So, I'm 48. Should I get my Masters in Economics?

[Xolodno]

Been tossing this around in my mind for awhile.

Don't think it will lead to much career wise, but I've always wanted to go for it...but life of course always got in the way. Hell, we have hired others with Masters and Doctorates at entry level positions. And they were there for a couple of years to get some experience and then bailed.

Company does pay for it, but its a reimbursement after successful completion, so I'm out five grand for a semester until reimbursed...but then I have to shell it out again. We like to travel, so this will hamper our ability to do so.

Looked at the classes and I said, "Shit, the classes I took were pretty advanced, in fact, I do some of this in my current role and if I looked a little bit harder, probably could have done this easily". I'll have to brush up on some stuff, but that won't be hard. But will my wife like it when I'm in "student mode". She'll probably say yes and support me...but, her patience isn't anywhere near to mine. Plus the loss of travel will get to her eventually.

My career goals, get one more position up and then I'm done. Probably going to work professionally for about 8-9 more years and then hang it up. I'll still work, just do something that doesn't require me to think so hard on a daily basis....and live fairly cheaply...and a lot less stress.

So I don't know. What does everyone else think?

[Skittles]

1. yes

how old will you be in ten years without your Masters?

do it

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. That question gave me impetus to get my Masters.

I think I read it in a Dear Abbey column, back in the day when we had newspapers and tv news only.

turned out, since I was 7 years older than the average college student, I could ace the classes while they sat around bored and did a lot of partying.

[Skittles]

18. oh I loved Abby and Ann

I got soooo much of their advice when I was growing up. And they would admit it when they got it wrong. Yes.

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. Have you read any Miss Manners?

She's in WaPo but also here:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/30/miss-manners-horrified-by-latest-twist-on-baby-showers/

[Skittles]

50. yes, she is good

it's just that those Landers gals, I grew up with them

[Whiskeytide]

49. It's amazing the reach Dear Abby had. I remember...

... that same column(had to be 30 years ago), and was going to post that same advice until I saw that you and Skittles beat me to it.

[Skittles]

51. I actually forgot it was Abby

but yes I was a big fan back in the day, always read their columns

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. Abby and Ann Landers were in each of 2 competing newspapers back when

One was the morning paper, the other early afternoon, both delivered to somewhere vaguely near our front porch.

The only reason a lot of people took 2 papers was for the advice columns, and I clearly remember coffeeklatch conversations over
the questions and responses.
Given the small world I lived at the time, I learned a lot from them.

[JarOCats]

19. This is the correct answer. :) N/T

[rufus dog]

53. I'm that guy, ten years older

Started on my Masters one year out of college, was going to switch jobs so stopped.

Last year I was going to do it, at 57, looked into the costs and since it would do nothing for my salary, and cost me 75k, I dropped it.

For 20k I would do it.

So your advice is good, if the company covers it, do it!

[Nonhlanhla]

2. I say go for it

I once had a 78 year old student who wrote her master’s thesis with me...

[JI7]

3. Yes since money isn't an issue and you aren't going to travel anytime soon

it seems a good time to do it.

[brokephibroke]

4. Will it be fun?

Then absolutely! If you won’t enjoy it, blow it off.

[soothsayer]

5. Go for it!

No travel for awhile anyway. Just do it! You’ll be through with it before you know it — you just have to start it.

PS

How about a dual Economics/History major so you can tell the story of when there used to be an economy?

[Xolodno]

21. Lord knows I've read a lot of history.

And damn, how many times I've had to correct people I know. In one situation, someone insisted that Russia prior to the Revolution was Socialist on facebook...the person got a few likes. I responded by saying how can it be socialist when it didn't exist yet and was largely still a theory on paper. Then went further how they had a feudalistic system. Talk about the sound of silence.

[Hortensis]

38. That sound of silence. :) Good point about not traveling

for a while anyway. I have no expectation that travel will have mostly returned to normal by the 2021 semester or quarter.

[Volaris]

6. Do it. Yeah, it will be a pain in the ass some days. Yes, 'student mode' sucks for a grown-ass adult

But, (imho) worth it, even if just to say you did what most others couldn't or couldnt bring themselves to.

