Studying in Later Years

[Hans Tucker]

Has anyone completed a University Degree just as a tick on a bucket list rather than a career employment venture. If so what field did you study?
I had a discussion with a friend and mentioned I wouldn't mind going back and studying Mathematics at a Tertiary Level .. his response was why, you are 57 .. bit late for a career change.

[mura_gadi]

Hello,

The brain is a muscle and if you don't use it you lose it... imo. As for how you choose to exercise, it just has to be fun so you stick with it.



Steve

[Hans Tucker]

Given the latest statistics that Alzheimer's is on the increase I tend to agree.

[glend]

Well, 57 is still pretty young (from my 72yo perspective), so why not? But do give some thought to how you might use your new knowledge. If your studying something like music, or a language, there can be an easy link to usage. Without use what is achieved?
I did an advanced business degree, while working full time, and looking back over the six years of night classes at UTS, I realise now it was a waste of my time. I needed it, so I thought, to gain a consulting qualification.

These days, I prefer to study informally, and believe me there are people on Utube teaching everything.

[multiweb]

It's never too late to learn more. I'd say go for it and enjoy the ride. The only bad thing about getting old is your body doesn't go where you tell it to more often than not but inside you're still young.

[xelasnave]

I have not thought there is any value in doing a course of any kind unless you end up with something that will make you money...as a generalisation courses can be useless in your career other than a box to tick..I was unfortunate or fortunate to do the real estate course, later than just after leaving school...after I had left law and never going back... .so it was about making money and I needed a licence to print it...and it was just after they padded it out to run longer ..its real estate..you can not get much more simple really ..you need simple double entry book keeping and an understanding of agency law..simple..however I had 12 months of rather intense building stuff.. .So now I can design houses, flats and factories and list the fire regulations etc but when selling a house and someone asks a question ..any question, you always answer.."I can not tell you..best talk to your..builder, lawyer, accountant, bank manager etc.." you are an agent and best never to forget it as you can and will only get into trouble...you can always tell you have an amateur if they do not "side step" and refer all matters to an expert..Never would you say the fire regs say this or that or your bearers need to be x mtrs apart ...The book keeping was over six months which I sortta missed cause by this stage I had alrrady bought my business and was working very hard...but 24 hours before the final exam studied it and topped the class..it was after all just simple double entry book keeping..six months..talk about padding out the subject.
However we are conditioned to think without something to hang on the wall there is no knowledge and that need not be true..I study so many things, and although I would probably not pass an exam, and I may pass, I know a great deal about many subjects...and with the net you can attend lectures at the best Universities on the planet..Cosmology, paleontology, molecular biology, ancient history, modern history, and one of my favorites.. religious history,...its limitless..you can just keep learning ..
I have no time or need for fiction and so I learn real stuff each day every day..there are so many real stories, wars, etc why rely on Hollywood?..but keep humble..I hide what I know cause in general I find folk dont take kindly to a smart rrrs..but its not for them..its for me.

One should however know enough to engage and asses folk who you employ to do work for you..you best understand accounting if going to an accountant, or law to see a lawyer and read up if the doctor tells you your kidneys have failed...you need to understand ..or the mechanic with your car..most folk will not rip you off but you need to know when you are in the presence of an in competent..heck if I had not been on top of my meds in hospital I really dont know what could have happened..it took ages to get settled at 125 mg for my thiroid stuff ..you know input by my specialist.. but in someones wisdom put me on 50 mg..why am I going downhill? Well I reviewed the meds and pointed out the problem..very sorry and stuff happens but if not on the ball it could have been ages before anyone worked out what I saw...

Hans if you like math you dont need a degree do you..do it cause you like it...as you get older you wont even ask what your mate thinks.
Alex

[LewisM]

Well, I have 2 degrees, several TAFE certs and 6 languages under my belt. Don't regret any of them.

My last degree - B. Sc (Microbiology major, Medical Microbiology minor) was finished only 5 years ago. Never once used it directly, but it sure opened other job doors where they needed a degree. I'm 48

Maybe try learning a language Hans - like I said, I am up to 6 - feel confidently fluent in English (maybe :P), Russian, French and conversant in Swiss-German, Norwegian and very basic Suomi (just ask Matt :lol:). It truly does keep your brain active, because you truly don't know a language until you dream in that language. I've dreamt in French and Russian for years now.

[multiweb]

Mais c'est quoi ces conneries? Tu parles Francais? Vraiment? :P

[Hans Tucker]

Learning a language ... now that is something I could seek out .. in particular German. I understand Russian and Nordic languages are very difficult to learn. Back in my TAFE days I had a class with a guy from Switzerland whom spoke 4 languages, German/French/English and ... Latin.

If I learn German maybe I can interpret this: https://youtu.be/P22gPwGuLa0

[billdan]

If I was going to learn a new language, I would pick a language relevant to our part of the world. i.e. Indonesian, Japanese or Chinese.

