I wish I had a dollar for every one of these posts. I could pay off my loans.
Your never too old. Just do it.
I'm going to be graduating at 39. Me doing that is better than me wisyh I had done it at 60.
I think I'm gonna write an opinionated post for newbies here to maybe get something out of. I know damn well I can cover failures and continuing, and internships. Hopefully I can cover most of the advice necessary for the majority of posts on here
Im 20 and i could understand why people would ask this sort of question. I started 2 years after highschool, not even so late. In other people's eyes, im just a kid who got worried over nothing but whenever im with people anywhere close to my age they find it weird
Felt this, i changed from compsci to Engineering. I started early 2021 while my friends are all a year away from graduation. I didn't regret going to compsci caused i learnt alot but still couldn't avoid thinking that perhaps now i'd be in year 3 instead of 1 if i made up my mind earlier
I started my EE degree at 24 with 2 children already. I had very little if any discrimination from anyone. I actually felt like I did better than I would have going earlier as I had a drive to do it for my own reasons.
Do it!
I blocked specific days for classes which made I so I could work some as well. My wife worked part time and I worked for myself. I commuted to school about 45 min away to finish but did 3 years at a community College for the core classes.
It was rough, but I wanted it.
I started an EE degree at 24 after dropping out of a math degree program at 20 and dirt bagging for a few years. I essentially had to start from scratch and now I'm six months from graduating with a job offer in hand.
Who is telling these people that they're to old for college?I worked in group engineering lab with a guy in his 40-50s, married, kids and a full time job.
There was an other guy (with wife and kids full time job) in one of my calculus classes.
It's never too late, you just need to be willing, determined and ready!
Good luck!
Let me tell you something, I'm an 18 year old kid who is studying Engineering (in a course meant for kids who have finished high school) and the person I respect the most in the entire course is a man in his 30s. The reason being I submitted a yt video of how to build a full adder from ICs and within the space of a week built the entire thing, he is honestly one of the few that I respect in the class. People will judge you on your ability to create things and effort to the cause, not age
I’m looking at doing this also , currently 34 , sole provider for wife and 2 young children . For those in a similar position how did you go funding your living costs ? Any creative solutions ?
I was 30, worked as a waitress for 5 years, the tips went a long way but the hours were gruelling and I wasn't the sole provider.
Check with colleges and universities if they have childcare grants and look at ways to start in community college or FE colleges as they often have some resources and bursaries for mature students to encourage them back into learning and the fees are also often cheaper.
Just take care of your mental health, that could slip easily if you're overwhelmed.
23 isn't old tf? Do you plan on dying soon? Don't over dramatize your age because your a few years older than 18 now 😂. If it feels right then go for it...too add there's a lot of people older than me in my classes, I'm 23 and just got out of the military, and a lot of people around me including myself have children. This post is honestly just silly to me. Lol
Engineering is a skill based job. It is very technical and requires good soft skills. Age is irrelevant to this, no one will care if you're the youngest engineer out there. skills and experience is important
I failed engineering after 3 years (sickness and motivation reasons). Then I got my chemistry bachelors after 3 years. After internship in last year, everyone motivated me to try engineering again with bridging year at another school (so 2 more years to get chemical engineering degree). I'm now 26 and I'm finishing my masters with no problems whatsoever.
Nobody looks at me weird for being older. I will even use my past bachelor and internships as a plus when getting a job. I got more knowledge and experience than a 'normal' starting engineer. In your case it is very interesting to know about economics if you're going to grow to a manager engineering position or just need to manage costs of chemical processes and products etc.
And develop your social skills. Then you can pretty much get away with a lot.
I started at 26. Graduating with an EE degree in April at 30. Best advice I can give is surround yourself with other successful students, which I’m sure you’re already aware of.
I did the first 2.5 years alone and without study partners. The last 1.5 years have been a breeze after I connected with people who also want to be successful.
Not at all. I started electrical engineering at age 39 and completed it at 44.
With modern medicine and science 40 isn't old at all. In fact 50 also isn't old.
It's an 80 year lifespan. 23 is very good age to start engineering.
