DH Wants to Incur Educational Debt and We're Almost 40

[Anonymous]

+1 that you need to put numbers behind this. Rather than talk about him to DCUM, see if you can work with him to research course options, salary differences, etc.

I'm a big believer that you're never too old to develop yourself professionally. I also 100% believe that you have to have numbers behind those kinds of decisions, otherwise it's just selfish. I'm going back to school full-time this fall, but I did a ton of work on crunching numbers and only allowed myself to go when I got a full ride.

[Anonymous]

Software engineer. This is a dangerous path. There is rampant ageism in tech, so being 40 and just starting in programming could be pointless.

He should do some coursera courses, maybe take some online courses and setup s small shop like doing apps for your dog walker or something.

[Anonymous]

I'm with OP. I don't see the benefit to a degree, and if this is something he wants to pursue, he needs to do it on the cheap. I agree with others about ageism, and at 40 you should really be concentrating on building that nest egg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Software engineer. This is a dangerous path. There is rampant ageism in tech, so being 40 and just starting in programming could be pointless.

He should do some coursera courses, maybe take some online courses and setup s small shop like doing apps for your dog walker or something.

+10000

I was just going to post the same thing. My younger sister (under 30) works in tech in SF I think that here is a very good chance that after he finishes this program he won’t be able to find a job. Additionally, there are many many free resources to learn programming. He should start there and if he sticks with it and still feels that a BA is necessary then you guys can reevaluate. He sounds very flighty and I think there is a real risk that he starts something like this and then grows dissatisfied with whatever job he eventually gets from that again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Software engineer. This is a dangerous path. There is rampant ageism in tech, so being 40 and just starting in programming could be pointless.

He should do some coursera courses, maybe take some online courses and setup s small shop like doing apps for your dog walker or something.

+10000

I was just going to post the same thing. My younger sister (under 30) works in tech in SF I think that here is a very good chance that after he finishes this program he won’t be able to find a job. Additionally, there are many many free resources to learn programming. He should start there and if he sticks with it and still feels that a BA is necessary then you guys can reevaluate. He sounds very flighty and I think there is a real risk that he starts something like this and then grows dissatisfied with whatever job he eventually gets from that again.

I would have him go on Coursera and take a couple of courses as a test drive. Then if he like them see if he can either learn enough from the web or go back. What can that hurt?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone. Both online courses and community college are great ideas. I want DH to be happy in his career, but I also think we won't be doing either of us any favors if we incur a bunch of debt for something with a nebulous return.

[Anonymous]

The only advantage would be to qualify for some federal jobs which require a degree in specific field. And still long shot.

[Anonymous]

In IT most employers do not care about your Bachelors degree, they care about your skills. Degree is a waste of time, take online courses or community college program or get a certificate showing skills

[Anonymous]

If he plans on keeping his full time job, how many classes does he want to take per semester? One? Two? How much $ will a class cost? Will his company reimburse any educational expenses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Software engineer. This is a dangerous path. There is rampant ageism in tech, so being 40 and just starting in programming could be pointless.

He should do some coursera courses, maybe take some online courses and setup s small shop like doing apps for your dog walker or something.

+10000

I was just going to post the same thing. My younger sister (under 30) works in tech in SF I think that here is a very good chance that after he finishes this program he won’t be able to find a job. Additionally, there are many many free resources to learn programming. He should start there and if he sticks with it and still feels that a BA is necessary then you guys can reevaluate. He sounds very flighty and I think there is a real risk that he starts something like this and then grows dissatisfied with whatever job he eventually gets from that again.

I would have him go on Coursera and take a couple of courses as a test drive. Then if he like them see if he can either learn enough from the web or go back. What can that hurt?

+1. Udemy is another option for online courses, they run $10-15. No real reason to get a bachelor's.

[Anonymous]

I’d say a university is probably one of the worst ways to “learn” programming. There are so many short-term coding boot camps that would be infinitely more useful and he could probably convince his job to pay for it too.

Plus, the online resources are incredible these days

You learn programming by doing. That means he does it after work at home, on the weekends, and at his job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 that you need to put numbers behind this. Rather than talk about him to DCUM, see if you can work with him to research course options, salary differences, etc.

I'm a big believer that you're never too old to develop yourself professionally. I also 100% believe that you have to have numbers behind those kinds of decisions, otherwise it's just selfish. I'm going back to school full-time this fall, but I did a ton of work on crunching numbers and only allowed myself to go when I got a full ride.

I'm a believer in this economy we will all need to adapt, learn continuously, and find new skills and self-invention. I would take the rigid hardline that OP has taken.

OK, you don't like debt but you sound like you're overly militant about that perspective--and refusing to look at the upside of the new degree is part of the attitude I'm referencing here.

Rather than being so knee-jerk about this I think you want to keep in mind that he's continuing to work full time, and that's a big admission that your collective financial security is important. Maybe you want to ask yourself as a family if there ways to reduce the amount of debt the family absorbs, like selling one car (or buying a used car for less)? Saving less for a few years on retirement savings? Asking him to look into whether any of the classes are eligible for reimbursement from work?

Another thing is that most of us are not going to retire at 60 or even 65. That's an antiquated model. My father lived to 97. Life expectancy is now in its 80s and rising. I have no interest in retiring in my early 60s and funding 20-30 years of retirement. I plan to work until I'm 70, even if I'm working part time for some of that time, so that I'm only funding 15-20 years out of savings...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d say a university is probably one of the worst ways to “learn” programming. There are so many short-term coding boot camps that would be infinitely more useful and he could probably convince his job to pay for it too.

Plus, the online resources are incredible these days

You learn programming by doing. That means he does it after work at home, on the weekends, and at his job.

Yes, there lots of IT certifications. Cheap and can do one in specific area of IT - better than a degree. His job might pay for it.
Plus they only take weeks to do.

[Anonymous]

Montgomery College. They have a very good set of instructors, especially the ones for evening classes who work full-time in real jobs. I know some of them personally and they've got good tech skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 that you need to put numbers behind this. Rather than talk about him to DCUM, see if you can work with him to research course options, salary differences, etc.

I'm a big believer that you're never too old to develop yourself professionally. I also 100% believe that you have to have numbers behind those kinds of decisions, otherwise it's just selfish. I'm going back to school full-time this fall, but I did a ton of work on crunching numbers and only allowed myself to go when I got a full ride.

I'm a believer in this economy we will all need to adapt, learn continuously, and find new skills and self-invention. I would take the rigid hardline that OP has taken.

OK, you don't like debt but you sound like you're overly militant about that perspective--and refusing to look at the upside of the new degree is part of the attitude I'm referencing here.

Rather than being so knee-jerk about this I think you want to keep in mind that he's continuing to work full time, and that's a big admission that your collective financial security is important. Maybe you want to ask yourself as a family if there ways to reduce the amount of debt the family absorbs, like selling one car (or buying a used car for less)? Saving less for a few years on retirement savings? Asking him to look into whether any of the classes are eligible for reimbursement from work?

Another thing is that most of us are not going to retire at 60 or even 65. That's an antiquated model. My father lived to 97. Life expectancy is now in its 80s and rising. I have no interest in retiring in my early 60s and funding 20-30 years of retirement. I plan to work until I'm 70, even if I'm working part time for some of that time, so that I'm only funding 15-20 years out of savings...

Plus nobody knows what is going to happen with social security or whether there will be some gigantic stock market crash in ten years so continuing to work if you are able is a smart move.