -- there's tons of them.

 

[TSAMP]

I would try and find new career that can leverage my 20 years of mechanical experience. Industrial technician in manufacturing comes to mind. Gets you out of the public eye and in a good pay scale without incurring debt.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

i worked at a university from 2008-2015 and one of the perks was discounted classes. i was in my 30s with an expensive BA in a drawer collecting dust already. i loved being in school because i love learning. professors liked me because i do good work. i had fun. it was challenging and rewarding. spent two years getting a GIS cert because i work(ed) with maps and like gis/maps. seemed like a fun thing to do...

a friend had warned me, "GIS people are a dime a dozen." never ever used my gis skills, had no plan to execute a job transition into GIS. and if i had wanted to use said skills, i would have had to intern at a job for six unpaid months and then hope to get hired. and that's my warning to you on natural resource jobs at state and fed level. want to work at a national park? volunteer for three summers and maybe you'll move to the front of a list. forest service? blm? maybe you'll get hired as a seasonal worker for a few years, and then move up. just like all the other 20-somethings in your class who may have their parents paying their rent and car insurance and food.

have a very specific plan, in a very specific direction, and then scramble like hell to execute. i feel like i applied to 50+ jobs on usajob.gov between 1999-2010 and never once got an interview for entry level positions with the forest service, blm, and NPS. the IRS interviewed me and offered me a job once, in a different city....thanks but no thanks

as for montana tech. montana is now stupid expensive to rent/own. even butte. MSU in Bozeman? we call it Bozangeles for a reason. and it was already unaffordable before the rest of the state caught up. unless you're fabulously wealthy, there's better schools in better places.

if only someone had told me when i was 17, "find what you like to do, really like to do, and pursue that with a vengeance, otherwise you're an idiot."

i'm now a really smart idiot who hates his job.

 

[Turkeytider]

Investing in yourself always has the highest ROI. I think you should go for it. A better income and a career you enjoy more has a lot of upsides.

Also, there are fully accredited colleges (WGU for example) that allow self paced study so you can expedite the process.

Absolutely go for it! We’re only on this rock once (well, at least in this form if you believe in reincarnation!). If you don’t, by the time you reach your 60’s , you’ll probably regret very much not doing it.

 

[KenLee]

There is nothing worse than being miserable in your job.

Yeah there is...being miserable at home.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Frank the Tank

Frank retired...I gave up the booze a couple years ago. I beat myself up enough from the outside, figured I didn't need to do it from the inside as well anymore.
I saw that meme earlier too...im gonna have to watch that movie again though, been a long time

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Yeah there is...being miserable at home.

I'm fortunate in that regard...home is not a stress point. I played my cards well there and been dealt a good hand.

 

[S.Clancy]

I went back at 31 for engineering. My mom went back at 50 for nursing. If it makes some financial sense, just do it ASAP and crank through it.

 

[kpk]

I'm 41 now and finished out a degree a couple years ago. It was somewhat overwhelming wrapping my head around it, but once I started it was a piece of cake honestly.

Doing any classes that are available online will help a lot. I knocked out a huge portion of my school work during slow time at work or starting my day an hour earlier than usual. The more important stuff like tests or writing I did Saturday mornings while my wife took daughter to gymnastics. Definitely look into getting as much credit as possible for classes you've already taken.

 

[TaperPin]

You’ll have a fresh new perspective on what you might enjoy doing. Wyoming is a good place if you’re feeling out options. It should be said, in many BLM/Forest Service natural resources jobs, it can require a number of years of low paid seasonal work until a permanent position opens up and it probably won’t be anywhere near where you started out. The number of grads that give up and either go back to school or do something else is significant. Delivering potato chips for Frito Lay requires a bachelors degree in some Wyoming towns.

My ex went into geology at Laramie and found funding for water resource projects was where new grads were being hired, so transferred to Boise to finish out a hydrology focused degree, landed a great internship that transitioned into a great full time gig right away. Geology grads were a dime a dozen at the time.

If you’re good at self learning don’t overlook Western Governors University online courses for many foundational general purpose classes. They are fully accredited, credits transfer well, you go as fast or slow as you want and the price is right.

Mining engineering is big out west. Western Water Consultants in Laramie is one of the larger mining and environmental consulting firms in the state, or at least it was. Mines hire a lot of recent grads they like. Mines have money - think of jobs where money is there for your specialty. If you enjoy physics and math I’d think hard about it.

Anything with an advanced technical side will be much easier to sell than a generic broad degree. Every person in natural resources is impacted by technology.

My experience is to look for specific professors that specialize in what you want to do. They have the best contacts, give the best referrals, and companies are familiar with graduates from their programs. If you’re hot for a certain flavor of engineering and there isn’t anyone in the faculty that focuses on it, you’re already at the bottom of the list for guys who will eventually be interviewed for jobs.