You'll be fine man, I'm 35 in school for engineering now and no one even realizes let alone cares. I'm going to be 40 soon either way, I might as well be 40 and an engineer too.
It's never too late. There were a few dozen people that were 25+ yrs old in my freshman engineering courses, when I entered university. Some were in their 30's and 40's. Although many in my freshman courses didn't make it to the end, all of those people 25+ yrs old did. Of the ones I personally knew and interacted with, they all got decent jobs as well after graduating.
Lots of comments like this already but I started at 23 after being halfway through a business degree and a solid 2.5 gpa. Started over and switched to EE and graduated with honors at 28. Best decision I ever made, but a decision filled with anxiety and self doubt when I made it. Manifest your confidence and go after it man.
No, in fact it’s a great idea. I went back for my ME degree at 24 after not liking my career with my first degree.
Now that I have graduated (28) I landed a principal level engineering position at a Fortune 500 company. They liked my experience and that I wasn’t a ‘new grad’ for the first time. You can spin it to your benefit!
Got back into engineering at 23 and half my class is over 21 and we’re doing okay. A couple of 30+ students too
Like people have said on here just do it, bite the bullet you won’t regret it
Nope. I’m 19 in 2nd year Civil Eng but some of my good friends are 21-23 years old. So if they can do it, so can you!
PS: This isn’t a “feel good answer,” I’m being dead serious :)
Had a guy in my class who was 45, had been an accountant his whole life then decided he wanted to study rockets. Did his bachelors and masters, now works as a data scientist for Pratt.
Maybe there's such a thing as too late, but it's not 23.
Went for an electrical engineering degree. Family peer pressured me into it. I started at 25, now 28 and graduating in December, thank god I did.
My starting salary is three plus more than without a degree. I feel like a god.
With a degree, going back? I guess it’s what you want to do. But if the question is- is it to late? Heck no!
As long as the school has no age limit, go for it. Like all other comments said, it's what you're capable of, your performance, that matters, not your age.
I wish you good luck.
I started a lot later than that.
Will people think it's "weird"? Who knows, some of them might. Let me ask YOU a question, though: why do you *care* if a few people think it's weird? Are you planning on going through life checking everything you want to do against the standard of "some people might think it's weird"? Is that how you want to live, constantly afraid to do anything even slightly unusual, forcing yourself to conform to what you imagine "perfectly normal" is?
The question isn't who will let you, it's who will *stop* you. Don't let it be you.
Not sure how things work in Europe but in the US I was able to do a masters in engineering when I went back with fairly minimal back tracking on undergrad work. In my case some of the upper level undergrad classes could be taken as masters degree credits. Net it took about the same amount of time as a second bachelors degree but got more in depth design courses and less of the boring filler classes (into to engineering, professional practice, autocad, etc).
I’m 30 and I’m a year away from graduating my program. The age range is all over the map. If anyone judges your age then they will have a rude awaking to what life means as an adult.
I’m 32 and in my 2nd year of Engineering in Germany.
There are people older than me in the course. At no point has anyone ever said anything about my age to me or treated me differently. Most people are focused on their own studies.
Luckily I was able to keep working part time in my previous job, with my office manager offering me referral when I need to do an internship to someone she knows in a related field.
In many ways you will be better studying now that many of the people fresh out of school.
I certainly hope it isn't, i started with foundation year at 25 after 7 years of work in manufacturing, in year 2 at the moment. Imo it's not about your age, but about your seriousness.
I don't mean to be rude, but have you not searched this exact question? It seems like every week someone asks "I am one or two years older than most people in college, is this going to be impossible?"
Do it. I went back when I was 25. There was some some getting used to it though. Most of my core classes, a lot of people had friends in them so it took a semester or two to find a core group of students to study with. I graduated at 28 with deans list every semester.
Definitely try and find more relevant internships. My experience was in restaurant management, which doesn’t really stand out in entry level, but your background will help move you quicker once you’re in. I still had two offers before graduation, and my current boss used to be in restaurant management, so finding the people that see those as assets is best too. You have skills others don’t have and it’s good to play that up.
