Is 47 too old to go back to college?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Giving everything up in one country to move to another sure can send your life into a spin…

I gave up a good teaching job in California to move to Ontario last year. On the personal front, things are great - got an amazing house, a great partner, and live in the center of a great city…

Unfortunately, the job front hasn’t been as good… And that’s an understatement. The school district here does “pool hiring” for new teachers. Out of that pool, principals interview and recommend teachers for positions.

My background is special education and in theory I’m in high demand. In California I was turning down job offers right and left - and know I could have a job in days… However, I’m not in California any more, and don’t want to pack up and move back again…

Last year, I went through the spring interviews, got “pool hired” and was tentatively offered a job by a principal at a local high school. Then in August, I found out she had given the job to someone else. So, I spent all of September and October trying to find a teaching position and was unable to find one. Since September, I have been a substitute teacher, and have been called and worked a grand total of 16 days.

This is the only district in this area, and I have come to realize it is totally useless. Calling anyone to find out information is impossible, and even people who work there tell stories of incompetence at all administrative levels.

I was called a couple of weeks ago for an interview to get on the list again for next year’s pool hires, and the more I deal with these people the less I want to deal with them. Last week, I received a call from the district asking ***me ***when my interview was, because they weren’t sure any more. I swear every time I deal with the district my blood pressure goes up. The idea of working for these people and having to deal with them as my only option for an employer is too much.

I decided to look at this whole situation as an opportunity for change. I applied to a Post-Graduate Human Resources program at a local college, and was accepted.

The course is 8 months of classes, and 4 months of practicum. It gets rave reviews from employers and students, and seems like an excellent option to get into HR. I’ve met with course professors, students who have graduated, and administrative staff in the program, and I’m totally impressed.

However, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking I’m too old to start a new career. When I look at it logically, I know it’s ridiculous, but the thought keeps nagging me. I’ll be 47 in the fall, so I will be graduating from the program when I’m almost 48.

Maybe I just am feeling beaten down by what I’ve been going through for the past year, but I can’t imagine companies hiring an HR person with no HR experience at 48. Is 47 too old to go back to college and start a new career?

2

You are never too old. Go for it!

3

Go ahead and do it. Perhaps you might get someone to sit with you and prepare a cv outlining what skills you have. You may feel beaten down now by your fruitless (to date) quest, but a counsellor might help you identify what skills were at work in your work as teacher. You might be surprised at the results.

My sister was a teacher. She moved with her husband to Ontario at age 49. For one year, she couldn’t find regular work and was a bit depressed. She’s now working in a totally unexpected sphere: she’s a member of the Social Benefits Tribunal in Ontario. Her first contract was for 2 years, but it’s been renewed for another few years.

A new career may well be in the wings for you, and HR sounds like a good choice.

Good luck, Daffy.

4

“I’ll be 48 when I graduate from college!”

“How old will you be if you don’t?”

Go for it!

5

HR professionals in the US make a lot of money.

And one is never to old to learn something new. There’s that old addage about teaching an old dog…

6

Wow, that’s the kind of story I like to hear… Good for your sister!

There’s actually a whole one semester course built into this HR program in how to analyze your skills and write a good resume.

It seems strange to me - after all those years of dealing in the theoretical world at University to think about attending a practical course at a College.

7

You’ll be 48 anyway so you might as well have some schooling to go with it. Will you be better off if you don’t go back to college? My advice is to do it, maybe you’ll get a better job, maybe not. But you have that degree and that may help you later on.

8

LOL… Well, it’s not like I never graduated before… I already have three degrees… So if I don’t graduate from college at 48, I’ll have already graduated at 25, 35, and 38 :wink:

9

My father in law decided to take a class at the local community college. He was 72 and wanted to learn how to use his new computer. He loved it. Took a couple more classes, applied to a state university and received his bachelor’s degree at 78. No, 47 is not too old to go back to school.

Oddly, he wasn’t the oldest in his graduating class, there was a woman who received her degree at 80.

10

abbeytxs that’s so cool. I have had computers since 1995 and still know dick about them. Maybe there’s hope for me yet.

11

Isn’t our school system lovely?

12

My nursing school has a very sizeable contingent of middle-aged (or older) people changing careers, or starting ones after their kids have left home, or what have you. They might even be the majority. For some reason, nursing doesn’t seem to draw people fresh out of high school or college; it’s apparently more attractive to people who have done other things and have decided they want to do something more fulfilling or more in demand. One of my best friends at school is in her 50s. As a very rough estimate, I’d say the average age is around my age: 36.

I’m not trying to sell you on nursing – I’m just saying it’s never too late. :slight_smile:

13

Go for it! It’s never too late to learn.

I’m 43 and putting myself through courses and exams to become registered and certified as a “designer” under the Ontario building-code regulations, so I can design solar-heated houses. An old dream finally coming true! (This is what I went to architecture school for back in the eighties, but they were clueless about solar power and green design, and I’d been wanting to do it since grade 10…)

And my sister is five years older than me, and she’s taking all sorts of computer courses.

14

No, it’s not. And from everything I hear, your instructors will love having you in their classes. Older students do really well.

At my last high school reunion, the 35th, I ran into two classmates who had gone back to school to become nurses.

15

I worked in some of the poorest districts in California, and they were nowhere near as dysfunctional as this one…

If I wasn’t stuck dealing with them, it would be laughable. :eek:

16

The voice in your head that tells you that you are too old is full of crap. Go for it.

17

My father returned to school – that’s high school, by the way – at age 62. Three years later he graduated magna cum laude from a Jesuit university in Denver. Two years after that he started teaching English and art at the local state prison; three of his then-students have since served their terms, gotten their college degrees and started new lives.

You are in a perfect situation to go back to school.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot – I’m 55 and I’m getting my master’s degree so I can teach at the local junior college.

What’re you waiting for!?

18

My dad started working as a computer engineer but went back to school when he was 43 to get his teaching credential. Now he’s 62 and he still loves it (despite is troubles dealing with school’s administration in California. Is this a global phenomenon?)

Best of luck.

19

Colonel Sanders started his chicken business on his first Social Security check.

20

I can turn them on and get here, thats about it for me.

I guess I can always call my father in law if I have a question.