cross-posted from: https://linux.community/post/4052877
don’t give me the it’s never too late bs. Life happens, people have jobs, debts and rent to pay.
Going back to school when you’re employed means debt, earning way less or nothing during your bachelor or master, stress, opportunities you’re not aware of because you’re simply not at your workplace anymore, unpaid overtime during those 2 to 3 years… the money you lose is more than what the bachelor / accreditation costs.
When does it start being a stupid idea? Is it when you’re 30? 40? 50?
Depends what the goal is, and what your responsibilities are.
If you want to learn, the upper limit is literally just defined by remaining health. I’m pretty sure seniors can audit for free at least some places.
If the goal is to make more money, it depends what you’re already making, your chance of successfully graduating, and how much you’d make in your new job. A simple equation that’s close enough, but not totally correct would be something like: (new salary - old salary)*working years/probability of failure - (tuition + old salary)*expected time in school
If it’s to have a job you like more, it’s hard to quantify and will be a pure judgement call.
If you’re still working age it’s realistically going to be a mix of all three. I’m also not sure how having kids would factor in, exactly.