<p>Sorry, I just updated. Looks like two years is not really feasible, but three years of light work (12 hours per semester) could get it done.</p>
<p>You definitely can get it done by age 34. If you can take some community college courses starting in January, maybe get done by age 32. See what it would take to enroll, as a transfer, at an engineering school in the Fall of 2015. You will not be a freshman.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your response. I hope other people here corroborate your response, because that makes me even more optimistic. I was thinking it would be 5 years of 15 credit semesters…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that engineering has many required courses, often with prereq/sequencing. And some courses are not offered every semester. (In very small schools, some upperclassmen electives may be offered only in alternate years). That makes it difficult to compress.</p>
<p>Look of course “map” or “flowchart” at candidate schools to understand more. Here is an example that I picked due to the nice graphic presentation - <a href=“http://me.eng.ua.edu/files/2014/05/BSME-Curriculum-Flowchart-Fall-2014.pdf”>http://me.eng.ua.edu/files/2014/05/BSME-Curriculum-Flowchart-Fall-2014.pdf</a></p>
<p>Wyoming is not quite as cheap as post #1 states. WUE, which is very competitive at Wyo (and I’m not sure if it is available to a student seeking a second degree as it is not available for transfers) is 150% of instate tuition, so about $7000. There are a lot of other scholarships available and it can be cheaper than paying instate in Colorado even if paying full OOS tuition. South Dakota, Utah, Montana all are on WICHE/WUE, and all have good engineering programs.</p>
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<p>Of course, a pessimistic answer is expected if your sample is composed of unsuccessful job seekers – they will of course say that the job market is poor. But if you ask happily employed people, they are likely to give a more optimistic assessment.</p>
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<p>Engineering majors are usually 120-130 semester credits, which is slightly over the typical 120 semester credits normally needed to graduate. Check each school’s course plan for your majors of interest.</p>
<p>The WICHE web page is a big out of date. It does appear however that at least at Wyo, WUE is only available to first time students anyway.</p>
<p>NMT, without WUE isn’t the value it might seem. Their fees posted are per semester, not per year.</p>
<p>In state, CSU would be a good option. </p>
<p>In Silicon Valley ageism starts at 35. It was on the news or newspaper.</p>
<p>For some reason the “reply” button is not working.</p>
<p>NMT, without WUE, is still a good value from what I can tell it. It is a university with some level of prestige and history, focused on engineering, and is still less than $7,000 a year (in state). It’s physics program is apparently top-notch. </p>
<p>Basically, I would have to move in-state to whatever program I went to, probably. If the oil and gas industry stays hot, there is plenty of contract work with brokerages and I could try to shoot for something there. NMT allows you to defer acceptance for a year, I believe. </p>
<p>My girlfriend, who I live with, lived in Albuquerque for awhile and makes decent money working from home. I think we would be able to make something work. This is, of course, not taking into account lost income - but then again, life is meant to be enjoyed, and I should be doing something I enjoy.</p>
<p>As for ageism in Silicon Valley, it’s unlikely that I’m made for silicon valley anyway. I’m happy with a quiet, well-lived, reflective life where I appreciate what I have and get by, hopefully, somewhat easily… with room to spare.</p>
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Yep, that is the unfortunate downside of anecdotal evidence - you never really know circumstances too well.
