Going Back At 30, But Is A Prestigeous School Nessessary?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey Guys (and Ladies),</p>

<p>I've been looking at a bunch of forums regarding my rather unique problem, and I wanted to see if you could provide me with some words of wisdom.</p>

<p>Short Version:
Went to University at 18, goofed around until 21. No Degree.
Went to Trade School at 21, goofed around until 24. Associates Degree in IT.</p>

<p>Now here is where my situation gets pretty unique. I decided to learn how to invest money throughout my twenties, and through some extremely rare opportunities, I now have enough assets to stick into annuities and live off the interest for the rest of my life (nice, right?).</p>

<p>Here's my question: Is it really necessary to go back to school at my age and my situation? I was never really disciplined with my studies, and I wonder if it would just be a waste of time.</p>

<p>Also, does it really matter where I go to school? I wanted to go back to get a Computer Engineering/Computer Science degree, as it's relevant to the type of business I'm starting up. Since I'm already 30, which school I go to seems less and less relevant.</p>

<p>I had two universities in mind, one in the state I currently live in, UT Austin. Apparently one of the best in the nation.</p>

<p>The second was UNM, which is in the area where I'd like to move to.</p>

<p>Both schools have ABET accredited programs, UNM has an accredited CS program as well.</p>

<p>Now, I've always been told that a B.S. is important even if you own the company, just in case you need to go back to work for the man.</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice you can give me.</p>

2

<p>It really comes down to what your objective is. If you really want to move to New Mexico then UNM is absolutely fine. The benefit of a UT Austin is if you ever want to build an Internet business that raises VC money Austin is a much better place to do that and UT is highly respected. If you want a CS job, again Austin is a much better city to do that and UT is much more respected.</p>

<p>Personally I also think Austin might be one of the nicest cities in the country so I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to live there except for personal reasons.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the reply Slipper,</p>

<p>All my friends who’ve lived in Austin rave about how beautiful it is there. Perhaps I should do a little soul searching there for several months, hopefully I’ll fall in love and call it home!</p>

4

<p>I’m even older than you and have a long-term goal of going back to school too.</p>

<p>Having enough money that you can live off the interest changes everything. For one thing, if that’s true, you’re never going to have to go back to work for “the man”. So you can focus on what’s most conducive to starting your own business if that’s your goal. It also avoids the need to get any degree just so you can get any job.</p>

<p>It takes the same amount of time to earn a degree from a prestigious school as it takes to do so from an unknown school. And a prestigious school isn’t necessarily any more expensive than an unknown school. Yet the payoff for earning a degree is much greater at more prestigious schools. So why not go for the gold? The only good reason not to is if you have to attend a less prestigious school for financial reasons. And it sounds like you don’t have that problem.</p>

<p>The real reason to go back to school is for personal fulfillment. I’ve found education to be genuinely rewarding when I’ve been able to take rigorous courses in subject areas that I find genuinely interesting. And you’re in a position to go primarily for this reason. I’m looking into opportunities which should realistically yield a profit of at least$50 per hour and still want to go back for this reason. It’s not for the money - I’m not likely to beat that in a regular job.</p>

<p>A few things to consider:

  • IT is an ageist industry. Getting into the industry at age 30 plus however long university takes, you don’t have that many good years before age discrimination becomes a reality for you. This is less true if you own your own business - but clients can have age biases too.
  • When the IT industry crashes, it crashes hard. I got into the industry in the late 1990’s when it was the place to be. But then, from about 2000 to 2004, there just weren’t very many computer jobs. Overall, the industry has recently tended to be boom or bust. You don’t want to be in it during the busts unless you really have the passion for it.
  • Your goal to live in a specific place - and one that’s not really known for technology - is a red flag. In the IT industry, it really hinders your career to be unwilling to move to certain areas with a high concentration of tech jobs. These areas are mostly expensive, suburban and bland. If you’re not willing to live in these types of areas, I don’t really recommend the IT industry. That said, Austin is, by far, the most desirable high tech employment area.</p>

<p>Good luck with going back to university!</p>

5

<p>take3,</p>

<p>When I first started the thread, I was concerned that mentioning the investment thing would make it sound like a ■■■■■ thread. I’m really grateful that you guys take me seriously. It’s not a whole lot, but it’s enough for me to start a company, and send me back to school.</p>

<p>I originally wanted to be a programmer and develop games, but always felt that by working for a company where I didn’t own the code or control the direction of the project, that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my work as I would if I was determining direction. Hopefully my method of management will be enjoyable for all the programmers who work with me.</p>