[LewisM]

Seulement de la merde de grenouille, pas des conneries


Oh, and I can insult in Greek...RB forced me to learn

[LewisM]

Try Swiss German, especially Bern dialect. Like Dutch, High German, Austrian inflection and a hint of Flemish combined.

[glend]

Argh! German. I still remember all the conjugation lessons from high school. Ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es*hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben. I found it very hard, but my father ( the Engineer) insisted that it was an important technical language to learn.

Spanish, particularly Central and South American dialects, is the easiest language to learn in my opinion.

[mswhin63]

I am happy to say I at 55 completed my degree in 2018 although officially Feb 2019. After I thought maybe I am too old but now there is so much work available I don't know why I worried about it.

My degree is Electronic and Communication Engineering Honours in RF and COMMS. I am now working full time as an RF and SATCOM Design Engineer and still have fast promotion opportunities. I had a good start though with RF and COmmunication Trade certificate completed in 1984; It did help. I still love to learn as well.

I found that mature age students continue on to complete their degree more than those out of High School.

[xelasnave]

I was sensible enough to retire at 50 and enjoy what little life I had left...people dont realise there is much more to life than just work work work...and sure there is never enough money so you go another year and another cause you need just that little more... anyways you manage...
Alex

[AstralTraveller]

If you feel motivated then go for it. I was a techie in SEALS (earth atmospheric and life sciences - me being earth science) at UoW before I took the COVID-early-retirement 'carrot' last year. When I left a bloke about my age was doing a PhD. He had done earth science as an undergrad and then had a successful career in another field before retiring early to do the thesis as his 'swan song' (his term). Then there is Elizabeth Kirkby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Kirkby) who was awarded her doctorate at 93. She is now 102 and active in the Labour History circles, where my partner knows her. Howard Worner (https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/professor-howard-worner-1913-2006#8) had a full career in one area and then came out of retirement to lead a research institute in a different field. When I started my PhD there was an elderly lady at ANU who had an honorary (unpaid) position, a little bit of lab space and she was one of the Australian experts in her little field.

The truth is that mature age students tend to do better then school-leavers. I'm a case in point. I went to uni after school because I was bright but with no goal in mind. I graduated in staying up late but failed all subject. At age 33 I went back. We had just returned from years of 'working holiday' around Aust. and I wanted to fight the good fight in land management or pollution control. That isn't what happened but when I abandoned that goal it was because I had a new one. By then I had learned to be responsible, focused and organised - skills that most school leavers struggle with - and didn't have to support an active social life. The result was near-straight HDs, Honours (First Class) and the Uni Medal.

So, no pressure :P, but you can achieve greatness! Or just enjoy yourself :thumbsup:. Just one thing seems a bit odd to me. Far be it from me to tell you what rocks your boat but I wouldn't want to take up maths at my age. It certainly wouldn't be playing to my strengths. When I started uni the second time I enrolled in a physics bridging course to refresh my high-school physics, in which I had done quite well (top 10% NSW), but quickly found that it wasn't for me anymore. I did a major in physical geography (and another in chemistry) and found that I was good at essays. I was happy to put in the hours researching, reading, digesting, writing; and I started early so that the 'digesting' part was done well. I had the slow steady focus that comes with maturity. However, even though I knew my subjects inside out, I just couldn't work at the pace I saw others going at in exams. I used 2hrs 50min of the allotted 3hrs for most exams and had to rely on quality rather than quantity in my exam essays.

So, think about it and let us know what you decide.

David

[AstralTraveller]

Can you conjugate the verb 'to drive'? We all knew that one well :lol:. After the verbs you had to learn all your der, die,das, den, des, dem, ein, eine, einer, einen, einem. Obviously native speakers don't even think about which is the right word but for those of us forced to learn by rote it was diabolical.

BTW your father's idea is well out of date. These days all tertiary-qualified Germans speak perfect English - I used to meet many and I would go months without hearing even a minor infraction against good English.

[Top_oz]

Well my memory of uni is that none of the mature age students made it out of first year. If you're doing it for the love of it then I can see it working (but not many would feel that way about Mech Eng). I think the issue was that people who were working and doing it for career reasons were a bit out of touch with studying and struggled with the workload. TBH I couldn't imagine going through it again at this point in my life. And to go part time is a really long commitment.

[LewisM]

Did my second one part time while working and raising 2 kids whilst my wife finished her second Honours...took 5 years, but it got done.

We had a fair number of mature age students - they actually finished better than the regular youngins!

[LewisM]

Real Spanish is fairly simple (but I LOATHE it). The real challenge is Catalan or some of the odd dialects.

Portuguese on the other hand is bloody hard...VERY Latin based.

