Current Events > Thinking about going to college @30yo. Has anyone else done this, any advice?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've had a pretty good job in video broadcasting for the past ten years and also work a little part time job but there isn't really anyway to network or advance in my location.

I always had an interest in engineering and kinda wanna take up a new challenge since i've grown comfortable in my lifestyle.

When covids over I wanna go check out some local community colleges but i've never been to college or gone through the process.

What are some tips or advice anyone can give me for either preparing to go or things to look for/aska bout when setting up a visit?

Any particular field of engineering catch your eye?

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Mechanical engineering, it seems like the hardest but you make the coolest machines. I was always pretty good at math and physics but that was at the high school level ten years ago...

Watch back to school for tips

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I started college for the first time last year at 31! I found myself hating my shit grocery store job more and more and was ready to start looking at community college just to get started... and around that time, our union rep came in and mentioned that the union offers free college.. so I signed up ASAP lol. It hasnt been too difficult for me. Im not doing anything like engineering though.

Theyve all been online classes which I think are much better than physically being at school.

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rexcrk posted...

I started college for the first time last year at 31! I found myself hating my shit grocery store job more and more and was ready to start looking at community college just to get started... and around that time, our union rep came in and mentioned that the union offers free college.. so I signed up ASAP lol. It hasnt been too difficult for me. Im not doing anything like engineering though.

Theyve all been online classes which I think are much better than physically being at school.

Congrats making that type of decision can be tough. What are you thinking about getting a degree in and if you has anything surprised you either positively or negatively about starting at 31?

Enjoy seeing young hot women all over the place.

And don't enjoy dumb ass 20yos in class doing stupid shit

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I now work at a college (just office work), and because of that, I'm more aware of clubs, organizations, etc. and the resources that they can provide (work study, scholarships, networking, and so on) than I was as a student.

I know that you're older than the average student, but there are usually plenty of 30+ year old students at most colleges, and because many are too focused on just getting a degree, they don't make the most of their college life, and I recommend getting as much of it as you can, including socializing.

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boxington posted...

I know that you're older than the average student, but there are usually plenty of 30+ year old students at most colleges, and because many are too focused on just getting a degree, they don't make the most of their college life, and I recommend getting as much of it as you can, including socializing.

Yeah I kinda figured id get along with professors more than students out of HS. The idea of socializing with teenagers and early 20s somethings outside of class doesn't really sound appealing.

Also starting in Autumn at about this age. I wish I could do an in person program just to have some sort of social aspect to it, but I'll take online it's whatever

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Best of luck!
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Blue_School posted...

Congrats making that type of decision can be tough. What are you thinking about getting a degree in and if you has anything surprised you either positively or negatively about starting at 31?

The decision wasnt tough at all honestly lol. I was ready to go like 6-7 years ago but then I ended up getting hurt so I had to put that on hold.

Ill be finishing my Associates degree in Business Management with a focus on Information Systems in December. Im not sure if Ill pursue anything further after that... at least immediately. My #1 goal right now is getting the absolute fuck out of this line of work (specifically this company that has fucked me over for way too long).

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While a Master's isn't essential, it will open more doors for you.

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rexcrk posted...

The decision wasnt tough at all honestly lol. I was ready to go like 6-7 years ago but then I ended up getting hurt so I had to put that on hold.

Ill be finishing my Associates degree in Business Management with a focus on Information Systems in December. Im not sure if Ill pursue anything further after that... at least immediately. My #1 goal right now is getting the absolute fuck out of this line of work (specifically this company that has fucked me over for way too long).

Look into Coursera - a lot of private companies and institutions are putting certification courses at really low costs on there, including Stanford and Google, and they can help give you a leg up on your resume.

edit: @TC thanks for this topic, I have my first phone call with my Success Coach today. Kind of anxious since I don't know what to expect lol.

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>Engineering
>Community College


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REMercsChamp posted...

>Engineering
>Community College

Hey Community College is a really awesome place to learn and build up your portfolio when applying for a 4 year program.

