Am I too old to go to Uni

[Rayn]

I started my degree in 2001 and dropped out after a year as I was pregnant. I was 26.
I then did 60 credits on open uni in education studies in 2006. I have always worked in children's services and nursery management right up until three years ago.
I am 46. I feel too old to go back and do my teacher training. I hate been office based and want to work in primary not nurseries.

I feel like I will be the only oldie and although I am ok with that I will be betting into a lot of debt and will be nearly 50 when qualified. I don't worry about getting a job as I have so much experience with kids in different areas.

Am I mad? Any positive stories about going to Uni as a mature student?
Have thought about open university but not sure if I will be able to do it independently.

I certainly wouldn't go back to teacher training at your age, sorry. Teaching is tough enough when you're young but most teachers in their early fifties are thinking about when they can leave.

What were you reasons for giving up nursery work?

Never too old do to anything you really love. The question is do you want it enough to do it, not whether you're too old for it.

Best friend I made on my nursing degree course turned 50 while we were there.

Definitely not too old. Life is too short to be in a job you don't like. Can you get access to grants?

I would bet there'll be a number of mature students at uni. I'm 52, and working on an Access course that should be enough to gain entry to uni in Sept 2022.

I went for the open day to one uni, and they reckoned 8% of their student population were mature students.

And I have two friends, one has begun an OU degree, the other is going to uni this Sept. Both are also over 50.

Go for it.

I just saw grants mentioned. As I've never been to uni, I'm eligible for all the grants available, and some unis also have bursaries, etc for mature students. It's all worth looking into.

@Rayn

You're never too old to go to uni.

By the time you finish your degree though, you will be too old to forge a professional career in your chosen field. Even if some people on mumsnet think you can start a new life and a new career at 50-something, it is nigh on impossible for most, as employers are really not interested in employing somebody fresh out of uni when they are 50+ Or even in their 40s. They want younger people (under 35...)

If you are doing it for fun, and/or for your own self-fulfilment, then crack on. If it's to try and change to a professional career, I wouldn't waste your time.

JMHO.

I'm not sure that's always true - I love getting applicants who are older for posts I advertise. I certainly wouldn't screen out on the basis of age, I've no expectations that if I employ someone in their twenties that they'll stick in the same post for the next 47 years until retirement. I want someone who cares about the job, I don't care how old they are

It's never too late to go to uni. Of course you'll have to do plenty of research about the course, the job, the employment options in your local area etc. But if you want to go for it, go for it. Life's too short to wonder 'what if', and uni is a wonderful place to meet friends for life.

We had a finalist in his 70s in my year.

[quote littlepattilou]@Rayn

You're never too old to go to uni.

By the time you finish your degree though, you will be too old to forge a professional career in your chosen field. Even if some people on mumsnet think you can start a new life and a new career at 50-something, it is nigh on impossible for most, as employers are really not interested in employing somebody fresh out of uni when they are 50+ Or even in their 40s. They want younger people (under 35...)

If you are doing it for fun, and/or for your own self-fulfilment, then crack on. If it's to try and change to a professional career, I wouldn't waste your time.

JMHO.[/quote]
Utter tosh. Ok I guess its field dependent but if you study a shortage profession you will get work. I haven't even graduated and I'm already working in my chosen field. In fact older people have more to offer in the area I work in. I'm late 40's. Every mature student on my course last year found well paid work upon graduation.

@Northernsoullover

Nope, not utter tosh at all.

I knew someone would come on here ranting about how easy it is to start a new professional career in your middle age, and how employers will be banging their door down to employ them. The fact is that the VAST majority of employers will want post graduates who are 35 and younger.

Stop peddling nonsense, and getting peoples hopes up.

Some utter nonsense being spouted on this thread. I did an online degree with UoL in three years while working full time as a TA - I graduated with a 2.1 aged 51 - did my PGCE via Schools Direct and was offered a permanent job by my school after the first term (pending qualification). It was the best move I’ve ever made -I teach in a challenging urban comprehensive and I adore my job and the kids I teach. You are never too old.

