My friend graduated at age 26 with her B.S because of medical sick leave. I am graduating late because when my dad died recently it effected me and then I was in the hospital before that. Will this make me look stupid or dumb? Would I be unemployable? All my fellow engineer friends and I are graduating late but all my friends with liberal arts majors are graduating in 4 years. I have noticed a lot of Engineers took 5-7 years to graduate. Does it matter how long it takes someone to graduate? Will it effect there success? Will it hurt them? What do you think?
The vast majority of employers won’t care. You don’t have to put when you started college on your resume, just when you graduated, so generally they won’t know unless they ask for your transcript (which not many employers do).
I find that 20-30 year olds all look the same age, so no, I don’t think they will judge you based on that you are “older” than a regular college graduate. And yes engineering and computer science majors take longer to graduate; more things to study :).
Engineering is a tough discipline.
Would you trade off graduating later vs graduating with a liberal arts degree that may or may not be able to get a livable salary?
Having finished college after the service on the “GI Bill,” I found out that the older students are actually smarter. We used to say that “education is wasted on the young.” This will work against you when you are over forty. Don’t take too much time. :bz
Most non-engineering majors make a livable middle-class salary. But if engineering is what you want to do, don’t let the extra year or so deter you from majoring in that. My husband finished his bachelor’s degree at just a month shy of 30, and my cousin will finish hers in May at age 31. My mother didn’t get her LPN until she was in her 40s.
Look at it this way - you’re going to be 2X regardless of whether you finish your degree or not. Would you rather ben 2X with an engineering degree or 2X with a HS diploma?
Your age at graduation won’t matter all that much. The state of the economy when you graduate can have a huge impact on your job search, though.