Hi i just turned 28 and work as a long haul trucker. Its a very lonely stressful job that will ultimately kill me young from stress and people. I want to make a change. I alwaays thought programming and hacking was really cool and from what i hear it pays good. I make 70k a year working none stop never being home and no social life whatsoever. So hey it couldnt hurt right? I feel like life is passing me by and i feel like im too old for college. Anyway id start at a community college go there for 2 years then transfer. I would have to do it all online though. I could come to school once a month for proctered exams and stuff but only once a month. Then i need to transfer. I want q decent job like 80k a year and be home more. Is my plan realisitic? Or should i just keep on trucking? I really dont know anymore. Thank you
You are definitely NOT too old to go to college! Look at it this way, you’re going to turn 32 years old no matter what you do. Wouldn’t you rather be 32 years old with a college degree? I’ll let you in on a little secret - older students tend to do better in college, and professors like older students for their maturity and work ethic.
I’ll let others comment on the specifics of your plan, but I wanted to wish you well. Lots of kids didn’t finish college or picked a major they didn’t like and go back to school in their late 20s and 30s. You are not alone!
Also i forgot to mention i have 3 misdemeanors. Like a dui. All from when i was 21 to 22 years old. Alcohol problem have since quit and moved on with my life but im sure this will still have implications for finding a good job with a degree.
@Zentrucking90 I’m not sure how active this forum is. If you don’t get responses in the next couple of days, post your question in “College Admissions.”
@Zentrucking90 - nothing wrong with your plan! Go for it! Computer Science is one of those things that you need to get “by yourself” even though you will eventually work with people on projects. It’s a good subject for online learning. The only thing I would caution you about is earnings - when it comes to computer jobs salaries depend upon experience and how “hot” a software is. 80K for starters will be rough unless you’re in a high income area where skills are hard to come by AND they can’t outsource - because the same thing that makes computer work great for online learning also makes it great for sending overseas. I’d definitely say start heading towards the college degree but keep your expectations reasonable and when you transfer to a 4 year look to see what specialties are hot to maximize your chances of a good first job. After the first job, it’s all about performance.
28? Heck no! I switched careers to programming at 35 and I’m doing fine. One thing to keep in mind, once you have your degree, be prepared to start small and spend a few years building experience. Most entry level jobs are about 50k, but you’ll be worth almost twice that in 5-6 years. The best part is that you get to work 8-5.
Yeah man 8am to 5 not 3am to 5 lol
My first job was as a software engineer. One of my coworkers had been a truck driver.
One time he had a truck full of stuff and someone noticed that the manager in charge had written the wrong truck number down on the form saying which truck was carrying which load to where. The manager made him move everything to the other truck because he didn’t want to cross out an entry on the form. The guy decided at that moment that he was done with trucking.
He was a good software engineer.
This can be done. Good for you!
Some programmers do have to work off hours (production support type problems). But you can usually do it from home.