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University bumming while >30?

AminoAcid

AminoAcid

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Joined
Aug 29, 2012
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335
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Where dingoes eat babies.
What does everyone think of someone still studying at university getting their degree when they're 31/32? 8(

Reason I ask is that I'm 25 now and will be 31/32 by the time I finish my science degree and finish planned veterinary science degree. Does everyone think that's weird/sad? Should I just say fuck it and go work for some pharmaceutical company in the next couple of years to get $ instead?

I wouldn't be in this predicament but stupidly did a useless commerce degree first, but then had a near-death experience and realized there was more to life than making $ and wasting it all on advancing some arse-hole corporation. After the NDE, the idea of living a normal 9-5 existence seems almost impossible. Then I just wasted 2.5 years achieving literally nothing due to a Suboxone addiction :|.

EVERY single one of my friends has already finished university and is working in law/engineering/banking/advertising/media firms, and I'm the ONLY one still dropping acid and kicking it like a bum at university with little to no money, and it seems that's probably not going to change for quite a long time yet. Needless to say my parents aren't too impressed either.

This quandary has really been getting me down lately as I realize how "behind" I am compared to everyone else, and can't really talk to anyone in-real-life about it, so am open to everyone's opinions. :)

"Live the life of lux-u-ry
does-n't seem--- to be---- for me, be for me
Movin around comes naturally movin around and feelin free, that's for me"
- I'll be gone, Spectrum (1971)
 
Don't worry for one second about where you are in the race.
Do your best now. That is all you can do.
If you don't care about how old you are when you graduate, nobody else will either. At least, nobody who matters.
I was 36 when I finally got out of school, married with two kids.
So many people seemed to be trying to brainwash me, by telling me how difficult it must be to be me.
It wasn't. Actually, it was lovely. I enjoyed school.
Now I have my ideal job, doing what I love, using my mind every day, getting time for my family and my personal life, making a reasonable living. Who could ask for anything more?
 
alasdairm said:
why do you care what others think?
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It's mainly my parents/grandparents/relatives and close friends whose opinions of me I care about, in general everyone else can screw themselves, but I can't help caring about what these people close to me think. Parents don't seem to have the patience, can tell the disappointment in my grandpa's eyes (that FEAR that he may die before seeing me make something of myself!!), friends entering completely different stages of their lives which makes it difficult for me to relate to, etc.

Also I do have a slight worry that when I'm around the age where one usually finds a spouse I will find it difficult as most women are looking for someone who is already well settled....
 
i don't think it's sad or weird, i mean i've been in class with people who were 40+ and it is kind of weird/funny but it ultimately doesn't matter to me and i think getting an education at any age is a great thing. I'm going back to school in January to actually get a job, as i already have a useless degree that has gotten me no where so i know the feeling. Since you already have a degree you should do relatively well in your classes and will likely intimidate the little kids in there who are still just growing up, so it puts you at a great advantage compared to others.

I don't think old people understand what it is like for us today, the challenges, pressure to succeed and all of the nuances that come with growing up in this age. They just don't get it IMO so try not to let their opinion shape how you feel about yourself, they just won't understand what it's like because it was different for them, much different.
 
Lot's of good advice in this thread.

I'm 33, just finished my Master's, and am getting ready to apply to PhD programs for several more years of schooling.

As far as other students are concerned, I feel I was at a great advantage compared to the younger folks because I had a lot more "real world" experience to draw from.

As for your friends and family, who cares? They should be happy that you still want to continue your education. If they aren't then that's their problem, not yours.

I spent a long time worrying about what my friends would think of me for finding my calling so late in life. Hell, I skipped my 10 year high school reunion because I was ashamed that my friends were all doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs and I wasn't. Then one day one of my friends asked me why I skipped the reunion and I told her. She said that was silly and nobody cared what I was doing with my life....they were just there to get drunk anyways.

My point is that we all need to live our own lives regardless of what people may think....even the ones we care about. It's my life and I have to watch out for number one first, everyone else comes second.
 
the only problem with studying into the thirties is maintaining an income while doing it. as already mentioned, you make more of your time studying when you're older.
 
AminoAcid said:
Should I just say fuck it and go work for some pharmaceutical company in the next couple of years to get $ instead?
Click to expand...

To get any kind of job in big pharma these days (outside of sales), you need not only a PhD but also a post-doc under a famous scientist at somewhere like Scripps or MIT. So that kind of throws a monkey wrench in your gears there.
 
L2R said:
the only problem with studying into the thirties is maintaining an income while doing it. as already mentioned, you make more of your time studying when you're older.
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I'm not arguing with you but what you are saying does not compute.

A student must maintain an income no matter how old he or she is. When I turned thirty, nobody whacked me on the head and told me to get a job. I already had one.

As for studying, I'm not sure what you mean by that. When I got older I studied more and worked harder but that was because I cared more about my grades as my academic career progressed. It had NOTHING to do with my age.
 
Good thread.

I'm 32 and I'm just finishing up my undergrad. Before that I had a 3yrs associates, and worked for a few years in that field. Now I'm working for clinical research in hopes of moving into the scientific/medical community and eventually into health care. I'll most likely finish up my B.Sc. and move into an accelerated B.ScN

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the journey.

Like JA said, it doesn't matter if you're 22, 32 or 42, you need a form of income. That usually means juggling both school and work, and it means completing your studies later in life than kids whose parents bankrolled them at 18 - but until N. America catches up with Europe, that's just how it is and we have to deal with it.
 
Jerry Atrick said:
I'm not arguing with you but what you are saying does not compute.

A student must maintain an income no matter how old he or she is. When I turned thirty, nobody whacked me on the head and told me to get a job. I already had one.
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Sorry, i might not have been clear.

