Dear Aadisht, My circumstances are not exactly similar (I did my Masters after a few years of working and just before I turned 30), but since I am fresh off that boat I could probably share some vishesh tippani.
We all miss College and those idealist learning spaces and that nostalgia can turn to wishful thinking. The reality, however, is startlingly different in terms of: 1. You will be substantially older than the median age of the class, which can lead to exasperation when it comes to dealing with those who speak from books and theories, especially when you have experience to back that some of what they suggest looks good only on paper. Here, you will need to have an extremely open mind, patience and malleability of a string of thread to not be carried away by your own judgements of things around you. 2. You will often oscillate between the practical experience you have gained and the idealistic bubble in the class room. While it can be highly refreshing, it also means that you often rage against the ideal, with the practical. In your head it can make you feel frustratingly dated. 3. You probably havent written a paper in at least 15 years, so your academic reading ability, writing and academic argument skills are rusty. You will need to hit the ground running from day minus 30 and keep at it without stopping. You probably have to work harder than most others in the classroom. And in spite of doing that and working your ass off over a gazillion coffee'fuelled nights, when you that uncherished B, you have to trust yourself and remember that this takes time. Relearning the rules of the game is a slow process, and you have to turst yourself and give yourself the space to stumble and rise again. Discipline is key. 4. Depening on which part of the world you choose to do this degree from, your identity as an Indian and everything that you have known to be true about who you think you are will be called into question. Strong proven theories, anecdotal arguments, unicultural academic thinking will redefine your own sense of self. It is a highly uncomfortable and yet an extremely rewarding process. 5. A Bacelors degree is at least 3 to 4 years of monetary and time investment. A previous thread on silklist on early retirment offers some fabulous insights in this regard, so I wont say much... except that you have get used to living on a budget again. And stick by it, especially if you have no additional income coming in. 6. About changing careers, if that is one of your key intentions then you have to invest time in getting involved in placement cells and doing internships throughout your programme. Employers are often suspicious of those changing tracks and you have to work on building new networks and contacts, not to mention work skills, through college. Students appear to be the least harmful, and you will be surprised to find how much the top executives, chairpersons of organisations open up to you about their strategies, goals and vision. So it is important to work through it along with your degree 7. I will reitertae that maintaining discipline is extremely critical. 8. Finally, the process of going back to school, I have been told, is a brave move. It means putting to test everything you have ever known to be you and true. It is not just learning about new things or relearning what you have forgotten, but putting yourself through the proverbial fire all over again. And three or four years of it is a very brave decision. You need to make sure those around you (wife and family) and OK with supporting you through your commitment. It is also likely to take a toll on them. Have you thought about a test programme? It might help to try and do some basic courses on Coursera or start with a part time diploma programme to be sure. Hope this helps. Rashmi p.s.: apologies for the weird absence of punctuation and some spelling errors, am using a Hungarian keyboard so very lost on what is located where Thanks. Regards, Rashmi Dhanwani Linkedin: http://in.linkedin.com/in/rashmidhanwani Twitter: www.twitter.com/rashmid On Thu, Oct 2, 2014 at 7:55 AM, Aadisht Khanna <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > does anybody have any experience or advice on doing a second bachelor's > degree program in one's thirties? In the past eight years, I've moved from > being entranced by the idea of doing a PhD, to realising that what I wanted > was the glamour of a Doctorate and not so much the actual work of the > program itself, to "oh lord, no more formal education ever". Now in the > past few months I've been thinking of doing not a masters' program, but a > second bachelor's (leaning towards Geology). Reasons for this are: > > > 1. Pure Wanderlust / Sehnsucht. I've been enjoying my work recently (but > often, only as long as I start getting out of the office and factory and > doing customer visits and chasing new projects.) Starting a whole new > lifestyle might help. > 2. Realising, thanks to German lessons, that I really missed being in > classroom environments. > 3. On going to mining trade fairs (the mining industry is a huge > customer base for me) that geology is an entire area of science I have > negligible knowledge about. > 4. Also realising that I've almost forgotten everything I learnt in high > school (which is why I'm thinking of a bachelor's program and not a > master's) > 5. Realising that I wasted my original bachelor's coasting through the > program and just trying to pass (with the exception of a few courses I > enjoyed) and feeling that I'd like to go and get it right this time. > > If I do do a geology program, it won't really help me in my current line of > work, as the actual process of mine exploration / surveying/ excavation has > very little interface with what I do (supplying conveyor belts to mines > that are up and running). > > Does anybody have any experience to share on switching careers/ fields > after their thirties? What is the potential of just going for a Bachelor's > program out of sheer curiosity to derail my earning potential etc? >