I didn't see that TC was talking about going to CC - it's *a lot* easier to get through the enrollment process. At our CC, you set up an account online, provide them with basic paperwork, take Math and English placement tests, speak to an advisor, get set up for registration at student services and then get the books you need for whatever you registered for.

We had to do in-person registration the first time - every time after that you can enroll in classes through the online portal.

It was intimidating going to the community college classes but I felt pretty good, took it seriously and did well in the couple of classes I took.

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So you want to do engineering then talk about community college.

Might as well just fill out your McDonalds application now and save yourself the time and money.

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REMercsChamp posted...

>Engineering
>Community College

I don't expect to complete the degree there. I assume that i'll get up to speed on my general courses then transfer at some point to University.

REMercsChamp posted...

Might as well just fill out your McDonalds application now and save yourself the time and money.

Why would I do that when I already make decent money working in broadcasting?

^ because they might want to save on costs by starting at a community college and take care of their lower division classes before transferring?

edit: at post 17

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Ignore REMercs, guy obviously woke up with a stick up his ass.

Any sort of progress towards educational goals is meaningful progress, and it's really fun, you'll meet a lot of cool people.

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I don't know where you guys live (fantasy land perhaps) but where I live, you don't get engineering degrees from community colleges.

Source: I have an engineering degree

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REMercsChamp posted...

I don't know where you guys live (fantasy land perhaps) but where I live, you don't get engineering degrees from community colleges.

Source: I have an engineering degree

I also hope you're never in charge of anyone from a supervisory perspective because holy shit you don't understand basic professional/educational development lol

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Hexenherz posted...

I also hope you're never in charge of anyone from a supervisory perspective because holy shit you don't understand basic professional/educational development lol

That's okay. I don't want to supervise other people like a professional babysitter. They can do their own work without me holding their hand.

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REMercsChamp posted...

I don't know where you guys live (fantasy land perhaps) but where I live, you don't get engineering degrees from community colleges.

Source: I have an engineering degree

you know that people transfer from community colleges to universities, right?

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boxington posted...

you know that people transfer from community colleges to universities, right?

Yup. If you read the OP, it doesn't read like that. It sounds like "okay I'm ready to get my engineering degree, which community college can I go to get this". I guess I grew up differently. I don't know anyone who went to engineering and talked about community colleges in the same sentence.

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I have an engineering degree from a university

We also have "community college" equivalents. Guess what? They're seen as positively as university degrees. Sometimes better, cause they focus on application more so than theory

But that dude is a troll anyway
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REMercsChamp posted...

Yup. If you read the OP, it doesn't read like that. It sounds like "okay I'm ready to get my engineering degree, which community college can I go to get this". I guess I grew up differently. I don't know anyone who went to engineering and talked about community colleges in the same sentence.

If you read everything after the OP, it does read like that.

Holy shit lol

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teepan95 posted...

I have an engineering degree from a university

We also have "community college" equivalents. Guess what? They're seen as positively as university degrees. Sometimes better, cause they focus on application more so than theory

But that dude is a troll anyway

Yeah I don't remember him being so outrageous but I've never seen someone be such an ass with regards to someone's personal development goals. Might go on the block list for a while.

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K. Well good luck to you then with your engineering degree you obtained via a community college. I don't understand it but all the power to you.

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You don't even know who you're responding to at this point. Are you high or something?

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I'll be going back to school in a few years, when I'm like 31, to finish my degree in exercise science, it'll all be online though. Simple enough, throughout this time I'll just get certifications and self teach myself skills while working on my fitness business and who knows maybe by 31 I won't need to get a job. However, I'm just planning ahead. Best of luck, I got a transfer associates at community College, my plan was always to get my bachelor's afterwards but I had lots of set backs. Personally, achieving any kind of educational accomplishment at any age is a worthwhile achievement, do it while you can.

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REMercsChamp posted...

K. Well good luck to you then with your engineering degree you obtained via a community college. I don't understand it but all the power to you.

Seek help.

It's weird you're ignoring literally everyone in the topic pointing out that TC is gonna transfer after taking his core classes and just doubling down on your trolling.

Seriously seek help.

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NoMeLx22x posted...

