Many people, including my wife, spend quite a bit of money (school loans) in getting a college degree. She did this way a number of years before I met her. Her Bachelors is in Business w/high Emphasis on Accounting. Up until her current job, that's where she has worked at for companies......Accounting and Finance since 1998. What I'm wondering is how many people, including us Seniors, have spent quite a bit of money on getting a college degree, but either never got a job related to the degree or got a job, didn't like it, quit and never again got a job related to the degree. It just seems to me that a lot of money is spent, not to end up using the degree. I didn't have to worry about getting a degree, because most of my experience came from OJT, which is mostly gone today. But, if I would have had a degree, I could have gone into Purchasing/Inventory Management a whole lot quicker and wouldn't have had to mess around with low-paying warehouse jobs.
I graduated with a Bachelor degree as a mature student in my 50s. When studying humanities for five years I never had a thought of where a degree might lead or if it would qualify me for a job. What I did get from studying was the great enjoyment of learning and acquiring new skills in research, analysis and completing written assignments that start with an introduction and sets out a number of points that lead to a conclusion. I am self employed so I have never needed to have a degree, but I have been able to adapt the skills I gained through studying to become a freelance content writer. I doubt if I would have had the confidence to start writing informative articles if I had not had the experience of researching, analyzing texts and images and writing on many different topics. Before I became a mature student, I felt no need to gain a degree. I had a good career in publishing and as a manager of bookstores. Before that I used my only formal qualification, in touch typing, to do low paid office work, which I never really felt was right for me.
My situation is very similar to that described above by Ruth. I'm absolutely certain that I would not have had the nerve, or possibly skills, to become a writer and I'm equally sure that I would not have written two books by now without that discipline of study behind me. I did complete an HND (Higher National Diploma - I'm not sure that there is an equivalent in the US) when I was in my thirties and that was very useful to me as I needed the qualification to undertake voluntary work in Africa. The volunteering organisation (VSO in this case) did not require qualifications, but the employer in Eritrea did, so that definitely helped me.
A college degree is a must so you can get a decent job here. Most big companies do not accept undergraduates even if you have lots of certification courses. The college diploma is only a symbol but that's the standard among the HR departments here. College studies is expensive but it's a good investment unless your dream is to be a janitor or messenger or a laborer. Last week my boss talked to me about my career. He was suggesting that I take masteral studies in a reputable university. I had mentioned it to my husband and he had even encouraged me on it. The masters degree takes 2 years and the thesis would need lots of research work. I was wondering why at my age, my boss still wanted me to study. Well, he may have something in store for my future. Maybe it is worth a try.
I got my Bachelor's degree late in life. At that time I was already in my 40's. I had worked for a software developer for a very long time and made great money, but felt that if I wanted to be able to keep making money I would have to stay on top of the game with a four year degree. At that point in time no one had a chance to get any good job without it. I did okay for a long time when I first graduated, then in about 2007 things started to change and there was not a pay raise to be found in my field. In fact it had become quite stagnant since many places were downsizing and forcing the over all wage down. That was eight years ago and only recently have I started to feel like my degree might be able to make me more income. In this region FINALLY there are many people that are retiring (that really should have retired years ago) it is opening a glut of positions. I think this is a good thing because these companies are used to working with older people, in fact because the over all corporate culture is older it is actually a good fit. Hiring has been towards older experienced people getting the supervisor positions and younger grads going back to the more traditional entry level jobs. Some day's I feel like it might have been to little to late. although I might have as much as 17 years left in the workforce, there is a constant feeling like time is running out. It is very hard to recoup 8 or more years of low wages in retirement savings. I fear I may end up in a bad way if my health does not hold out. I guess we all have the same risks.