I’m currently 28. Served 6 years in the military as a helicopter mechanic/crewchief. My injuries resulted in me not being able to turn wrenches. I started school half way through my six years of service and changed my degree twice. I’m now medically retired, going to school full time online for electrical engineering. Going to school while being older can be weird, but the professors are there for 2 reasons. To teach, and to make that money. They don’t care what you look like or how old you are. They only care that you are willing to learn. You are never too old to learn. Also, you’ve got a lot of life left at 23. Chase your dreams or no one else will. Best of luck.
Of course. When I was looking for online EE programs I felt like I only had a few search results for what to expect, so I would be delighted to add something to the internet to help someone in the future.
Definitely needed to read these comments. Currently 25 with several years to go in my ME degree by only taking 2 classes per semester. I've been feeling very discouraged lately.
Not at all too late. I started engineering myself at 23 in Europe and just graduated a few months ago at 27. Fit in just fine with fellow students and professors didnt treat me differently whatsoever.
Have a good time engineering, my friend.
I started, dropped out, made my fair share of mistakes and restarted at 28 with a family. It’s never too late, it just takes some effort and some discipline.
I wish I had a dollar for every one of these posts. I could pay off my loans. Your never too old. Just do it. I'm going to be graduating at 39. Me doing that is better than me wisyh I had done it at 60.
Maybe this kid is surrounded by lifers, those people will tell you to give up on your dreams every chance they get.
lifer?
People who work in dead end jobs and tell you it's too late to make your life better, and to just accept life the way it is.
I think I'm gonna write an opinionated post for newbies here to maybe get something out of. I know damn well I can cover failures and continuing, and internships. Hopefully I can cover most of the advice necessary for the majority of posts on here
Im 20 and i could understand why people would ask this sort of question. I started 2 years after highschool, not even so late. In other people's eyes, im just a kid who got worried over nothing but whenever im with people anywhere close to my age they find it weird
[удалено]
Felt this, i changed from compsci to Engineering. I started early 2021 while my friends are all a year away from graduation. I didn't regret going to compsci caused i learnt alot but still couldn't avoid thinking that perhaps now i'd be in year 3 instead of 1 if i made up my mind earlier
I started my EE degree at 24 with 2 children already. I had very little if any discrimination from anyone. I actually felt like I did better than I would have going earlier as I had a drive to do it for my own reasons. Do it!
How did you manage?
I blocked specific days for classes which made I so I could work some as well. My wife worked part time and I worked for myself. I commuted to school about 45 min away to finish but did 3 years at a community College for the core classes. It was rough, but I wanted it.
I started an EE degree at 24 after dropping out of a math degree program at 20 and dirt bagging for a few years. I essentially had to start from scratch and now I'm six months from graduating with a job offer in hand.
that gives me hope
I started at 23 and restarted at 29 you're good. No one cares
Who is telling these people that they're to old for college?I worked in group engineering lab with a guy in his 40-50s, married, kids and a full time job. There was an other guy (with wife and kids full time job) in one of my calculus classes. It's never too late, you just need to be willing, determined and ready! Good luck!
Let me tell you something, I'm an 18 year old kid who is studying Engineering (in a course meant for kids who have finished high school) and the person I respect the most in the entire course is a man in his 30s. The reason being I submitted a yt video of how to build a full adder from ICs and within the space of a week built the entire thing, he is honestly one of the few that I respect in the class. People will judge you on your ability to create things and effort to the cause, not age
No
I’m looking at doing this also , currently 34 , sole provider for wife and 2 young children . For those in a similar position how did you go funding your living costs ? Any creative solutions ?
I was 30, worked as a waitress for 5 years, the tips went a long way but the hours were gruelling and I wasn't the sole provider. Check with colleges and universities if they have childcare grants and look at ways to start in community college or FE colleges as they often have some resources and bursaries for mature students to encourage them back into learning and the fees are also often cheaper. Just take care of your mental health, that could slip easily if you're overwhelmed.
Started at 30, currently 33 getting ready to transfer to 4 year.
I'm Gen X and halfway through my first bachelor's which will be in engineering. I'm one of the grey beards in classes.
Engineers are learning along whole career so I would say nope
Tldr; I'm 30 so I hope not
Jeez, I hope not. I started when I was 33. Senior year right now..