Seek help.

It's weird you're ignoring literally everyone in the topic pointing out that TC is gonna transfer after taking his core classes and just doubling down on your trolling.

Seriously seek help.

What do people like that get out of acting like this anyway? I wonder if any, like, psychological tests have been done on internet trolls to see why they get so much pleasure from acting like a jackass online.

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REMercsChamp posted...

Come check out my community board for NEET discussions:

Seems like your degree was pretty useless

rexcrk posted...

What do people like that get out of acting like this anyway? I wonder if any, like, psychological tests have been done on internet trolls to see why they get so much pleasure from acting like a jackass online.

I think I've read that it's a lack of attention or social interaction in real life. So the only way they get attention is by being getting a group of people to hate them online, and since they don't even know these people they don't care about the fact they are hated just about the fact that they get power and attention from people that they're not able to achieve in real life.

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RE doesnt have a degree and being a neet is his whole schtick

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If you know what you wanna do and where you wanna go, then just do it. I always found college way less tiring and tedious than working a traditional job. If you're doing something technical, be prepared to spend a lot of time studying, though.

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I appreciate all the support and dont mind the one guy he just makes me chuckle with the over the top character hes trying to play.

I'm really surprised at how many people in here are talking about taking classes in their 30s. I thought it was gonna be a lot more rare than it seems to be.

in honesty, given how many jobs (even so called 'entry level') are demanding higher degrees at this point, it's really not rare at all to be attending college in your 30s or 40s. and as far as personal enrichment goes, senior age people attend community college all the time (maybe not too many people comparatively, but they're there and it isn't strange at all)

also, for those pursuing graduate-level education, getting a master's or doctorate in your 30s is very, very common (and even if that's not what you're doing now... or ever... hypothetically that isn't far away from where you're already at). i'd say it'd be stranger to actually get a doctorate in your 20s. master's can go either way.

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Doing undergrad at age 30 is ez mode, youll have more perspective than an 18 year old and wont get distracted by all the stupid shit most college kids do that ends up interfering with their grades

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The hardest part for me was having to work simultaneously. I still had to support myself, so I had very little free time and really had to stay focused and disciplined on time management.

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dolomedes posted...

once you get to the interesting courses - the 300/400/grad level stuff - it's cool. i always got fucked up sloughing through the gen.ed stuff

Yeah thats what im afraid of. Im also worried that i'll be able to breeze through the refresher courses and not develop a very disciplined study habit for when I do encounter new harder classes. I never had to put much effort in HS.

Blue_School posted...

I appreciate all the support and dont mind the one guy he just makes me chuckle with the over the top character hes trying to play.

I'm really surprised at how many people in here are talking about taking classes in their 30s. I thought it was gonna be a lot more rare than it seems to be.

I think it was like the average age in my community college refresher math class.

There was an older lady from another country that worked as a nurse and it made me kind of nervous being in class with her because she was struggling with percentages >_> I can get *maybe* getting tripped up on the later material when they started discussing probabilities and stuff, but percentages?? That's a pretty common thing I thought.

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boxington posted...

I now work at a college (just office work), and because of that, I'm more aware of clubs, organizations, etc. and the resources that they can provide (work study, scholarships, networking, and so on) than I was as a student.

I know that you're older than the average student, but there are usually plenty of 30+ year old students at most colleges, and because many are too focused on just getting a degree, they don't make the most of their college life, and I recommend getting as much of it as you can, including socializing.

ehhhhh be careful with this advice. its very easy to accidentally become the creepy old guy if you're in your 30s. You missed your chance at the wild fun side of college imo, but it's never too late to learn something new!

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Blue_School posted...

Mechanical engineering, it seems like the hardest but you make the coolest machines. I was always pretty good at math and physics but that was at the high school level ten years ago...

I would caution against full blown engineering. Youll need a 4 year degree minimum and be competing with 22-23 year olds for starting jobs. By the time you graduate youll be around mid 30s. BUT there are a lot of jobs in the engineering world that just need some certifications to back you up and that pay well too. And those tangential careers have plenty of guys that come into those careers a little later.

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