I'm 45 and until recently considered this too old to career change. I now have a baby, this changes things for me.
Hard for me to help you weigh your options. Will your relationship with your dad (personal one) change/suffer if you decline his offer? If so, how important is that relationship and will you be able to rebuild it? If you choose to decline your dad's offer I suggest you have several convo's with him, enlisting his assistance in helping you to weigh your options while stressing to him how much you appreciate and value his support, guidance, assistance (financial and emotional/family/etc). Also discussing with him your conflict about accepting financial assistance from him may be helpful, especially if you choose to not take his offer. This way he will not feel slighted (hopefully, especially if you dialogue with him to begin with, including him in helping you to make your final decision).
You could also consider asking him if this offer will re-open should you go the separate way and re-evaluate and want to take him up on his offer for school and life support with money a yr or 2 down the road.
Wish my dad would pay my school and room and board, it would be a no brainer for me, even at 45. I grew up hard, abused, etc and was kicked out of my house after years of abuse and neglect and didn't even have basic life skills. I left home with $100 to my name, no life skills, no job, no degree, and PTSD from childhood abuse. I became homeless and actually did this by choice, sort of 'forced their hand' at kicking me out by confronting them about all the past abuse when I learned there were homeless shelters that help people find jobs and provide counseling, etc.
Now i have a good relationship with him. Age and religion helped him and my mom change their ways so now they are good grandparents and good parents, although me and my sisters suffered as they were terrible parents when we were growing up.
I don't make a lot of money. If I go back to school it will have to be part time while working full time and I still have difficulties in life secondary to the PTSD I still carry although not very severe like it was when I was young. But I have terrible anxiety still and low self esteem and many simple life tasks and negotiating relationships, things that come natural to some people, things that some people excell at, I have moderate to very difficult time managing.
You say your current job is not your passion, the way I read it the new job your looking at will be similar, is that right? How much more money will you make compared to your current job (% generally I realize talking $ is touchy with most people, feel free to not answer at all obviously).
If you went to school, when completed, what kind of pay would you be looking at compared to the new job your looking at? Would it be more? A lot more? Would it have to be a path choosen by your dad or r u free to choose? Would you have to work for your dad afterwards, and if so, for how long? Would this be a good or bad thing as far as your personal relationship with him?
If you did accept his offer there is nothing saying you couldn't pay him back afterwards, right?
Now that I am a father I can offer the perspective of one. It is the best feeling I have ever had. Being with my son, along wit my wife, for the first time after he was born was the best feeling by far I have every felt. Blows anything else out of the water by far. Any drug, sex with the most beautiful women in the world, vacationing in paradice, nothing even comes close to touching it. And there is NOTHING ON THIS EARTH I would not do for my son. I wish my father felt and acted that way when I was young, fortunately I broke the cycle. I would give my life for him in a heartbeat and be happy to do so. In 20 years I would sell everything I own, dump all retirement savings, my car, my clothes, everything and go move back into a homeless shelter if doing so would give my son a shot at a beter life. I would do that today and let just my wife raise him if that was what would be best for him.
So don't discount a father's love and desire to help his son. I envy you and your relationship with your father.
Would your father refuse to let you pay him back if you expressed it was important to you? Since he owns his own company I'm assuming he get's by OK, especially since he can afford to not only fund your schooling but also your room and board. Think of it from HIS perspective for a while. The money probably means nothing to him compared to helping his son.
I suggest you let him do it, even if it is just including him in trying to come to a decision. I also recommend you thank him a lot for his offer and any advice he offers. Your lucky to have a dad like you do. You have no friggin idea how lucky.
To me, considering a career change at 45 is about what's best for my son and wife. It will be a lot harder than at 31. I'm weighing the costs of the education and the financial benefits that would result x how many years I would have left to work. I used to love my job, now I hate it. Jobs change. Leaders of companies and the way they manage things change.
So I recommend you keep doing what your doing- weighing your options and seeking input. Ask others who know you. Family, friends.
Wanna trade dads? j/k
