I want some advice from people over 40 who started their higher education after they reached that age. I'm mostly looking at people who decided to do PhD or Masters post 40. How was your whole journey? What advice do you have to share?
Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
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Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#2I'm just finishing a masters, it's been very enjoyable but definitely a challenge to balance education, work, and family.
It's not just the hours of work to be done, the biggest challenge for me has been the pieces of work that need to be done on specific days at specific times, like one-off lectures, workshops, and so on, where I've had to say to my kids I can't take them places or play with them that day.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#3Not worth the hassle in my opinion. People who don't have it often think they need it but the reality is that you can learn on your own and fast as well.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#4Have an extremely specific vision for what you want to do after getting the degree.
The lion's share of general "entry-level" opportunities for newly-minted technical masters/doctorates will struggle to value whatever experience you had before going to graduate school. This is less true for certain industry-specific positions, which is why identifying those positions before starting is a good idea.
If you're comfortable restarting your career as a junior researcher in your late 40s, be aware of the unusual place you'll occupy in the academic hierarchy.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#5I got a Master’s without ever having a Bachelor’s starting when I was well over 30. Feel free to email me if you want to know anything.
If you already have a successful career in a non-credential field it’s unlikely getting a vanity credential like a taught Master’s will do much for you, unless it’s a finishing school proof of class habitus like an MBA. A Ph.D. like an MBA is good for changing fields and perhaps social class entirely but it’s unlikely to pay off in monetary terms.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#6I'm about to start out on this journey. I graduated from university in the UK in 2002 with a mediocre degree result (2:2). That hasn't held me back in industry having various roles within organisations and latterly consulting roles and briefly consulting/contracting independently.
I've also had three years of not working due to looking after my children while my partner worked. That was incredibly rewarding and incredibly tiring. Now with them in childcare it's a great time for me to go back to university for a masters with the intention of finding a PhD place after that.
For me, the goal is to get more rewarding work. Personally, that means working for what I feel is a better goal that purely making money for a company owner. I plan to take a masters in Software Engineering and then use that skill to transfer to a subject in Earth Science (or similar) where I can use programming to fulfil research needs and hopefully continue in that vein for a rebooted career.
Luckily now I'm living in Norway means that a masters is free and as my partner works I can concentrate on study without needing to worry about money.
Advice from my thinking so far would be: - know what your aim is. Education for it's own sake is great but if you have a different goal in mind then consider whether higher education is the best way to get there. If you know other people in a position you'd like to be in, ask them what the current best route to get there is. - try and discuss with potential course supervisors in advance whether or not you will be accepted. With 20 years out of education, I've found it interesting to consider whether or not my industry skills will be valued as much as the school/university level education. I'm definitely not as sharp on lots of things but that experience does count for lots. - if you're behind on what current "feed in" courses teach fellow masters students, sit in on lectures and read the course material as much as possible so you're not behind when you start. - the academics I know love to talk about academia and are a great source of knowledge on the education routes that are open. Being an older student will probably mean you're better able to approach them and get this knowledge. Everyone I've spoken to has wanted to help so take advantage of this.
Good luck, hope you find the right route for you!
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#7I went straight to work and didn't get to college until 41/42. I'm working on my undergrad and plan to continue to my masters. I've found it incredibly rewarding for two main reasons.
First, since I have a career already, I'm free of the pressure to go to school for career purposes and can focus on something I enjoy, which also provides immense value to what I'm doing every day (I chose philosophy, much more relevant and practical than I think many realize).
Second, I enjoy the experience and get quite a bit more depth from it than I would have in my 20's. It's a richer, more meaningful experience now that I'm older, have a strong sense of who I am, and am not put off in the slightest by naysayers or influenced by people's opinions of what I should or shouldn't be doing. I have more maturity now than at any other time in my life, and this has served me well in the sense of approaching topics with intellectual humility and just enjoying the process of knowing nothing to knowing a little. I do all the reading and then some, reading far and wide as well as doing deep analysis, writing all my notes, reviewing, and doing practice essays, and I enjoy every bit of it rather than seeing it as a chore.
So, some initial thoughts for you, hope they're helpful. The only advice I can give is to enjoy it, realize it's a wonderful opportunity, be structured and disciplined with your time, and use your hard-earned experience to your advantage.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#8I got a Master’s without ever having a Bachelor’s starting when I was well over 30. Feel free to email me if you want to know anything. If you already have a successful career in a non-credential field it’s unlikely getting a vanity credential like a taught Master’s will do much for you, unless it’s a finishing school proof of class habitus like an MBA. A Ph.D. like an MBA is good for changing fields and perhaps soci…
If you don't mind, could you share the university you went? I dropped out my bachelors in final year, and kinda old now. Spending 1 or 2 year for masters is okay for me now, but don't want to spent 4 years for bachelors again. Trying to figure out options.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#9Not worth the hassle in my opinion. People who don't have it often think they need it but the reality is that you can learn on your own and fast as well.
This may be true in many cases, but without more context for the question, it isn't helpful here.
If someone's trying to change fields into one that requires a credential (I was recently looking into a pivot into becoming a psychologist or a counselor for someone), it doesn't really make any difference if the material could be learned another way, even if it could be learned better that way.
Re: Ask HN: How did you start higher education after 40?
#10I got a Master’s without ever having a Bachelor’s starting when I was well over 30. Feel free to email me if you want to know anything. If you already have a successful career in a non-credential field it’s unlikely getting a vanity credential like a taught Master’s will do much for you, unless it’s a finishing school proof of class habitus like an MBA. A Ph.D. like an MBA is good for changing fields and perhaps soci…
If you don't mind, could you share the university you went? I dropped out my bachelors in final year, and kinda old now. Spending 1 or 2 year for masters is okay for me now, but don't want to spent 4 years for bachelors again. Trying to figure out options.
A lot of universities have (often not well publicized) programs to help you finish bachelor's degrees after you drop out and are gone for a few years. You can sometimes get credit for work experience or other things you've done and take all/most classes online.
I went through one myself and am currently working on my PhD. If you have a relevant career or just come off as pretty mature a master's program will be happy to have you even if there were issues in your undergrad, but very few institutions worth going to will admit you without a bachelor's of any kind and the circumstances would have to be something truly remarkable.