I had to maintain full time work while doing full time study since in my thirties i have a family and a mortgage to take care of. Over the three years of my BA, i WISHED i could have done it back when i was single and/or living at home. if i had the time to only focus on study, i would have aced the whole thing.

As for studying, I'm not sure what you mean by that. When I got older I studied more and worked harder but that was because I cared more about my grades as my academic career progressed. It had NOTHING to do with my age.
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I dunno why, but my age has brought with it a keen interest in a great many things. Stuff that would have put me to sleep in my twenties have me excited as hell in my thirties. i genuinely was mind blown by most of my units.
 
I never really felt that older individuals were really even out of place besides maybe in clearly typical freshman level (year one expected) classes. You end up with a bunch of 17 and 18 years olds with a few 28 + year olds. In class that class discussions or debates are the standard form of class practice, there probably ends up being some clear differences in world views and understanding of how the world functions. This could be beneficial for the class or just a little bit awkward. For big lecture classes, it really isn't that weird.

I know I'll have to go back to school when I'm a older to finish my degree in chemistry because unfortunately I really should have waited a few years before committing to devoting my life for 4-5 years on a university education. Experiences gained from being a part of the workforce in the world can be very helpful in later committing to a university education with a true desire to attend for the sole purpose of the education, not the social experience that is wrap up with 18-24 year olds on and around the university. I should have taken a few years off to find myself, over come some of the dysfunctional areas of my life with out other heavy burdens affecting the process, gain a better understanding of world and providing for ones self, etc., instead i choose to go to college with untreated mental issues that will help lead to me ending my college education earlier than I would have liked. Now i'm having to deal with that by attempting to find work within a science field that could use an associates level + of scientific knowledge (taken at a successful university) directly with employment. Work experience can become valuable just like a college education, once a acceptable amount of experience in the work force within a field of study is gained that can not be duplicated via educational systems (only through actual experience).

I'm hoping that with all the knowledge that I've accumulated from institutional educations and the little work experience I have, I can put a foot in the door within the the field of study or specific concentration desired to become a successful part of. It seems a lot harder in this day and age when college degrees are becoming less and less of a advancement, and really now almost the norm. One must either have years of valuable work experience or a completed college education for most companies to want to hire. I've been struggling for any business in a chemistry or medical field to want to hire me for positions that in reality are not very difficult, yet 100x more intellectually depending than a simple restaurant or grocery store job. I've managed for only a handful of inquiries about potential employment in chemical manufacturing companies or even pharmacies, making it kinda of hard to put my foot in the door.

I'd like to gain valuable experience within say a laboratory or pharmacy (likely potential job options), as well as make the money need to then go back to college to finish my degree as an older student in most of the classes need to be completed, allowing me to have both the work experience and education level need for the more desirable jobs in the fields of interest.
 
L2R said:
Sorry, i might not have been clear.

I had to maintain full time work while doing full time study since in my thirties i have a family and a mortgage to take care of. Over the three years of my BA, i WISHED i could have done it back when i was single and/or living at home. if i had the time to only focus on study, i would have aced the whole thing.
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I see what you are saying. Thank you for clearing that up. I commend you for being able to juggle school with being a full-time adult. Even though I'm in my thirties, I still rent and don't have that many responsibilities other than my job.

I dunno why, but my age has brought with it a keen interest in a great many things. Stuff that would have put me to sleep in my twenties have me excited as hell in my thirties. i genuinely was mind blown by most of my units.
Click to expand...

I think that is part of the perspective Cloudy was talking about. As older students we have already gone through what most of the younger students are neck deep in (sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll). That and work/world experiences that most younger students haven't encountered yet. Plus, in your case, having a family changes the way you prolly think about a lot of things compared to when you were in your twenties.
 
mate you don't know the half of it. the kid changed everything :!.

just as he should have =D

thanks for the kind words, mate.
 
Thanks for the great advice everyone, it has definitely given me much more confidence to go forward. After this sort of existential crisis I've decided to change my major to geology, as geologists here in Australia make a filthy amount of money as the number of graduates is only half that needed by the resources industry here. Talked to a house-mate whose studying it and even as a student Rio Tinto pays him $6000 for a few weeks holiday work. So it's a good solution to get my parents off my arse while still studying possibly to phD level.

So yeah I've sort of admitted defeat to an extent (ideals of veterinary medicine have to go), but hey at least it's still science. I was brought up by my father to think that money was everything, so originally completely rejected such uncompromising materialism, on the other hand as you get older you realize you have to make compromises, and if some muppet company wants to pay you $85,000 first-year out to fly around looking at rocks, so be it.

"We've gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do."
 
alasdairm said:
seems like a total non-issue to me.
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and I'm the ONLY one still dropping acid and kicking it like a bum at university with little to no money, and it seems that's probably not going to change for quite a long time yet. Needless to say my parents aren't too impressed either.

I think this is the issue.
 
Perpetual Indulgence said:
and I'm the ONLY one still dropping acid and kicking it like a bum at university with little to no money, and it seems that's probably not going to change for quite a long time yet. Needless to say my parents aren't too impressed either.

I think this is the issue.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have given up all drugs except small amounts of alcohol occasionally for epic insomnia. Haven't taken any illicit chemicals in many weeks now, not even acid. It's hard to have much expendable money when you live in the 2nd most expensive city in the world, only second to Tokyo. If my dad wasn't wealthy I would feel even more guilty than I already do getting all this money from him. Either way I start work Tuesday, hello 12 hour bar-tending shifts :o Aim is to be financially independent of parents by early next year, which as I said will be hard while studying as need around $500/week just to get by here... A booming economy can have its disadvantages.
 
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