<p>So after putting off school for a few years in favor of working a full time job, ive decided to make an attempt to dive into the field of engineering. Right now im at the ripe young age of 26, and i was curious if its still realistic for someone such as myself to get my foot in the door with a community college, and then hope to transfer off to a 4 year to finish off my BS and work on getting a masters in mechanical engineering. Are things like this frowned upon? It has always been a dream of mine to work as an engineer for NASA, but i feel like getting started at such a late age will only hinder me in the long run.</p>
<p>I am right there with you. I went back to school last summer at the ripe old age of 28. Though I wasn’t able to get into GaTech right off the bat, I was able to get into another state university in Ga that has similar courses. Right now I’m working on getting all of the “required for transfer” courses knocked out. As soon as this summer semester is over I will have completed all of the requirements for transfer. Things like this are not frowned upon IMO. I went to a meeting at GaTech for transfer applicants and according to them, they’re glad to have anyone who can come and be succesful. Just try your best to earn a high GPA and really learn the basics extremely well. Usually, the big 4 year engineering school is going to be way more rigorous than the community college so strive to be at the top of your class. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>^ been there…done that…</p>
<p>Public schools don’t care if you come from community college, saraleigh is right.</p>
<p>It seems this is quite common. I too pushed off college for a while, spent a couple years on my previous major then realized I didnt want to do that so at 25 Im almost starting over (was a year and a half from graduating now am 3 years). I met a decent amount of people in your situation in community college, I even met a couple people in their late 30s who decided to become engineers. In all honesty it seems colleges love having older students, since they bring a more mature and experienced vibe to campus.</p>
<p>Pfft. I am 27 and I feel better prepared for college than when I was 17. When you finish your studies, you will probably be competing against much younger people for the same positions. Your advantage over them is your experience (and at 30ish, you are still young). Employers will see your experience and maturity as a plus and if you graduate with a respectable GPA, you will step over the younger kids easily.</p>