Is 51 too old to finish college?

[Misskitty16]

My friend just completed and graduated with a degree in finance at the age of 56. I took her 5 years of mostly on line classes

She can now command the pay she deserves and the tuition is incidental in comparison.

 

Had she stayed at an entry level book keeper she could not see retirement in her future. Now she can.

She had the same thoughts and reservations. When she asked me my opinion. I said `what else do you have going on?'

 

With a degree in finance, it's a given you will make more than a bookkeeper. But with Human Services....meh....not sure I would be making more money.

 

I want to love what I do, but I also need to make more money than I do now.

 

I have no head for math and have failed many math classes. I am smart, but not in that area.

[jimthzz]

Like others said, it depends on the degree. In HR, unless you are going for a masters degree, you are unlikely to improve your salary by much if you think of yourself as entry level.

 

However, if having a bachelor's degree is a requirement to even get in the door, then it might be worth it. Your current salary begs for you to do something to boost your income.

 

Get clear-eyed about the potential income from whatever degree you attempt versus the cost of getting it. Include in that cost any lost income from devoting time to the new degree, and, of course, any loans you take out to do it.

 

On the other hand, if you want a degree to enrich your life, or to make up for not having gotten it in your 20s, that is a different thing entirely.

[catfeeder]

Thank you, everyone, for your encouragement. I just worry because I know age discrimination is still rampant,

 

Wait...watch the whole knee-jerk habit about age, because there are few but certain professions where age and maturity are ASSETS, and most fields falling under the umbrella of Human Services or Counseling would be that.

 

Look, nobody wants a gum-snapping 23 year old giving advice about life--that's an oxymoron.

[Misskitty16]

Like others said, it depends on the degree. In HR, unless you are going for a masters degree, you are unlikely to improve your salary by much if you think of yourself as entry level.

 

However, if having a bachelor's degree is a requirement to even get in the door, then it might be worth it. Your current salary begs for you to do something to boost your income.Get clear-eyed about the potential income from whatever degree you attempt versus the cost of getting it. Include in that cost any lost income from devoting time to the new degree, and, of course, any loans you take out to do it.

 

On the other hand, if you want a degree to enrich your life, or to make up for not having gotten it in your 20s, that is a different thing entirely.

 

I want to finish so I can hopefully make a little bit more money. Even 30K over 24K would help. 35K would be like a King's ransom compared to what I am used to.

 

I would have looked into accounting, but I can't do the math. It's okay, I like to help people.

[chitown9]

That's the thing - as it stands now, I would take home 1K a month in social security if I retired at 67. However, since SS is calculated by your recent work years, I can up that if I can bring my salary up in the next few years. As a single woman, I can't live on 1K - I would never be able to retire.

 

Of course, whether SS will be there when I am 67 is for another thread, lol!

 

Having worked for the Social Security Administration for 20 years, I cannot let this statement of yours go past me without correcting you. The formula for figuring your social security payment is not necessarily based on recent years; therefore, I highly suggest that you call Social Security and ask them how it is formulated. You are way off on that Also, the solvency of Social Security has always been raised throughout the years, and I can only tell you that it will be there when you are ready for it for this simple reason: it is a political football and any politician that would suggest doing away with the Social Security program would be risking politial death.

 

So just some food for thought. chi

[Misskitty16]

Having worked for the Social Security Administration for 20 years, I cannot let this statement of yours go past me without correcting you. The formula for figuring your social security payment is not necessarily based on recent years; therefore, I highly suggest that you call Social Security and ask them how it is formulated. You are way off on that Also, the solvency of Social Security has always been raised throughout the years, and I can only tell you that it will be there when you are ready for it for this simple reason: it is a political football and any politician that would suggest doing away with the Social Security program would be risking politial death.

 

So just some food for thought. chi

 

I know that the more you make, the more you take home in SS. According to my most current SS statement, if I retired at 62, that is what I would make. If I work another ten years (at least), making more money, my SS should be higher, correct?

 

If not, I am SOL and should find a noose now and just hang myself.

[Misskitty16]

We base Social Security benefits on your lifetime earnings. We adjust or “index” your actual earnings to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. Then Social Security calculates your average indexed monthly earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most.

 

You are correct. This is from the SS website. So given the fact that I have been working since I was 18, at fairly low wages, it is doubtful that a change in income (unless extremely significant) over the next several years would impact the 1K that I am currently scheduled to receive at retirement.

 

Where's that rope?