possible old foggie undergrad - too old?
Do any of you guys/gals think that 52 years old is too old to graduate with maths degree - I mean too old to chase a meaningful, productive job at that age?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
Original post by DrSheldonCooper
Do any of you guys/gals think that 52 years old is too old to graduate with maths degree - I mean too old to chase a meaningful, productive job at that age?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
I think he would struggle at that age to get a teaching job
Lecturing jobs are rare - how mobile is he
Tell him to chase his dreams
The biggest mistake and regret people on deathbeds say is not taking risks.
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The biggest mistake and regret people on deathbeds say is not taking risks.
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I think he should go for it! Especially as it's a part time degree so he'll still have time to do other things too! I think Birkbeck University would be the best place for him to go though because it's mostly adults there so he would probably find more people with similar interests etc.
Original post by DrSheldonCooper
Do any of you guys/gals think that 52 years old is too old to graduate with maths degree - I mean too old to chase a meaningful, productive job at that age?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
My friend (who`s in his mid 40`s) is thinking about going to university (got the t-shirt) to study maths with a view to improving his employability chances as he gets older (so he says). I don`t really think this is all that wise! - (please don`t bite my head off - it`s only my opinion, but HIS decision).
I mean, he does have the point that he has always worked in a supermarket (hardly the place where I`d like to reach the end of MY life having worked) so his future employability elsewhere is practically zero (he doesn`t want to work in any form of retail - even a bank!).
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
Is there a point to doing a degree at that age or should he just get used to saying "would you like a bag with that, Sir/Madam? until he dies?
There was a mature student in one of my tutorials this semester - he's in his second year of his maths degree, and doing it part-time alongside his normal job. He also happens to be one of the best students in the class and asks good questions.
I would say; go for it if it feels right, not necessarily to become a lecturer or anything. The skills you get from doing the work are far more valuable.
At that point in his life, I would say any attempt at perusing a degree should because you like the subject so much and genuiniely want to learn more about it. When you're young, you go to university to get a job at the end so a lot of people don't read outside the subject area, Oxbridge and top universities are exceptions to this though.
He should want to go to enhance his understanding, he shouldn't be thinking in terms of employment at his age.
He should want to go to enhance his understanding, he shouldn't be thinking in terms of employment at his age.
52 is too old to be starting a new career???
Ridiculous !
We'll all be working into our late 60s or even 70s given the likely future of pensions in our country.
Do it!
Because of the challenge and fun of achieving it
Because it will open up new employment prospects
Because nobody knows what the future may bring and we should make sure there are no regrets of what might have been.
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Ridiculous !
We'll all be working into our late 60s or even 70s given the likely future of pensions in our country.
Do it!
Because of the challenge and fun of achieving it
Because it will open up new employment prospects
Because nobody knows what the future may bring and we should make sure there are no regrets of what might have been.
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(edited 10 years ago)
My nan did a degree in her fifties and is now a teacher, so it's definitely possible. I would say go for it, 15/20 years is a long time to continue working in a supermarket and wishing you'd gone for it.
Lots of people go to Uni over 50. Don't panic.
And lots of jobs value the added experience - including teaching. Teach-Direct was devised as an entry scheme precisely to encourage 'more experienced' people to go into it. - http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/school-based-training/school-direct.aspx?sc_lang=en-GB
And if he wants to teach in a Uni he will need to do at postgraduate first - Masters and PhD - but then, yes, teaching at that level is still a realistic possibility.
And lots of jobs value the added experience - including teaching. Teach-Direct was devised as an entry scheme precisely to encourage 'more experienced' people to go into it. - http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/school-based-training/school-direct.aspx?sc_lang=en-GB
And if he wants to teach in a Uni he will need to do at postgraduate first - Masters and PhD - but then, yes, teaching at that level is still a realistic possibility.
Original post by Gondur
he shouldn't be thinking in terms of employment at his age.
he shouldn't be thinking in terms of employment at his age.
How incredibly patronising.
Original post by DrSheldonCooper
But, as he can only afford to take a part time degree, he will be 52 by the time he graduates. He then wants to become a lecturer or something...
The bad news is that if he wants to be a university lecturer, he'll probably need a PhD. Few unis these days will recruit new lecturers without one. He'll also need some sort of academic publication record. That means if he's in a STEM subject, he can probably skip the Masters stage and do undergrad+PhD (6-7 years total). However if he's in the Humanities, he'll need undergrad+Masters+Phd (7-8 years total).
So he'll actually be 55-56 when he has the basic qualifications to be a university lecturer. It doesn't leave him much time to build up a portfolio of post-doc level teaching that will give him a good shot at a permanent contract - many junior uni lecturers these days are employed on a contract basis rather than as permanent staff.
Having said that...
I started my undergrad degree at 44. I'm now 50 and a year into an MPhil, hoping to transfer to a PhD in June. I could be researching for another 2-3 years after that before I get a doctorate. I'm doing it just for the joy of it (not that it feels like it at the moment!), so as an end in itself, I'd recommend studying for the enjoyment to anyone, of any age.
If he can stick with it and build a short academic career, then so much the better. But I'd say that his best bet is just to launch into the studying, enjoy it for what it is and see what happens.
Hi All i can say is that i started my degree at the age of 52 and i will graduate next year. So yes do it
suzy19561
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suzy19561
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Original post by Klix88
I started my undergrad degree at 44. I'm now 50 and a year into an MPhil, hoping to transfer to a PhD in June. I could be researching for another 2-3 years after that before I get a doctorate. I'm doing it just for the joy of it (not that it feels like it at the moment!), so as an end in itself, I'd recommend studying for the enjoyment to anyone, of any age.