[econron]

7. MA Economics

I've had mine for 25 years and the older I get the more I am amazed at how students today dislike Macro Economics. My wife is an Academic Advisor and over and over I hear her say that students struggle in Economics. If anything it would be a great thing to say you accomplished it during your lifetime. In fact my neighbor tonight asked me how I made it through Economics as he is a recent college grad. I said, "I'm not sure but the older I get the more I appreciate the fact that I have an Economics Degree and that I have a good understanding of what is happening now and what is ahead of us with the Economy."

Go for it and Good Luck!

[Xolodno]

31. Weird. I always thought the Macro side was more interesting.

Yeah it can be complicated....but I always likened it to watching/calculating a chain reaction.

I have heard Economics is a struggle for some as it can be a bit counter intuitive.

Of course, everyone likes to assume they know more about what's good for the economy. Save for the people who had to take Econ as part of their general Ed. in college. Friend of my sister actually set her straight when she was dismissive of it...."your brother majored in Economics?! That's really fucking hard!". Yeah it does puff up my ego a bit.

[ProfessorGAC]

46. Same Here

Especially econometrics.
You should do it.
I got my 3rd advanced degree when I was 41. Like you, company paid for it. Actually they told me to go and they arranged admissions. (MBA with a focus in...................Economics & Finance!)
It sounds like you'd dig it, and seems like you want to do it!

[Phoenix61]

8. You should be able to do some classes on-line

so wouldn’t completely tank travel. If your undergrad is Econ it shouldn’t be that many hours. I went back at 34 but completely changed careers, IT to Social Work so 9 semesters straight through, part-time. If they’ll pay, I’d go for it. Never pass up free education/training. You never know what the future holds and with a masters you can teach at the college level.

[Xolodno]

22. I looked into it a few years ago.

And no one had a full online curriculum, so figured it was going to be a bit too hard to justify. Took a look again recently and there are a few programs, some I'll probably want to avoid, but a few reputable ones as well.

I haven't explored all the financing options yet. Granted we wanted to visit Russia and return to Paris next year...but that doesn't look like its going to happen. But once we get the OK to travel, our wanderlust is going to hit hard. So I should really start looking at all financial options.

And yes, I got my Bachelors of Science in Economics and some of the electives are classes I took as an undergrad. But looks like they advanced a bit. Shouldn't be to hard.

I'm also still working full time...so the two year curriculum will probably more like four.

[Phoenix61]

42. As my mother said when I whined

“I’ll be 36 when I graduate” “How old will you be in 2 years if you don’t go back to school?” I had a really great mom.

[Laffy Kat]

9. Yes! It will keep your mind young.

It's never the wrong decision to learn something new. Go with your heart.

[denem]

10. I will quote Steve Jobs

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

[Silent3]

58. If only he'd listened to other people's opinions...

...better-educated opinions, about cancer treatment, he might still be around to give out advice.

While there's a little something important there to muse about, along the lines of not getting too wrapped up in other people's opinions and attitudes, "inner voices" are no more infallible or true than any other voices.

[denem]

59. Jobs roots were in the counter-culture.

He went to India in search of enlightenment. He returned a Buddhist, and life long vegetarian. When confronted with cancer, he retreated to them.

[soothsayer]

11. And you'll have done something nearly 87% of the country has not

It’s a good sense of accomplishment.

[Garion_55]

12. Im 50. Just got my associates degree in cybersecurity

And security + cert after decades of manual labor jobs

While that is old to switch careers and tough to do at my age, there are still 4 jobs available for every applicant in cyber security. There are even more jobs available for people with Security Plus. So even at my age there are plenty of opportunities out there


I may only be able to take advantage of that education for the next 15 or 20 years but I'll be making way way way more money than I'm used to and will have plenty of money put away for retirement on my current trajectory

[Hekate]

30. Well done, you! My late father upgraded his skills by going thru the electronics program...

...at the local community college. Since he was working full time, the two-year program took four years to complete, and he was about your age.

Since he was wedded (or welded) to Lockheed Aircraft, he didn’t leave them, but this surely kept him from being laid off as they continually winnowed their employees. His last years with them he was in a clean room working on “little black boxes,” or “little gray boxes” depending on when I asked, which was certainly a change from when he started right after WWII.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. Yes, absolutely.

As others have pointed out, you won't be travelling any time soon.

[meadowlander]

14. Education is never a waste

and it's not like you're quitting your current job and depending on being able to get another one after you graduate.

Just don't be the "returning student" that all the college kids hate - the one who thinks they know more than the professor and dominates every discussion before anyone else can get a word in edgewise.

