Sort of, kind of, maybe playing with the idea of possibly going back to school......sort of. Maybe not for a degree but for a certification. It's something to think about.....

In what?

There's no better time, honestly.

I'm thinking about certification in Project Leadership or Executive Leadership, but if I do that I want it to be more than a glittery line on my resume. I don't think I'm ready to commit to another masters or a PhD. We'll see. I'm floundering a bit.

Wow! Good for you. What in??

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I think we posted at the same time. That sounds very interesting Wormie..
I am not very familiar with that major...you'll have to fill me in!!

Project Leadership or Project Management Certification?

It doesn't have to be a glittery line on your resume: you can get out of a degree whatever you're willing to put into it. This might be the perfect opportunity for you to go back to school!

I'm actually starting to consider the PhD more, but I'm not sure yet. Like most things, I'll make this as stressful as possible.

(03-12-2010 11:02 AM)theworm Wrote:  Like most things, I'll make this as stressful as possible.

LOL

That's the spirit!

I think a Ph. D. would be so awesome!

Why?
I'm not being a smart ass, I really am trying to figure out what the benefit of a PhD would be. Other than bragging rights will it open up new career opportunities. I'm 46, so assuming it takes 2-3 years to earn, I'll be pushing 50. Will I have the opportunity to do something brilliant (or even moderately important) with the degree - or will it be just time and money? I enjoy learning, and I suppose I should do this to be a better or more educated person, but I don't know. Maybe I'm just in a slump and being negative. I thought by now I'd be a grown up and it feels like I'm still floundering for what to be when I grow up.

You'll be pushing 50 in 2-3 years regardless And I sometimes feel like I'm playing house too - still waiting to feel like a grown-up.

What drives you? what excites you? what could you do all day long, if given the opportunity, and still feel charged up?

Delia,
My mom went back to school in her late 30's to get a teaching certificate. She was in her early 40's when she started teaching and didn't retire from that job until she was well into her 70's. OK. She retired. 3 times. She just couldn't stay retired from teaching until she was in her late 70's. Now she's in her early 80's and still working. She does taxes -- and teaches people how to better manage their money in the process.

If this is something that intrigues or excites you, it's money well spent.

My mother graduated college and started her career when she was 51.

I think your age factor is irrelevant. As others have mentioned, you can start a new career at any age...and I say the same thing MJ does - you'll still be the same age in 2-3 years, what will you do in the meantime to accomplish something that's meaningful to you?

For me, higher learning will never again be going to traditional college and advancing my degree in the field I currently work in. If I go to traditional college, it will be for something totally unrelated. But I totally enjoy the non-college class I'm taking, and would continue with that type of learning.

I'm not proud of the fact that I never got my "B"...and honestly, most people probably don't know that I don't have it. But I've gotten to the point that I just don't care.

If you want to go back to school, do it for the right reasons.

If you want it, go for it!!!!

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That is the wrong smilie. I need a goofy one with an opened mouth smile. : D

What would the PhD be in?

I'm getting a PhD because getting paid to sit around reading books, thinking about what's in them, and then writing about it, is something I really enjoy--I love going to school. Then, when that phase is over, I get to warp young minds and how they think about books (and I still get to read and write about them but on a more leisurely schedule). At the end of the day, what else would pay me as well to do something I loved as much? Not a thing I can think of.

I went back to work full-time when I was 58. If we hadn't had a lot of moves in the 15 years preceding, and if our last move hadn't been to a small manufacturing city with few jobs that really called out to me I probably would have gone back to work full-time sooner.

And when I did, I discovered that the other things I had done after moving to the small manufacturing city (a small publishing business, freelancing for the Catholic press and a few other publications) helped me to become a communications director in a monastery and retreat center, spending each day with prayerful, committed people in tranquil, beautiful surroundings, working at a job that feeds my soul as well as my wallet.

It was worth the wait, and the intermediate steps I took towards it.

Yes, you can have a mid-life career change.