AIBU to even contemplate this at 38?

[fourandahalfkids]

I am in a job that I love but it pays peanuts I mean literally peanuts. I work 40 hours a week for around 12 grand a year. I have 4 children and chose to put my life on hold to raise them. I don't regret this in any way. But they are now almost 17, 16, 13 and 10. I never went to uni but got a job straight out of college to start building a home with my then fiance (now dh for 18 years), and then was at home with my children for 12 years (from when the oldest was born to when the youngest started school).
As much as I love my job (been doing it for 6 years), the progression is pretty dead end unless I undertake a degree anyway. Too be honest i have seen too much from the inside, mine is a supporting role in a profession where people are leaving in there droves because of the stress and work load involved. So it is not something that i myself would like to go into.
I am thinking of embarking on a degree to enable me to gain better prospects. I love English and was very good at it way back when and had desires to have a career in a writing capacity.
But dh doesn't have an amazingly well paid job, better than me but we couldn't survive on his salary alone. I have done some research and found out that I can study part time (around 16 hours per week) and I could work at the same time. I should get student loan assistance. Alongside my work hours I currently do a few hours voluntary work a week connected to a group I am part of. Is this too much? I can do this right?

*graduated at 34

Why are the typos all happening to the English grads?

I did a nursing degree at 40 and never regretted it. My daughter did an English degree at 32 and then a PGCE. Teaching was the only thing she could think of to do, with English. She absolutely hates teaching and is leaving at the end of this school year.

What @Graphista said x 1000. I actually thought before I did my English degree that it was self indulgent and impractical. I was completely wrong.

I studied a Lang/lit degree late in life and loved it!

One of the main benefits for me was to my children. I had two boys studying English for GCSE, I was able to set a good example about studying, help them with their work, give advice and model a good worth ethic. I shared a passion of poetry with my sport mad 16 year old. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my lads who could barely form a sentence which didn't contain a grunt would pass both English components with flying colours. My inarticulate football mad laddo astounded me with a 7 in English Language.

Aside from gaining respect from my friends and family, I think I became a more interesting person. I am writing a novel and a children's book. I've made loads of friends with the same interest as me.

I'm approaching 40 with lofty ambitions. I want to open my own librAry, to. It a book shop. I want to get my work published -I WILL get my work published. I want to do an MA and inspire others about the joy of language and literature and linguistics. I want to change some of the attitudes towards "English". English is not useless or flaky, gosh the way my mind has grown to be able to see multiple viewpoints instantly, to communicate with speech and the written word, all at speed - it's wonderful!

Ultimately i want to set up a charity that aims to encourage young, deprived people to have a passion for literature. That gives those who don't get the opportunity the gift I have. Then I want to get grants for young writers who would never have the chance to study their craft, get them out of the draconian education system into a place where their creativity can flourish.

All dreams, we are dreamers! I also dream of being rich but the dream in itself satisfies me. When that's finished I just float around in my pile of books

As an aside I think it is absolutely disgusting what teaching assistants are paid. They graft. Something needs to be done about that

I wouldn't do any kind of generic degree. I myself did a generic degree which I never used and is completely pointless. I don't want my kids going down the same route.

I think you should decide on the exact next job or role you want to do and train for exactly that. Good luck

Do it.
I've just started a degree at the age of 47 and am doing it fulltime. For me, it is more about personal development, and I'm loving it. I've found that life counts for a lot!!

*life experience

Having studied an English lit degree straight after school the reality is that me and the majority of my course mates struggled to find a ‘good’ job straight away. (Russell group uni, near top of league tables etc).

The harsh reality is that the world of work is not desperate for people with an Eng lit degree! Most of my course mates are now in good graduate level jobs but for the vast majority this entailed postgrad study, usually at Masters level, and/or a fair amount of unpaid internships, to get there.

So I’d say - don’t discount an Eng lit degree (I enjoyed mine!) but factor in that it might not be enough by itself to get you where you want to be career wise.

I'm just coming to the end of my degree, 3 months to go. I'm now 45 but can honestly say for me its the best thing I have ever done aside from my children. There have been tough times I've had to sacrifice allot of time with my kids to study and knock out continuous essays, journals, presentations and hours and hours of re search. I've achieved this AND worked full time and a single parent. I've shown my kids the value of hard work and that no matter his old you are it's never too late to re educate yourself. Go for it!!

