don’t give me the it’s never too late bs. Life happens, people have jobs, debts and rent to pay.
Going back to school when you’re employed means debt, earning way less or nothing during your bachelor or master, stress, opportunities you’re not aware of because you’re simply not at your workplace anymore, unpaid overtime during those 2 to 3 years… the money you lose is more than what the bachelor / accreditation costs.
When does it start being a stupid idea? Is it when you’re 30? 40? 50?
When you’re dead.
depends why you are attending school. If it’s to get a piece of paper, likely will not affect you later in life. if it’s just to learn, walk in and audit a class. I have never said no to people auditing my lectures.
The only time going to school isn’t worth it is if you’re already burnt out in your job, genuinely have no time to do it, and make so much money that adding university classes on top of that isn’t worth the effort or time investment. Having said that, if you need the degree to increase your earning potential, even in your 30s or 40s or whatever, then it’s worthwhile despite all the challenges. My mom got her degree in her 30s and massively increased her earning potential and that has paid off over the decades, and I’m currently getting my degree in my 30s to increase my earning potential as well.
There are remote school options where you don’t need to attend classes so those are much easier to fit into your schedule, and much cheaper, places like Western Governors University.
Your good until your in a pine box or an urn.
Learning should never stop for any reason. However you do have to temper your expectations when learning a trade or skill you can’t use due to personal limitations. This needs to be taken into account but that is something an individual should weigh on their own with the people in their life.
My grandmother graduated law school at the age of 65 and practiced for the next 15 years. It’s never too late.
There’s no single answer. Are you going so you can change careers? Do you have money to pay for it or will you have to take out loans? Do you expect to be able to pay your loans off in a reasonable amount of time to still meet your retirement goals? On top of that like you already said, can you juggle school while maintaining your current lifestyle? if not are you willing to make sacrifices?
Anyone considering it needs to make calculations on their own. It’s not a set age. An older person with savings and no kids for instance would have a lot more flexibility than a younger person with a family.
There’s not one specific age you’re going to find is The Answer to this.
When you are young and still developing and have lots of time to find your path, it’s worth making the long term investment of some general schooling to maximize your own growth and development, and prepare yourself for a broad set of possible futures.
However, as your career progresses, it becomes less valuable to invest in general schooling, but specific training for your specific career can still be valuable.
There’s no cutoff point where all this flips. If you are 5 years into your career and still aren’t certain of what you want to do, an MBA may still be valuable. It will expose you to a range of skills and possible roles and give you some good general foundation for things like leadership roles, or starting your own business.
If you are 20 years into your career and want to rank up to earn more money, an MBA is probably more expensive than it is worth. At that point, your experience is much more valuable than shy degree. Sure, you might look better in a job interview with MBA on your resume, but getting an MBA is expensive and whatever small advantage it gives your resume will probably not pay for the cost of the MBA.
You need to figure out where you are in this journey. Do you still feel that you are exploring and looking for your niche? Schooling might help. Are you on a specific path and hoping to power up? Schooling may not help.
I am 20 years in. I took a class for $300 last year that was highly specific to my role and only required two days. That was worth it. Spending $40k on an MBA will not be worth it for me. I could be 38 or 54 years old, age isn’t really the point.
When you’re dead.
Menopause and severe brain fog would like a word.
I’ve been through surgically induced menopause and I’m fine? It’s a bit baffling and honestly misogynistic to suggest that basically any woman from middle age onwards is incapable of doing a degree. I don’t think menopause made me stupider.
It is never too late to go back is not bullshit.
people have jobs, debts and rent to pay.
I had all of the above and a family to support and I went back to school and got my masters degree.
OP is saying at some point it financially doesn’t pencil out. Like, if I make x now, spend y to get a degree, and then make z, about when does it stop making sense to spend y? Obviously this depends on a lot of things but the answer is definitely not never. I suspect they are trying to get a general sense of around when that would be because they don’t know the exact values of x y and z.
All of that is what you are going back to school for.
It depends on what you want to do when you go back to school.
If you’re switching careers, I’d put the early 40’s as a limit unless the career has age limitations.
If you’re getting a degree to enhance your existing career, I’d put the early 50’s as a limit unless you intend to not retire immediately.
If you just want the degree, there isn’t really a limit.
My Mother got her Bachelor’s degree at 55. She graduated with some rare honours.
NEVER stop learning!
Did she do it for the joy of learning? Or personal growth and satisfaction? Or was it for career enhancement?
All of those reasons. She was a housewife, and felt she missed out. At that point kids were on their own paths.
Similar thing with my mom, only she retired soon after graduating.
I’ve known even elderly people to go back and complete advanced degrees.
I went back to school in my 40s and changed careers.
Me too.
The increased pay covered the training costs and lost earnings within five years and I’m so much happier.
Do you feel it was a viable and smart decision still?
For sure. I was in a dying industry, and now I have the makings of a career. I would say: have a goal, map out the steps it will take to achieve it, then take the first steps!
It’s got nothing to do with age. As you pointed out there are financial reasons where you might not be able to. But that’s realy the only hurdle. And there are plenty of ways to clear it.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of education. I went back to school at 32 with very little formal education. It was tough but having graduated after ten years I never regretted it. I’m doing a job that I love and have more employment options. Whether or not you go back depends on many factors, especially if it is a serious investment in time and money. I didn’t like my work and that was what motivated me but I had savings and no debt or responsibilities.