[xelasnave]

Part time was the pits..work like a dog all day, rush off at 5 pm for a peak hour drive to Newtown (Sydney Uni) hope the canteen was still open to get something to eat..two to three hours lecture home to wife and kids ( later on) and try and get some study in before you passed out...three nights a week I recall???
As to keeping on keeping on..my master solicitor had a career as an achedemic and was the Director of Man Power in WW2..but when he retired thought to do law so he would have an interest..when I worked for him he was over ninety...you could ask him a question and he would look over his glasses and say..go to ( say Helmore on Real Property...or whatever the relevant text book and there were a few..."Look on page 146 in paragraph (3) part b that covers it for you...incredible..but such a privilege to have him as my mentor...I learnt so much which set me up for the rest of my life...
Alex

[xelasnave]

So Hans why not do law...and help people.
Alex

[Hans Tucker]

Interesting suggestion Alex but in reality I don't think my brain is wired for Law nor do I have any passion for this field. My interest and passion has always been towards the Engineering, Science and Technology. I initially applied for the RAAF (out of a love of aircraft and the military) as an Engine Fitter but fate would later push me to become an Aircraft Instrument fitter. In the early 90's I was looking at becoming a Calibration Technician because I found a new field ... Metrology (the Science of Measurement not Weather). I was fascinated by both the Engineering and the Science (Physics and Mathematics) aspects of this field plus I loved that it was precise, not abstract.

But your suggestion of helping other people should be taken on board .. undertake some volunteer work.

[xelasnave]

I see law and science similar ... Both follow clear rules and each doth require evidence in support of a stated proposition.

Each have various areas of specialisation.

Using the law I can help someone buy or sell their house, provide security for borrowed finance, lease property from either the side of the landlord or the side of the tenant, comply with requirements to own and operate a business either as a personal proprietor or via a limited liability company, and to set out agreements and arrangements between parties and provide machinery for resolution of problems, ....and then there is the aspect of matters between citizen and state from crimes to say regulations as to health, road use or building requirements.
But all very clear except where it is not.

Alex

[ChrisD]

I completed a Bachelor of Computer Science at 50. While I was able to use it to improve my employment prospects, it was mostly for myself. You see, I was forced to leave secondary school at year 11 because I failed maths and physics, so it was a personal "Everest" for me, a redemption.

I did several semesters in both the calculus and physics and look back on it with great fondness.

Several people have suggesting that you learn a language.
Mathematics is a language, the language of science.

For example, in primary and secondary school you're learning the basic verbs, nouns and grammar, like mathematical symbols, number sets and trigonometry. At the time they seem unrelated and meaningless. Later you will learn to put them together in subjects like Integral and Differential Calculus, you use mathematics to form "sentences", to make statements.

In your head you will begin by converting English to maths and back, translating as you work. Then eventually, one day, you'll be looking at an equation and realize that you're no longer thinking in English any more, you're just thinking in mathematics. This happens also when you're learning a human language.

It happened for me in 2004 in a café at the university campus while reviewing an assignment before I handed it in. A memorable moment, for me at least.

You'll also find that mathematics has its own "poetry". Take a look at Euler's Identity or Maxwell's Wave Equations. When you know the language you will see the beauty.

Yes, you can learn mathematics from books or youtube, but being immersed in an environment where maths is being "spoken", and with people who also speak to you in this language, you will learn it way faster. Like living in another country.

I hope this helps you decide.

Good luck,
Chris.

[Hans Tucker]

After a bit of research I found CSU offers an ideal solution .. you can enrol in Single Subject Study with committing to a Degree. Interesting selection of Mathematics subjects as well plus fields. ... and oh look it offers subjects in GIS.

https://study.csu.edu.au/study-options/single-subject/search

[Startrek]

My wife completed a double degree in Teaching at age 50 as she always wanted to teach but did not do well enough in the HSC back in 1977. Raising a family (5 kids) took up most of her time for the next 15 to 20 years along with some part time work later on in childcare ( She also did a Diploma in Childcare at age 42 )
So it’s never too late to study and pursue a career you love well into your 40’s and early 50’s
Cheers

[Graeme J]

I started a B.Sc (Physics) when I was 43 for something to keep my mind occupied. Was working full time so it took me 8 1/2 years part time to finish. There was lots and lots of very complicated maths but graduated with a 5.8 GPA. Was very happy with that. I also have numerous TAFE qualifications. You never stop learning.

[Hodur]

Alex, I worked with an Old School Account, a true gentleman. He could add a column of figures as quickly as he could run his finger down the page.
Interestingly, he was in London in WWI and came under Zeppelin attack. He was an extraordinary man who lived in extraordinary times.

[RogerLightyear]

I've always been interested in studying something other than my current field one day but I have various interests and couldn't pick one!

This site could be useful https://www.khanacademy.org/ along with youtube etc as someone said earlier, to at least get a taste for something and then maybe commit to a course. There seems to be a lot of education in this thread - I feel like an underachiever :)

[Sunfish]

People I know quite well have completed or are completing PHDs in their 60s.
Several of them have also completed undergraduate and masters degrees outside of their field in their 50s. People do.