[MLAA]

16. Go for it! You are worth it 🙂

[fierywoman]

17. The fact that you've raised the question and explained your thoughts about it here says

to me that the idea of it is talking to you. My thought from 20 years further down the road is: if it's an itch, scratch it. As others have said, no one's going much of anywhere in the next year or so. And our economy is going to be so fucked up a year from now, your knowledge will be pure gold for you. The company reimbursement would just be the carrot at the end of the stick to finish it. Bon voyage!

[Xolodno]

25. Yeah...I've obviously been leaning towards doing it.

The shelling out of 5k of my own money upfront is what gets me. It used to be the company would front it, its how I got a comma and a few letters after my name.

I'll probably figure out another way to pay for it without raiding our vacation fund.

[yonder]

20. Yes, and maybe it will open up some entirely different avenues for you.

[vsrazdem]

23. My daugher is 46 and she started law school this year. She is in her 2nd semester. It's never

too late.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. My friend is 49 and she just got her Masters in Social Work last month

She starts a new job tomorrow which is exactly the work she was aiming for. If this is something you've always wanted to do, I say go for it!

[Hekate]

26. I started back in grad school at 49, for the love of the subject matter & not for a career goal...

I thought, oh I’ll just get a Master’s degree. And I did, but it was such a JOY that when one of my profs asked if I wasn’t in the PhD track (and if not why not) I fell for it like a ton of bricks and went the whole way.

The post MA classes were more of the same, but the dissertation itself was hard hard hard for me to bring to completion. I am easily distracted, and BushCheney’s impending war was a helluva distraction for a political person like me. I finally promised myself I would take to the streets as soon as I finished, and reminded myself that Bush would neither know nor care if I didn’t complete my book, but that it would matter to me.

Now when I quote Groucho Marx tongue in cheek “Trust me, I’m a doctor” — it certainly is true. Just don’t ask me to look at your tonsils.

If you feel that kind of pull, just go for it, especially if you can afford it and have support at home. You won’t be sorry.

Just one note: some of my classmates finished their dissertations in record time. I was stunned, until someone pointed out that while I was delightedly wandering from flower to flower in the MA program, those folks already knew they were going for their doctorate and were researching and writing every paper to undergird their final goal. Color me impressed — but I may have enjoyed myself more.

[bmpbmp]

27. Do it!

I went back at 50 and got mine. Academia is a whole 'nother world now. You'll be entertained and challenged, all at the same time.

Do it, if nothing more than for yourself.

Either way, the decision will stay with you for the rest of your life.

[Totally Tunsie]

28. Think of how you'd feel twenty years down the line if you

don't go back for this degree. More than likely, you'd absolutely be regretting that decision, and your regret will last years longer than the time spent reaching your goal.

[Initech]

29. Hey I'm 40 and I am still in community college.

I should finally be done by this time next year, though the pandemic certainly put a damper in my long term plans.

[chillfactor]

32. yes! I earned my doctorate in my 60s

and never regretted it for an instant......I did it for myself as it was something I always wanted to do.....it would not have earned me any points in job opportumities at my age.

[KPN]

33. Easy for me to say, I know, but go for it. No regrets!

[link:http://

|

[TheBlackAdder]

34. Yes. While it's rougher to go back to school later in life with a full-time job, it checks off a box

[ArcticE]

35. I vote YES.

I went to college from 1987-89. I dropped out after two years for a variety of reasons. I decided to go back to school 3 years ago at age 48 to get a nursing degree. Obviously none of my credits from nearly 30 years ago counted so I had to start from scratch. I will be getting my RN next May/June and will continue for one more year to get my Bachelors after that. I will be 53 when I get my bachelors. I am amazed at how many people are amazed that I am doing this.

I decided at age 30 that I would pick up a major skill every decade. I started playing piano at age 30, then got a guitar, then a keyboard, then drums, then congas/bongos, bass, etc. etc. My goal for my 50's and 60's is to become fluent or near fluent in at least one more language. I wish more people would fight the notion that education is a young persons game. You surely have developed many skills over the years (organization, prioritization, resilience, insight, foresight, patience) that younger students have not developed. Those skills will serve you very well WHEN you are working on your masters degree.

You are ONLY 48 years old. You don't know what the future will hold. You may work for the next 10 years or the next 30 years.
It is likely you will have more options with a masters. It is possible you may stave off dementia. It is likely you will make a lot more money and be better prepared to enjoy the little things in life once you do decide to retire.