I did my MBA with the Open University at about your age. It was hard work, but I carried on working fulltime throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed it too - the OU is a great place to study with.

You might want to reconsider doing English though, if your aim is to get a better paid job. Maybe you could look at jobs you think you'd like to do and see what qualifications the people doing them have?

Your hourly rate seems very low. Are you meaning 12K with all deductions. As to your degree nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go for it.

@Offred, OP is in a totally different position to you and your friends. She has experience, maturity, life skills and a proven work ethic. She will start off streets ahead of the average graduate because she has much more to offer. And, like I said before, no time off on maternity leave or for childcare; employers find that very appealing.

manicmij she's a TA so she'll only be paid for 41 weeks per year. Thats just over minimum wage. Shocking that TAs earn so little, but often the case.

I went to Uni for the first time aged 34 -37. Was amazing. Wish I’d done it sooner. If you like English do English. I did History of Art! Not renound for job opportunities. It is amazing how degree level study changes your outlook and job opportunities increase with any BA. I don’t work in the field I studied in, but I could have pursued it and succeeded.

Sorry to be picky, but if you are thinking about an English degree, you will need to brush up your grammar and/or spelling. If a number of your colleagues are leaving, it is ‘their’ jobs, not’there’.
My view would be as a previous poster, in that only consider a degree leading to almost-certain employment, eg nursing. Purely having a degree is knowledge, not a skill.
I did a degree in days of grants. Wonderful. But I have never used it. Both my son’s went to uni and have good degrees, but the occupations they have now they could have entered straight from school, and not had the debt hanging likethe ‘sword of damacles’ over their heads.

If you enjoy working with the little ones then look at Speech and Language Therapist as the other posters mentioned.

I can’t believe one of your replies was from a lady saying she couldn’t get a job as a trained nurse. Being a retired nurse myself I know they are crying out for nurses.
Go for it fourandahalf kids.

Theoldwrinkley an English degree v(particularly English literature) is absolutely skill based more than knowledge based. Knowledge is almost incidental, the skill is in writing an analytical essay applying various theories to literature and arguing persuasively for a viewpoint.

Spelling is obviously always important, but it's not more important in an English literature degree than philosophy or history.

My mum went back to study at 40. She trained as a teacher and worked for 20 years. Paid a load into her pension and now has a reasonable retirement

Choose your degree course carefully. An OU degree is not an easy option I think its actually quite hard. I started a Geology degree (all ready have an Electronics one) in 1990. Never finished it, did complete the first two years though. I was an overseas student (live in Spain), and I also worked on research ships so getting various assessments in on time required a huge amount of planning and often an expensive fax bill if I couldn't email in the work. Add to this the expense of travelling 4 hours to Barcelona to do exams plus an over night stay and then flying to the UK to do the summer school. So in the end it was getting quite expensive, just to sit an exam cost over 100 pounds in travel costs plus the exam fees on top. I decided it wasn't worth it. Plus I wouldn't be getting any more money. I moved job instead.
If you haven't studied for a long time then you might want to consider city and guilds first or a course at you local technical college then the OU option.
Would your current employer pay for your OU degree.

Go for it! I'm in a similar position, TA, 36 and have just applied for a social work degree 😁

Go for it but be practical when choosing the subject. English probably could take you in to teaching but not much else. Maybe take some inspiration from your current job and skillset so you can use your current experience. I graduated when I was 37 and am now studying for an MsC in related subject. Good luck!

Two things there

• going back to Uni at 38yo whilst still working si titally possible. It is hard work but very much worth it. I’ve done it when I was 40yo and I’m doing it again now (yes I know I’m crazy!) and I am 50yo.
• if you go back to Uni, i wouod chose someth8ng you enjoy but also something that you KNOW will allow you get a well paid job. Don’t go for the subject you enjoyed but wo any prospect. A poster in here said, years and years ago, that, as women, we shouod aim at a job that pays £100 per hour. Ok I don’t get paid that much but aiming high so that I knew I wouldn’t be struggling financially and knowing WHY I was retraining has been important for me too.

Btw don’t restrict yourself to the OU too.
There are plenty of degreee you can do whilst still working.