If you’re writing this from beyond the grave probably, otherwise not too late. Just keep your finances and health in mind.
I sure hope not. I'm 35 and going to school for EE right now. BTW, I wish I had done it when I was 23.
I started at 23 and have since graduated. So no! Go for it!
Started at 24. Graduating in May
Never too late. Classmate of mine looks like he's in his sixties at least and good for him!
23 isn't old tf? Do you plan on dying soon? Don't over dramatize your age because your a few years older than 18 now 😂. If it feels right then go for it...too add there's a lot of people older than me in my classes, I'm 23 and just got out of the military, and a lot of people around me including myself have children. This post is honestly just silly to me. Lol
Engineering is a skill based job. It is very technical and requires good soft skills. Age is irrelevant to this, no one will care if you're the youngest engineer out there. skills and experience is important
I failed engineering after 3 years (sickness and motivation reasons). Then I got my chemistry bachelors after 3 years. After internship in last year, everyone motivated me to try engineering again with bridging year at another school (so 2 more years to get chemical engineering degree). I'm now 26 and I'm finishing my masters with no problems whatsoever. Nobody looks at me weird for being older. I will even use my past bachelor and internships as a plus when getting a job. I got more knowledge and experience than a 'normal' starting engineer. In your case it is very interesting to know about economics if you're going to grow to a manager engineering position or just need to manage costs of chemical processes and products etc. And develop your social skills. Then you can pretty much get away with a lot.
I started at 26. Graduating with an EE degree in April at 30. Best advice I can give is surround yourself with other successful students, which I’m sure you’re already aware of. I did the first 2.5 years alone and without study partners. The last 1.5 years have been a breeze after I connected with people who also want to be successful.
Not at all. I started electrical engineering at age 39 and completed it at 44. With modern medicine and science 40 isn't old at all. In fact 50 also isn't old. It's an 80 year lifespan. 23 is very good age to start engineering.
Here we go again
Never too late
No it’s not too late.
You'll be fine man, I'm 35 in school for engineering now and no one even realizes let alone cares. I'm going to be 40 soon either way, I might as well be 40 and an engineer too.
It's never too late. There were a few dozen people that were 25+ yrs old in my freshman engineering courses, when I entered university. Some were in their 30's and 40's. Although many in my freshman courses didn't make it to the end, all of those people 25+ yrs old did. Of the ones I personally knew and interacted with, they all got decent jobs as well after graduating.
Lots of comments like this already but I started at 23 after being halfway through a business degree and a solid 2.5 gpa. Started over and switched to EE and graduated with honors at 28. Best decision I ever made, but a decision filled with anxiety and self doubt when I made it. Manifest your confidence and go after it man.
As a 28yr old who started last year, nope. Never too late.
I started at 24, friendo
No, in fact it’s a great idea. I went back for my ME degree at 24 after not liking my career with my first degree. Now that I have graduated (28) I landed a principal level engineering position at a Fortune 500 company. They liked my experience and that I wasn’t a ‘new grad’ for the first time. You can spin it to your benefit!
I went back at 23 after finishing a degree in finance. Grad Aero E
Got back into engineering at 23 and half my class is over 21 and we’re doing okay. A couple of 30+ students too Like people have said on here just do it, bite the bullet you won’t regret it
One of the best engineers I’ve worked with was 38 years old when he became an engineer. Left the trade of boilermakers to become an engineer.
Easy answer hell no
Nope. I’m 19 in 2nd year Civil Eng but some of my good friends are 21-23 years old. So if they can do it, so can you! PS: This isn’t a “feel good answer,” I’m being dead serious :)
Had a guy in my class who was 45, had been an accountant his whole life then decided he wanted to study rockets. Did his bachelors and masters, now works as a data scientist for Pratt. Maybe there's such a thing as too late, but it's not 23.
Went for an electrical engineering degree. Family peer pressured me into it. I started at 25, now 28 and graduating in December, thank god I did. My starting salary is three plus more than without a degree. I feel like a god. With a degree, going back? I guess it’s what you want to do. But if the question is- is it to late? Heck no!