Whatever you choose, best of luck!

[Withywindle]

36. If you want to, YES

It will be work, and you'll have to hash out some sacrifices with your wife, but I can't think of a seriously good reason not to.

(Does she have some secret desire to pursue something she always wanted to but didn't think was useful?)

[Hortensis]

37. For myself, it'd be absolutely!

I regret only the education I didn't go for, never that I did. 48's a kid. Give me 20 years back and your opportunities, and I wouldn't think twice. I could work it into my life without hurting my husband's.

But this decision is for two. You two. I love to travel and wish we'd done a lot more when I was younger and could climb a mountain just to see an old monument.

Nevertheless, I think you both should seriously consider that we're in the middle of a major transition period, careening along without control, and consider this also as an investment and hedge against the future. You may need that extra degree, including even just to get the satisfactory step-down job you're imagining, and you may also need to work longer than you plan or to return to work later. Or to be able to avoid it.

Also, could you continue your work on line from a balcony on Capri or work on whatever you've downloaded from a bus lumbering down some potholed road? Especially early course work that you expect to be relatively easy? Perhaps a school on the quarter or other relatively flexible system might make some travel possible?

[OnDoutside]

39. I think you already have your answer but I would just like to add my voice that you should do it.

I have a BSc in Computer Applications but I would love to have done Economics, and would absolutely love to have done a Master in Economics ! What about joining a Credit Union and getting a 5K loan from them, which would spread the cost out of a longer period, still allowing travel ?

[mnhtnbb]

40. If you own your house, look into refinancing

because interest rates have dropped to almost record lows. You may be able to finance your Masters that way without raiding the travel fund.

My first husband was a PhD candidate in Economics when we met at UCLA in the 70's. In fact, his dissertation was focused on the way people make travel choices. So I find it amusing that you are considering trading off travel for advanced education.

I ended up one class short of a minor in Econ as a result of knowing him and refocusing electives to enhance my major because I decided to pursue a Master's in Public Health after my BS. It's served me well.

I say, go for it!

[WestLosAngelesGal]

41. If you want to do it, do it. If it is important to your future, go for it.

Just be aware that some degree programs are being dropped, so choose carefully to ensure that you get what you pay for. You want to make sure you actually have an instructor.

I was finally on track to finish my degree when my program was canceled without warning. And it was an online program, too, at a state university.

[Happy Hoosier]

44. Got my Masters at 52. Do eet! NT

[BGBD]

45. Yes......but

only because it will give you that "something to do." in a few years. After I got my masters I almost immediately started do adjunct teaching online.

It's not very hard, you can set your schedule for the most part, and the pay isn't terrible for the actual time that has to go into it. There is "thinking", but not all that much. You basically already know the questions studenys will have and after you have taught a section you pretty much have all of the material you need to do it again with some minor tweaks.

If you like that idea go for it. If you just want to learn then save the trouble and head over to edx.com and look at the courses/programs they offer. Very inexpensive and you can learn a ton of stuff from the top institutions in the world. I took 10 classes there in a data science program last year. Learned R, machine learning, and a ton of higher level statistics. Have a class going to learn C now.

[hunter]

47. We humans are all artists and scientists and philosophers with day jobs.

If your career is your life and your career is not something you love then it's not your life.

Once you and your dependents have got safe food, shelter, and access to appropriate medical care, then you can do anything you please.

My children are adults and fabulously self-supporting. So are my parents. So are my wife's parents.

Nobody can tell me what I ought to do.

I grew up with parents who were always artists with day jobs and they were not always 100% successful with the safe food, shelter, and appropriate medical care part. Yet I wouldn't trade my somewhat feral childhood for anything in the world. That's how I learned my own dreams were important.

[malaise]

48. Why not

Yes

[melm00se]

52. I am a little bit older than you

and I got my Masters in History.

It was quite satisfying when I was done.

[irisblue]

54. Do It!

[davekriss]

55. My partner would tell you, go for it!

She has 5 degrees, including 3 masters and a PhD. She gave up a tenured professorship in the liberal arts to start a new career, in her mid fifties, and she’s deeply satisfied by it (psychology). Financials have nothing to do with it (she’ll make a little less than she did as a professor), she is just driven to learn, ever fascinated by the world around her. I am fascinated by her!

[ReformedGOPer]

57. I started my Masters of Science

when I was 40. I never regretted it, even though I could only take only 3-4 courses per year (I was working full time.)