<p>I am 31 and my wife is 30, we may not be 18yo freshman but I’m pretty sure we are not considered old. Really have to watch what I type in future, you guys will sniff out the smallest detail, whether it’s related to the topic or not.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids,</p>
<p>I’m not exactly wanting to go to frat parties, it was just an observation in relation to the other schools.</p>
<p>When would you suggest I study for 18 credits/semester of upper level engineering classes if I’m working in the day while keeping my kids home half the day? </p>
<p>The classes are all at night because apparently the same lecturers from Stillwater come teach the classes in tulsa at night</p>
<p>When would you suggest I study for 18 credits/semester of upper level engineering classes if I’m working in the day while keeping my kids home half the day</p>
<p>They don’t need to be home half the day. They could be home a couple of hours with you, and then go to daycare if you’re concerned that night school would mean not spending enough time with them. It’s just an idea…and it wouldn’t have to be every day. Maybe 2 mornings a week they could go in at 9am. And, I wasn’t suggesting that you work everyday, maybe 3-4 hours 2-3 days a week. </p>
<p>Maybe there’s an eng’g firm that would let you work part-time as a student eng’r. Some will even let you do some homework during work hours. lol </p>
<p>You may need to think outside the box if your concern is not spending enough time with your kids. It may mean getting up early with them in the morning before daycare. It may mean that your weekends are spent more focused on them. </p>
<p>I come from an eng’g family, and none had to “study all day” in order to complete their classes and get good grades. Frankly, they wouldn’t have had the time to do so. They were at school during a good part of the day, working part-time after classes, and then doing homework at night and on weekends. My younger son just graduated with a ChemE degree, and he worked part-time throughout the process. </p>
<p>Many/most students do work part-time while in college.</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts on your replies…</p>
<p>“The reason for wanting to go to grad school is i’m not happy having a broad/vague knowledge of mechanical engineering, I would like to be able to focus on a certain area and become way more competent in it.”</p>
<p>“I am 31 and my wife is 30, we may not be 18yo freshman but I’m pretty sure we are not considered old.”</p>
<p>I’m cool with more learning. But I question the assumption that because some schooling is good (career-wise), more schooling (graduate school) is better. Also, there are opportunity costs. I doubt a master’s degree is free, and even if it was, you’d still be out of the workforce for two more years.</p>
<p>If you are 31 now, you’ll be 33 when you graduate with your Bachelor’s degree. If you go on to do a master’s degree, you’d be 35. So, at age 35 you could have a Bachelor’s degree and two years of work experience, or a Master’s degree, and no work experience in your field. Which person would you hire? </p>
<p>In any event, I wish you the best in whatever you choose.</p>
<p>If I had a 14 yr old as well as three more kids, I would be wanting to get out in the workforce ASAP. He’ll be going to college himself soon & a masters degree won’t get you a better job as much as experience will.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Best option IMHO is to go to work after a BS and have your company pay you to go part-time for an MS.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Exactly. It’s how all the eng’rs in my family got their grad degrees. The company I worked for paid for my masters. </p>
<p>If you are 31 now, you’ll be 33 when you graduate with your Bachelor’s degree. If you go on to do a master’s degree, you’d be 35.</p>
<p>Exactly. You’re already going to be 10 years behind the others with a BS degree. Your new-hire colleagues will be 22-23. Don’t make it even worse by adding another 2 year delay. And, Mindfully is right. Companies aren’t going to want to hire the 35 year old with no experience with a MS degree. </p>
<p>Your first priority should be getting employed as soon as possible to provide for those 4 hungry kids. </p>
<p>Just to be clear about my “young parents” comment. To me, “young parents” are in their mid-late teens or early 20s. Often those are kids who had a child prematurely and need help. Granted, you (and/or your wife) were a “young parent” when the 14 year old was born. The math suggests that you (or your wife) were around 16 years old when conceived. Those things happen, and as a society we do want to help those folks “get on their feet” so that they can be contributing members of society. </p>
<p>That said, the idea is that by the time the person is in his/her 30’s, the person should be a contributing member of society and not postponing the prospect unnecessarily.</p>
<p>I don’t think that using federally funded daycare makes anyone NOT a “contributing member of society.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I certainly would if they had the capabilities. To do otherwise would be age discrimination which is illegal, and furthermore, there is some value in personal maturity in dealing with people and life, which often, but not always, is correlated with age.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies all, grad school is merely an option and not a sure thing.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids,</p>
<p>My kids aren’t starving. Don’t worry, the multiple digs have not gone unnoticed.</p>
<p>ClassicRockerDad,</p>
<p>Yes, I would too. But the slots are competitive. So if he has no experience, he’s at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Most of the BS grads I’m seeing have co-op and intern experience by the time they graduate. Often times, 2 years worth…so they’re graduating with a BS degree and 2 years experience.</p>
