Tuesday 2 September 2014

You Are Never Too Old to Change Your Career

by: Catherine Trebble


You may find that what you really want to do in life requires a certain degree or license-something you don’t currently have. So what do you do?


Why not go back to school?


“But…but…but…,” you might be saying, “I’m in my late 40s! It would take me until I’m 52 to get the degree I need!” Yes-and your point is?


If you are someone who tells yourself that you are too old to go back to school, look at it this way-you can either be 52 years old with a degree or 52 years old without a degree!


The point is that no matter what age you will be when you finally obtain the education you need, you are going to be that age one day anyway, so why not be that age with the education you want or need? Especially if it will help you to move into the career of your dreams!


To share my own personal story with you, I didn’t start college until I was in my late 20s. I was worried I was going to be surrounded by students fresh out of high school. But you know what? I was wrong! I was never the oldest person in any of my classes. There was always a good mix of different ages, from students who were in their teens all the way up to men and women in their 50s. In fact, in my very first basic college course, English 101, there was a woman in my class who was in her mid 50s. It was her very first college course as well. I became friends with her and she shared with me that she had always wanted to be a nurse. She worked at a hospital as a clerk for many years, but her dream was to help care for patients. I admired her for that, as did many of the other students. During my third year of attending classes, I ran into her one day and she told me it was her last semester at school, as she had finished all the courses she needed and was transferring to another school that had accepted her into their nursing program. If only you could have seen all the joy and pride in her face during that moment!


During my years of college, there were many older people from all walks of life. I never thought of them as being too old, and neither did the younger students. In fact, it was these older students that I admired the most and they were the ones that the youngest students in the class would look to as a positive role model. There were never any negative comments or teasing of the older students in the class. In fact, I think it was the older students who were usually the most popular and they received a lot of respect and admiration for pursuing an education at their age.


Remember-you are never too old to go back to school. Yes, it will take you some time to earn a degree, but the time spent will be well worth it. You have to do something between now and so many years from now anyway. So if it’s a degree you need, spend those years earning one!


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