Personally, I don’t believe that it’s all doom and gloom, more so that the picture that people paint over in this corner of the woods tends to be far more optimistic than the reality (since people who post frequently on an engineering forum tend to be those with a fondness for engineering). Job seeking is always tough work, especially in a tough economy, and you should know that you won’t be handed a well-paid or enjoyable life just with an engineering degree. </p>
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Don’t expect it to be easy. Schooling is tough and work is never the kind of thing you would do without being paid for it (whether you have fondness for the line of work or not).</p>
<p>A career change is a big deal, and on top of the $40k + interest that you will have to pay directly over 4 years, you also have opportunity cost to factor in if you choose to leave work. That’s not to say that it won’t be worth it, just that you have to really think things through.</p>
<p>Also, see what you can do within your current line of work with an engineering degree. You might find something that would suit you quite well, with the added job security of having worked there before.</p>
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Which number seems to be increasing faster: the number of expected graduates, or the number of jobs available? </p>
<p>Every university I have kept track of has seen a substantial rise in its engineering student base over the past 5 years, some doubling or tripling their size. Our economic history tells us that that cannot last forever. Things always get worse as more people pursue the opportunity.</p>
<p>I don’t see opportunity cost as a “real” sort of cost, especially since I have a partner to help me with living costs. Let’s say you get a month off of work… you can’t quantify what a month of just relaxing is “worth” in money, so you say it’s worth nothing, and you lose money. But life is made of life, not money, so perhaps that month was worth something. The same can be true going back to school, I imagine. </p>
<p>But yes - this is not something I’d rush into. I’d have to be more certain that “Land” work in the OG Industry is not what I want, or that the industry is too boom-bust (optimists nowadays seem to think it will last for 20-30 years… I don’t think that is realistic). </p>
<p>In my current state of mind, which I do believe needs to develop before I go back to school, I do think I’d get a lot out of understanding the “fundamentals” of life - energy, etc, and how it pertains to society. I would like to play a part in that, or something like that… even if within the normal view of the citizenry it would go unnoticed. Granted, this is very romantic, so I would need this view tempered with a dose of reality, and an understanding of just what engineers do, and where most end up. If I worked in a cardboard factory, or even in cellular technology, I’d probably be less happy with my choices. </p>
<p>The month off is worth what you did not earn from working during that month. Had everything been the same as far as living costs, expenses, etc. you would have had the month’s salary in added income. That is not a direct cost, but it is an important one. Money isn’t always the most important thing, but I’m sure you know that it’s very hard to enjoy life without a stable income that will pay your expenses.</p>
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This is always a very real possibility, because oftentimes that is what engineers do (many just for the salary).</p>
<p>Have you ever been in a petroleum refinery before? If not, I recommend you find a way to visit one; it’s a rather telling experience. Some enjoy it, some find it to be a scene straight out of hell. If you don’t like it, you might very much regret working towards a degree to prepare you in that.</p>
<p>Personally, I think that a lot of the things you would like to do with engineering actually fall more under the domain of science research. Engineers, in industry and academia, are usually much more concerned with the tedious details of making projects that will make money for their employers.</p>
<p>Have you considered a degree in Engineering Technology? I usually am not one to suggest this, but there seems to be a lot of concern with time and cost to get the engineering degree. You may want to discuss this with some potential schools, but (and I am guessing a little bit here) to may get a little more credit toward the degree from the college work you already have since the math requirements are not the same. And perhaps this degree would let you get to where you want to be.</p>
<p>Just a thought. Feel free to ignore me 
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<p>If you’re going to be in state in either case, Wyoming will be cheaper. </p>
<p>As for NMT’s prestige, I’m not sure I’d go that far. They show up on two radar screens that are often misguidedly associated with quality, PayScale’s earnings and ROI calculations and lists of schools that produce the most percentage of UGs who ultimately end up with PhDs.</p>
<p>The PayScale rankings are basically just a proxy for the percentage of UGs that get engineering degrees. With the exception of the elite east coast schools that produce east coast lawyers, investment bankers and politicians, all the rest of the schools are heavily populated by UG engineers. </p>
<p>Same for UGs that get PhDs. It’s a proxy for schools that have basic science programs or that grant lots of degrees that aren’t useful without further graduate study. It’s an interesting metric, but not a defacto measure of quality. </p>
<p>Comparing Wyoming to NMT by those measures and Wyoming would come out far behind. It’s because NMT is New Mexico’s tech school and Wyoming is their state’s EVERYTHING school. Art History and English sort of screws up the ROI thing.</p>