If he can stick with it and build a short academic career, then so much the better. But I'd say that his best bet is just to launch into the studying, enjoy it for what it is and see what happens.
I started my undergrad degree at 44. I'm now 50 and a year into an MPhil, hoping to transfer to a PhD in June. I could be researching for another 2-3 years after that before I get a doctorate. I'm doing it just for the joy of it (not that it feels like it at the moment!), so as an end in itself, I'd recommend studying for the enjoyment to anyone, of any age.
If he can stick with it and build a short academic career, then so much the better. But I'd say that his best bet is just to launch into the studying, enjoy it for what it is and see what happens.
I would not recommend any mature student at this age going to university "just for the fun of it". You will pay £27,000, and there is not £27,000 worth of fun in there. If you enjoy studying for the fun of it, then one of the top universities does what it calls "Open Courseware" and is a great start for such "fun"...courses in all subjects can be found here: "http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/"
Now, going to university in order to improve your job prospects is something that you definitely should consider doing even if you are this old. However, that comes with a caveat. Universities have got away for far too long with the idea that they exist for people to study for esoteric reasons. This is mostly a huge serving of bull doodah! They exist to put the top people in the top jobs, and that is what they do. So, if you truly believe that you can compete in the job market with all the students in the country who will have also completed your degree course at the same classification or higher, then go for it, but understand that it is the same as buying a house (with the exception that you don't get the house, and you cannot sue to get the house), i.e. it is "Caveat Emptor" on rocket fuel.
What I mean by this is that the University hold all the cards, and they are stacked in favour of the youthful population at present...even if you have a solid work record and you are a scientific genius in your spare time.
Who am I to be giving this advice? I'm a ex-student of around your age, who did extremely well during almost the entirety of my degree course, and then for no fault of my own was involved in detrimental events of the university's making, at the moment of completion, which had nothing to do with me, but which cost me my career. I am now, almost six years later, attempting to recover something from that. I discovered to my cost that to take the university to court to enforce their responsibility would cost me thousands of pounds of cash which i just didn't have.
So, in summary, do it!! Definitely...but only if you have absolutely no doubts that it is everything that you want to do! ...and then choose your course carefully.
Original post by Megajules
I would not recommend any mature student at this age going to university "just for the fun of it". You will pay £27,000, and there is not £27,000 worth of fun in there. .
All I can say is that this is exactly what I did and the experience has been worth far more to me than the resulting debt (any remainder of which will be wiped out when I'm 72 or when I die anyway). I wouldn't have missed it for the world and it wasn't just worth every penny, it was worth much more than that. I'm the first person in my family who ever had the choice and I've grabbed it with both hands.
Plus if you're taking the cost into account, you need to factor in lost wages. Calculated on my wage when I left my full-time job to go to uni, you can add just over £250,000 and counting to my "losses". If you just take the financial view, nobody over the age of 25 would ever go to uni.
Sometimes you need to look beyond money.
I'm sorry that you had a very negative experience of uni. There's certainly no guarantee that anyone will get as much out of a degree (and Masters and PhD) as I have. But there's no reason to think that everyone will have the nightmare that you did, either.
Original post by Klix88
All I can say is that this is exactly what I did and the experience has been worth far more to me than the resulting debt (any remainder of which will be wiped out when I'm 72 or when I die anyway). I wouldn't have missed it for the world and it wasn't just worth every penny, it was worth much more than that. I'm the first person in my family who ever had the choice and I've grabbed it with both hands.
Plus if you're taking the cost into account, you need to factor in lost wages. Calculated on my wage when I left my full-time job to go to uni, you can add just over £250,000 and counting to my "losses". If you just take the financial view, nobody over the age of 25 would ever go to uni.
Sometimes you need to look beyond money.
I'm sorry that you had a very negative experience of uni. There's certainly no guarantee that anyone will get as much out of a degree (and Masters and PhD) as I have. But there's no reason to think that everyone will have the nightmare that you did, either.
Plus if you're taking the cost into account, you need to factor in lost wages. Calculated on my wage when I left my full-time job to go to uni, you can add just over £250,000 and counting to my "losses". If you just take the financial view, nobody over the age of 25 would ever go to uni.
Sometimes you need to look beyond money.
I'm sorry that you had a very negative experience of uni. There's certainly no guarantee that anyone will get as much out of a degree (and Masters and PhD) as I have. But there's no reason to think that everyone will have the nightmare that you did, either.
With respect, "looking beyond money" is only possible for people who don't have money worries. At present, my husband and I are living on £45 per week between us, and are about to lose the home that we have lived in for over 30 years because of the way our lives were damaged by the way events unfolded at university. I really do appreciate that you are over the moon happy with your choice, and it is what I would wish for anyone in our position when choosing to go to university. I tell my story because it is possible that it would happen to someone else, not because it is probable.
My only question would be is he going to be capable of doing a maths degree? I don't want to stereotype, but if he's made it to 40 and he's still working in a supermarket, well, why? Is it because he's not that intelligent, or did he just not care to leave? Maths is one of the hardest degrees you can do, so I'd hope he's capable if he's considering a decision like this. If he thinks he is, then yeah, definitely do it. That's a long life still ahead of him. I'm planning to do something similar, going to start saving up to go back to uni myself.
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