<p>Off the bat, Academic IT was tech, tech, tech, but business IT was always about politics. My last job in IT was as a Desktop Admin (Read: Glorified Help Desk), and on more than one occasion I remember getting thrown under the bus for adhering to protocol and “industry best practices”. It’s possible that I just got a bad batch of supervisors, but IT left a sour taste in my mouth.</p>

<p>Fortunately, I became friends with the Engineers in security and infrastructure, and they gave me a realistic view of IT.</p>

<p>Thanks again to everyone, If you ever see me in Austin, remind me that I owe you guys a cold one.</p>

6

<p>I think youre thinking about things the right way, and I think you will love Austin. I think its one of the best places to be in the US, with UT you have a total win/win in my book.</p>

7

<p>If going to school with other people who have had some life experience is something that might interest you I would also take a look a UNM’s evening and weekend program. </p>

<p>Since you are in the position of not having to work full time you might be hesitant at first to commit your evenings to school, however you will find a different type of older student who is often times much more knowledgable and has a different focus than you would in the traditional college campus.</p>

8

<p>@ghostmilspec: I’m glad you found my response useful (-:</p>

<p>I don’t think it was just you. There really does seem to be a high proportion of bad managers in IT. In general, you avoid most of the problems in IT by self-employed (including being a contractor and owning a business).</p>

<p>Game development sounds like fun. The thing to investigate before making a huge time commitment is whether it’s feasible to be an indie game developer. Game development isn’t my area - but regarding IT in general, there are many trends working against indie developers.</p>

<p>I think of the more rigorous CS programs as being like law school or medical school. They’re not meant to be fun or rewarding. Instead, the unstated deal is that you’re going to work very hard and not have much of a life for a few years in return for breaking into a profession. These programs also tend to mold you into a one-sided person. For one thing, there’s not much room for course work outside CS. Socially, Computer Science students are likely to mix mostly with other students in Computer Science, Engineering and the like; at least this was the case in one highly ranked CS program I briefly attended. The problem is that these programs are unofficially training you to pound out code for someone else’s business. To run your own business, you need to be well-rounded.</p>

<p>On the other hand, the less rigorous CS programs tend not to open any doors which are better than you could open with no degree at all.</p>

<p>@BowTieFratty: It’s not just scheduling which would lead one to take daytime courses if one doesn’t have to work. Academic programs designed for non-traditional students have to be chosen very carefully. I’ve heard many anecdotal reports of programs for non-traditional students not being as rigorous as programs for traditional students. The universities know that most non-traditional students have to work and don’t have time for a rigorous academic program. They also know that many of these non-traditional students are full pays, either because they have money from real jobs or because their employer is paying their tuition.</p>

<p>That said, if considering programs for traditional students, it may be worth considering schools other than typical big state schools. Most are relatively unwelcoming to non-traditional students. The problem here is that many of the top CS programs are at just these kinds of schools.</p>

9

<p>Have you looked into Brandman University for the non-traditional students route? Perhaps you can earn your CS degree there. You’ll also have the prestigious brand recognition of Chapman University. The two universities are highly respected. Chapman is for the traditional students. Brandman is for the non-traditional students. These are non-profit institutions which provide a quality education regardless of whether you prefer the traditional or non-traditional route. Here’s an article in the Sacramento Bee on their success story. Best of luck!
[Brandman</a> University Announces 2.3 Percent Student Loan Default Rate, Bucking the Nation’s Upward Trend - PR Newswire - sacbee.com](<a href=“http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/27/3942499/brandman-university-announces.html]Brandman”>http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/27/3942499/brandman-university-announces.html)</p>

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<p>unfortunately, pedigree matters when raising capital. i’d go to the “best” school with the “best” alumni network you can find that will let you in. UT Austin is a great school and wouldn’t be a bad bet, at all. </p>

<p>if i were you i’d finish your undergrad, knock it out of the park, and apply to a top mba program. you have a good story and the mba might open up some doors for you that would be closed otherwise.</p>

11

<p>Good engineers don’t need MBAs anymore to raise capital. Its an CS major dominated world in tech right now, and if you want to ride that track UT is the way to go. I know this space VERY well and my firm has invested in some of the biggest wins on the Internet. Trust me on this. </p>

<p>The difference between UT and UNM is tremendous, if you want to play at a higher level and get the rewards therein UT is the answer. Plus Austin is AWESOME.</p>