<p>On the surface NMT seems too good to be true, a great education for virtually no money. Like Montana Tech and SD School of Mines and Technology, it has cheap ABET accredited programs that produce good engineers. All ABET programs do. It isn’t though the Berkeley of the desert. It is a decent school that is VERY cheap by modern standards. It’s undercapitalized, in the middle of nowhere and appears stronger than it is for the reasons listed above.</p>
<p>There are two gestalt tests that tell a lot about a school. Look at the quality of their web page and Google their name, select images and look at the campus and town. After visiting quite a few schools and vetting LOTS more, it’s amazing how good this simple overview really is. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>P.S. I was on the NMT bandwagon too until we dug a bit deeper. I still think it’s a good school, but like Wyoming, not a great school. </p>
<p>29 is still young! So is 30! </p>
<p>If you enjoyed the Calc 3, DiffEqs and Linear Eqns, did well in them, and you are interested in engineering, you will ENJOY the engineering curriculum. You’re already prepared for the workload and are motivated. I say to go for it! You can do it!</p>
<p>I know a tech who was married and had a family, was about 30, and decided to go to school for engineering. He LOVED the engineering schooling, already knew a lot of the applications from being in the industry. He got a great job out of engineering school and is now a very successful engineer, and happy he went back to for his engineering degree. </p>
<p>Also, many engineering jobs are done at desks, in cubicles (funny name for a cubicle, @DecideSomeHow), and in meeting rooms. </p>
<p>@eyemgh has pointed out a cost-effective way to get the degree and you seem to have a solid plan with your GF. You also have related work experience to build your resume upon. You yourself understand the Energy business and recognize that there will be future jobs. </p>
<p>If you really want to go to Engineering school, and then you don’t try, won’t you always think, “What if?”</p>
<p>Good luck and best wishes!</p>
<p>Well, I figured that NMT wasn’t necessarily truly prestigious, but I also figured that it probably is a solid educational institution built around technology and science. </p>
<p>At 29/30, don’t know if a prestigious school should be my worry. Going to NMT over School of Mines, for instance, is the difference between $25,000 and $100,000 in debt. Perhaps I’ll earn $75,000 more by going to School of Mines, but really… who knows. I feel like the laid back nature of NMT, along with (probably) its inability to foster a culture of elitism, will be better for me… but who knows. </p>
<p>I could still look at Wyoming, I suppose… or maybe Utah would be an even better bet. </p>
<p>Your last paragraph seems to suggest the quality of a university largely depends on the beauty of the town its in, and whether or not their website keeps itself up to date with the rest of the internet. Huh… perhaps that is true. </p>
<p>No, but it does tell you how well they pay attention to details and (sort of) how well they are funded. As easy as it is to throw up a good web page these days, an amateurish one screams out. You just wonder how else that translates through the rest of the school.</p>
<p>Pictures also tell about capitalization and about the community you’d be living in.</p>
<p>If moving is a serious consideration, Utah is a very good choice. My son nearly chose Utah and he could have gone just about anywhere he wanted. It’s a nice campus in a nice town in a pretty area. It get a bad rap, because too much weight is given to the LDS factor. I think that program is seriously underestimated and it still gets a USNWR ranking around 50 every year (for what ever that’s worth, not much really). The engineering department is very solid. If you want smaller and don’t mind a relatively homogenous campus, Utah State isn’t bad either. </p>
<p>You also mention Mines, but I think it’s a poor fit for you. It has a reputation as a soul sucking grind. It’s also very expensive, even in state. Colorado State might be better. The CU engineering department is good, but it’s more money than CSU, bigger and a major league party environment. </p>
<p>None of the Colorado options will be as cheap as Utah or Wyo paying instate. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I have a friend who is graduating from NMT this fall (mechanical engineering/explosives engineering). He said the school is fine overall, but that Socorro sucks (few places to shop other than Walmart, and a bleak restaurant scene). On the flip side though, it’s a great place to go to school if you love sunny weather, being outdoors, and don’t like the claustrophobic feel of large populated areas.</p>
<p>As far as reputation goes, NMT is well-regarded among the national labs in New Mexico, and many students end up with internships and even post-doc positions with them (and believe me, that’s impressive considering employment at these labs is usually very competitive). </p>
<p>Honestly, I would consider NMT in a heartbeat. In fact it was on my very short list of schools I considered attending when I was searching for colleges 12 years ago. I ultimately decided against it since they didn’t have an aerospace program.</p>
<p>If you like to study engineering, go for it. My brother started Medical school when he was in his early 30s. This is after having an BS Engineering and a MS degree in CS. He was much happier with this new calling. He is set to retire when he is 60. So he only got to work in his new field for 20+ years but he liked it that way.</p>