When i went to uni at 26 there was an 82 year old on my course. Pgce at 40 and people 15 years older on the course. Now doing a p-t postgrad diploma in ESL at 52.

If you qualify at 50 you'll have 15 years before retirement age (if not 20 the way things are going!).

Yes, teachers that age are leaving the profession, but that's usually because they're been teaching 25 years already and have built up a dam decent pension. The lucky bastards

I did a post grad in my early 60s, and I wasn't even the oldest on the course.

[quote littlepattilou]@Rayn

You're never too old to go to uni.

By the time you finish your degree though, you will be too old to forge a professional career in your chosen field. Even if some people on mumsnet think you can start a new life and a new career at 50-something, it is nigh on impossible for most, as employers are really not interested in employing somebody fresh out of uni when they are 50+ Or even in their 40s. They want younger people (under 35...)

If you are doing it for fun, and/or for your own self-fulfilment, then crack on. If it's to try and change to a professional career, I wouldn't waste your time.

JMHO.[/quote]
Oh.

I’m doing a Masters in Social Work and will graduate at 50.

Good to know my career is over before it starts, and my life experience is less valuable than non wrinkly skin.

Should I just curl up by the fire and wait for my inevitable demise?

🤔

I would very much like to do a post-graduate degree but it would cost approx. £30K and I couldn't begin to justify those costs and I couldn't be confident that I'd get any return on the investment.

@littlepattilou surely it depends on the career? I'm a nurse who was a mature student and around 1/3rd of my cohort were over 30, quite a few in their 40s. We often did sessions with the medical students and while there were a lot less students who would fit into the mature age bracket, there were quite a few. My sister is studying social work and is 35. Around 1/3rd to 1/2 are mature students, with many of them being 40+. I know of so many mature students who go on to have just as successful a career path as their fresh out of school counterparts.

I don't know if you are referring to specific careers where mature students wouldn't be welcome?

I did a PGCE at 48 and got a job no problem. I am now 58 and still loving teaching. l l'm planning to carry on well into my 60s. Please ignore the doommongers OP. If you want to do it - go for it.

I’m half way through my nursing degree and just under halfway through my forties! Not too old.

I went to uni at 29, there was a 50 year old in my nursing group

I did a masters degree when I was 38, graduated 6 weeks before my 40th birthday and have a job in my chosen field. I wasn't the oldest on my course by a long shot.

Personally, my post-grad studies picked up where my undergrad left off, so rather than being a complete career change, it's been more of a specialisation within my field.

I think PP comparing a mature graduate to a 20 something are missing the fact that we don't come to the job market with nothing but a degree to offer, we have in some cases decades of experience beneath our belts.

DP is going a his undergrad degree right now, aged 51, he'll be 56 by the time he graduates. There are people who are younger and older than him on his course!

Nope yer not too old . And I bet you have so much experience that will help you with your degree so much . Do it OP ! It will change your life for the better !!

Actually two members of my family became teachers after the age of 40 - for different reasons. One has now retired after 30 years of teaching and the other is mid 50s and looking forward to being able to draw her pension in a few years!

Qualifying at 50 would give you 18 years before retirement age, and plenty of young teachers don't last five years, so definitely worth training. Make sure you go into the job with your eyes open - once the pandemic is over, get yourself into a school to observe and talk to teachers. Some say it's a young person's game, but some mature entrants actually do very well because they have more experience behind them.

You can get a student loan to cover the fees, as you haven't already got a degree (and this now applies to OU study too, which it used not to). You only pay the loan back once you're earning over a threshold, currently a bit more than teacher starting pay (outside London), and you only pay 9% of the amount you earn over that threshold. So although the debt would be there, you won't be paying it all back.

Do you want to do primary or secondary? BEd or degree + postgrad teacher training? OU is a great option for the degree, but you'd need another option for the postgrad bit - there are school-based options now.