Hi.

 I am a 37yo male and have been thinking of getting an online degree.  I worked in IT for over 10 years and was laid off from my job about 3 years ago.  Since then, I have been working as a CSR.  I'm not happy with my current position and need to change.  I do have an Associates degree that I got back in 1993.  It has basicially done nothing for me.  I want to get my Bachelors.  I feel that I am too old to go back to school and if I put forth the time and money, will it pay off?  I also don't have any money to pay for it, so I would need financial aid.  If I go back to school, I was thinking of Human Resource Management or possibly something in the Medical field. 

 Is it worth it for me to go back to school or should I just throw this idea away?

 Thanks for your help,

John

John,

My husband was in the same boat...but he did not have any secondary education behind him. He decided to that online accounting classes throught Univeristy of Phoenix. He now is in his last year of his his BA accounting and with no job and can not find a job. We are now looking into the medical field ourselves. I have lost my job as a florist and that is a talent that is not in demand anymore, so I am taking medical billing classes. My husband is looking into medical accounting/billing degree. His mother has her degree and works as a controller of an assistiant living home. She brings in a salary that is 6 digits, but again she has been working in the field a long time. The choices are huge, there is hospitals, insurance companies, medicaid/government aduiter, excutive financial oppertunites, dental, retirement etc. Everday We look under jobs and there is so much more under medical then any other careers.

John, I can't tell you that going after your BA is worth it. My husband is a few years older than you. We have not jobs ourselves so we will be paying for his student loans for a long time, but I have to say it is well worth the price to his self wealth. This is man that I have tried for years to get to go to school, to a man that is talking about going after his masters. If he had to do the class room choice, he most likey would have dropped out, online classes gave him the flexiablity to learn at his level, he takes it very seriously and is proud of his 3.9 GPA and that my not mean anything to anyone else for it means the world to him.

 I hope this will help you and remember you are not alone.

MC

Thanks MC.  That does help and I am sorry your husband hasn't found a job and that you lost yours.  But, I am glad to hear that he is enjoying it.  As long as he enjoys it, that is what matters.  I agree that there are so many jobs in the medical field.  I look on several jobs boards each day and 90% of the jobs are medical. 

What types of careers are you and your husband pursuing in the medical field?

 John

John,

I will be taking medical billing through adult education my husband and I will be taking some of those classes together,but he is looking into hospital admin. or medical financial. He is trying to get into the financial end of it. The program at University of Phoenix is a new program and we are trying to get in touch with someone that help us decide. There is cerificate programs online. University of Santa Barbara and Pasadena college offers online programs.

 While taking billing classes we found out that medical coders make about 25.00 an hour. The class is the same night we have our class and it  has a good amount of men in it.

  It's all so hard to decide the right path. Our billing teacher works for the City  and she has something to do with medcaid. She was telling us to get a job in a goverment type environment. They never fire anyone. There was a young girl that was stealing and they just moved her somewhere else.

Hope you find your path..Good Luck to you.

MC

I started pursing my dream of earning a bachelor's degree about five years ago, and I'm nearly finished.  I'll be 45 years old later this year.  It hasn't always been easy, and I had things happen in my life that slowed my progress toward earning a degree.  However, I look at it this way:  if I had never started working on my degree five years ago, I would be in the same spot now that I was in then, but here I am...within striking distance of earning my BA. 

 You're never too old to learn something.  How old will you be four years from now if you don't have a degree?  The same age as if you have one.  You'll still have more than 25 working years ahead of you after you earn your degree...plenty of time to benefit from a degree.

valicvader:

I am a 37yo male and have been thinking of getting an online degree.  I worked in IT for over 10 years and was laid off from my job about 3 years ago.  Since then, I have been working as a CSR.  I'm not happy with my current position and need to change.  I do have an Associates degree that I got back in 1993.  It has basicially done nothing for me.  I want to get my Bachelors.

The good news is that one important thing that your Associate's degree will do for you is cut the time it takes to get your Bachelor's degree in half.

I feel that I am too old to go back to school and if I put forth the time and money, will it pay off?

As a 35 year old, I emphatically reject the idea that 37 is too old to do anything!  Besides, there was a woman who recently finished her Bachelor's degree in her 90's.  If she can do it, you have about sixty more years before you can cite age as a reason not to go to school!

I also don't have any money to pay for it, so I would need financial aid.  If I go back to school, I was thinking of Human Resource Management or possibly something in the Medical field.

Most people need student loans, so I wouldn't be too worried about that.  However, It's a good idea to keep the money you borrow to a minimum, since you'll eventually have to pay it back. HR Management and Healthcare are very different fields.  What's attracting you to them?  Are you definitively no longer interested in IT?

Is it worth it for me to go back to school or should I just throw this idea away?

If you do nothing, nothing will change.  You're currently unhappy, so it seems to be that doing nothing would be pretty crazy!

-=Steve=-

Thanks Steve for the reply.  I believe the great responses I have received so far have helped me to decide to move forward.  I am still undecided as to what field to move into.  I was thinking about HR Management because I have always been intrigued by that line of work.  The Medical field decision was because when you look for jobs, that's all you see so I know it's in high demand. 

IT is something I did for a long time but was never happy with it.  It paid pretty good but the happiness just wasn't there. 

John

If you are going to totally change careers, becoming a licensed nurse or something wouldn't be a bad idea.  I know in North Texas Registered Nurse's are always, always in demand.  However if you are looking at leveraging your previous experience, maybe something in medical infomatics...basically IT for medical reasons.

Either way you probably need to step back and do some soul searching first, decide what you really want to do and then start researching options.  Don't get the cart before the horse.