<p>If I had to choose between OP and 6 years of school and no experience and a BS graduate with 2 years of experience - - just something to think about.</p>
<p>Even if OP can only land a 15 hour a week something in his field as a co-op, he should do that. A lot of university engineering labs have positions open within the department. He should look into research opportunities too.</p>
<p>I’m definitely all for improving oneself - but I wouldn’t be looking at a graduate degree at this stage, experience is FAR more valuable right now in more ways than one.</p>
<p>Good luck, OP! I applaud your motivation to get an education - but I’d get that paper in hand and start making some bucks!</p>
<p>Oh, and MAKE SURE the school is ABET accredited.</p>
<p>A lot of places WILL NOT HIRE YOU if it’s not.</p>
<p>OP, you may disagree with the tone of some of the posts here, but there is really no reason to go for your masters. To me you sound a little scared of going out in the workforce. Your undergrad degree is plenty to get a very good job in the field. And as others have said, if you want a masters your company may very well pay for it, which obviously would be great for you. There is a point where more schooling is not as valuable as work experience. You will be at that point when you finish your undergrad degree.</p>
<p>I was under the impression the grad degree would make me more marketable in a tough market, merely a misunderstanding on my part. I’m not using it as a tool to delay work as much as I enjoy going to class.</p>
<p>My intention is to get an internship/do research every summer until I graduate, so I would not be graduating without experience whether its with a BS or MS, but I get the point about my BS being enough.</p>
<p>Intparent,</p>
<p>It’s more a fear of not getting a job once I graduate. I keep an eye on the news and have probably read too many horror stories about people not able to find work after graduating. I don’t want this to all be for nothing. I figured the MS would help prevent that, clearly I was wrong.</p>
<p>Another former HR person who agrees that you should get into the workplace after graduation, because having a masters and non appreciable work experience will not make you more marketable. Even if you were looking for a hob that required a masters, most candidates applying for the job will have the masters plus full time work experience still placing you at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Let the your employer pay for the masters (keep in mind that most of the financial aid for masters programs are loans). Keep in mind by the time you graduate, your daughter will be into the college process and your family will need your income.</p>
<p>Go with option 1. Get your degree and then think about other options. The very last thing you need is more debt with four children. Get into the workforce, save some money, and start establishing resumes for both you and your wife.</p>
<p>My DH was 30 when he went back to college for an engineering degree. We were married, and our son was born when DH was a first semester college senior. I was the sole family support. DH chose the least expensive option, went to classes at night (I worked days), and the school had no football team or anything like that, in fact most of the night students were like my husband…older than 22 years old and getting degrees. The point of him going to college was to GET HIS DEGREE with the least amount of debt possible. He did this, graduated, and got employment offers well in advance of his graduation.</p>
<p>Just get your degree. Take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (or whatever it’s called…used to be the EIT) when you are a senior. Apply for jobs…and get one.</p>
<p>Think about grad school later. That is not essential right now. And FYI, every company my husband has worked for has offered some compensation for grad school courses…another reason to get into the workforce.</p>
<p>thumper1,</p>
<p>Thank you, I really needed to hear that. I’ve email the private University to ask more about these departmental scholarships/work study/internships. If I cannot get option 1 down to allow me to graduate without debt, then option 2 it is.</p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone for the advice.</p>
<p>OP, You are on the road now…you will go far. You have done a good job of analyzing your options.</p>
<p>If you find you want, or need, a graduate degree in the future…you can cross that bridge when you come to it, and you may find an employer will pay your toll.</p>
<p>jgoddensa, I disagree with thumper1 as I often do. Many people here are too much against any kind of debt even when it’s a good investment. You need to do the math to see if it is. </p>
<p>I think option 2 is quite reasonable and could give you more opportunity, especially the opportunity to leave Oklahoma. I also think striving for graduate school is reasonable, but a) you must be able to get into a good one, and 2) you need to look for funding opportunities such as paid for by an employer or a fellowship. </p>
<p>I don’t have any problem with the way you’ve lived your live and I have no petty judgements to make. If you’re still a student when your oldest is ready for college, he or she will probably get great financial aid. </p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>Ah, Mr. Pro-Debt again… does it really make sense for the OP to be coming out of school with more student debt than he needs to right when his kids are hitting college age? And possibly taking on parent plus loans for his kid(s) in the future because they surely have not been able to save anything for college? This is not an 18 year old kid with his whole career to pay off debt and no other family obligations getting in the way of those payments. Guessing retirement savings for the OP have also not been stowed away. I think in this case it would be financially irresponsible for the OP to increase his debt load more than he has to. The payoff is not signficant enough.</p>