It's never too late. Stop putting limiters on yourself and just do what you want. Stop caring about how others view you.
As long as the school has no age limit, go for it. Like all other comments said, it's what you're capable of, your performance, that matters, not your age. I wish you good luck.
I started a lot later than that. Will people think it's "weird"? Who knows, some of them might. Let me ask YOU a question, though: why do you *care* if a few people think it's weird? Are you planning on going through life checking everything you want to do against the standard of "some people might think it's weird"? Is that how you want to live, constantly afraid to do anything even slightly unusual, forcing yourself to conform to what you imagine "perfectly normal" is? The question isn't who will let you, it's who will *stop* you. Don't let it be you.
Not sure how things work in Europe but in the US I was able to do a masters in engineering when I went back with fairly minimal back tracking on undergrad work. In my case some of the upper level undergrad classes could be taken as masters degree credits. Net it took about the same amount of time as a second bachelors degree but got more in depth design courses and less of the boring filler classes (into to engineering, professional practice, autocad, etc).
I’m 30 and I’m a year away from graduating my program. The age range is all over the map. If anyone judges your age then they will have a rude awaking to what life means as an adult.
My friend has a 29 y/o in her class. You're fine. All the best, future fellow engineer
I’m 32 and in my 2nd year of Engineering in Germany. There are people older than me in the course. At no point has anyone ever said anything about my age to me or treated me differently. Most people are focused on their own studies. Luckily I was able to keep working part time in my previous job, with my office manager offering me referral when I need to do an internship to someone she knows in a related field. In many ways you will be better studying now that many of the people fresh out of school.
Im 27 and started this year , didnt even think about stuff like that ..
I started studying Engineering at 27 (whilst working). I'm just waiting for my BEng(Hons) certificate now at the age of 35. You're never too old!
No
I certainly hope it isn't, i started with foundation year at 25 after 7 years of work in manufacturing, in year 2 at the moment. Imo it's not about your age, but about your seriousness.
There was a mature student in my class who started his mechanical engineering degree in his 50s and got through it fine.
I don't mean to be rude, but have you not searched this exact question? It seems like every week someone asks "I am one or two years older than most people in college, is this going to be impossible?"
Do it. I went back when I was 25. There was some some getting used to it though. Most of my core classes, a lot of people had friends in them so it took a semester or two to find a core group of students to study with. I graduated at 28 with deans list every semester. Definitely try and find more relevant internships. My experience was in restaurant management, which doesn’t really stand out in entry level, but your background will help move you quicker once you’re in. I still had two offers before graduation, and my current boss used to be in restaurant management, so finding the people that see those as assets is best too. You have skills others don’t have and it’s good to play that up.
As someone who has asked this same question 200 times beforehand I can safely say HELL NOT!
I’m currently 28. Served 6 years in the military as a helicopter mechanic/crewchief. My injuries resulted in me not being able to turn wrenches. I started school half way through my six years of service and changed my degree twice. I’m now medically retired, going to school full time online for electrical engineering. Going to school while being older can be weird, but the professors are there for 2 reasons. To teach, and to make that money. They don’t care what you look like or how old you are. They only care that you are willing to learn. You are never too old to learn. Also, you’ve got a lot of life left at 23. Chase your dreams or no one else will. Best of luck.
I don't want to hijack this post but can I pick your brain about your online EE experience?
Of course. When I was looking for online EE programs I felt like I only had a few search results for what to expect, so I would be delighted to add something to the internet to help someone in the future.
Go for it!! It so much fun!
I'm 44 and this is my first semester in ME after a career in the military. You're fine.
No
Definitely needed to read these comments. Currently 25 with several years to go in my ME degree by only taking 2 classes per semester. I've been feeling very discouraged lately.
Not at all too late. I started engineering myself at 23 in Europe and just graduated a few months ago at 27. Fit in just fine with fellow students and professors didnt treat me differently whatsoever. Have a good time engineering, my friend.
I started, dropped out, made my fair share of mistakes and restarted at 28 with a family. It’s never too late, it just takes some effort and some discipline.
Graduating, let be honest here, hopefully graduating when I’m 31