I'd love to be back in education

axisus

I could never afford it (wife, 4 kids, 2 cars, mortgage etc) but I'd love to be back learning again

School - wasted my time
6th form - same
pre-degree course - same
degree course - same

I am at a point now in my 50s that I would relish the thought of spending my time increasing knowledge, improving at stuff, learning things. I always thought I was a bit useless at that stuff, but it turns out that I was just a lazy couldn't-be-assed git. I've done a MENSA test in the past and they scored me at 141 so I must have something reasonable going on with the old grey cells.

If I win the lottery that's what I'm doing!

jellyroll

Open university or just unstructured self study?

jellyroll

Much as I love reading and learning new stuff, I couldn't stand the thought of doing any more exams in my fifties.

benmurray85

I would recommend the OU but in my experience it can take up A LOT of your spare time. If you go into it understanding that though it's very worthwhile

CabbageCat

If you started learning again you'd quickly remember why you didn't like it the first time around. I've done a few classes, formal and informal, and it doesn't take long before I start begrudging them.

I guess I think at the time, "Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to <speak Japanese/program in C/play guitar>" but when I learn to do it a little bit I realise that my life is pretty-much the same as it was before I could do those things. There is nothing amazing about it.

Sporky

How about Coursera? All free, much of it university level, just enough work to make it challenging...

holnrew

I've given up on the idea of going back to uni for now. I'm far more excited by the idea of doing my own projects and following my own curiosity rather than following an inflexible route and being forced to learn things I don't enjoy.

professorben

I'd have loved to have been in education, unfortunately my hippie parents kept me at home......

TheMarlin

I love to do a music degree. I've got one in computer science, which I've never used (work in sales)...
It was such a dull course....

lloyd

You can learn something without a formal course, it just comes down to will -power if you've got the free time. Which I think everyone has a half hour or more a day.

Unless you've a real need or really really want to know something it's not going to happen.

xSkarloey

What do you want to study mate?

octatonic

Skarloey said:

What do you want to study mate?

This.
I'd always suggest study if you had a specific thing you want to do, rather than thinking 'I want to study something' and then try to find a subject.

I went and studied 'later in life' (if 41 counts as later in life) but I did it because I wanted to learn a specific thing- guitar building, rather than idealising being 'in education'.
I'm not saying it isn't worth doing- in a sense it was, but I could have had some private lessons in woodworking and spent £25k on tools and be in the same position.
A lot of the degree was stuff I already knew (being experienced in the subject area) or utterly unrelated to the topic (because it is cheaper for the university to lump various courses into the same class.)

I am considering doing an MBA at the moment- again for a specific purpose, rather than *just to do it*.

IMHO studying is actually roughly equal parts of interesting, boring, pointless and frustrating.

axisus

Skarloey said:

What do you want to study mate?

Interesting question, probably one of History of art, fine art, philosophy, psychology, guitar building, ancient civilisation, music. 

Guitar_Slinger

axisus said:

IfI win the lottery that's what I'm doing!

If I win the lottery, I'll buy myself a bargain bucket from KFC and only eat the skin.

As for the other stuff, I couldn't wait to leave school after my O Levels and find a job.  I got work to fund a P/T degree in my thirties.  Glad I did it, but worth finding out how much time out of the class needs to be put in.  I had 15 different modules which all involved assignments or exams and my missus gave me the space to get on with it.

NPP

many of these subjects will offer post-graduate research degrees where you can work on your own project / thesis and have 1-1 supervision rather than going to regular classes and passing exams. This may be something for you if you want to learn and be in control - or it may be not, if you are in need of structured instruction and want the social experience of being a student again

Axe_meister

I'd love to go back and study Astro Physics and put my computing experience to good use building super computers 

octatonic

axisus said:

Skarloey said:

What do you want to study mate?

Interesting question, probably one of History of art, fine art, philosophy, psychology, guitar building, ancient civilisation, music. 

I've studied both in bold at university- imho you will learn more doing it privately.

LoFi

professorben said:

I'd have loved to have been in education, unfortunately my hippie parents kept me at home......

There was a kid at my first primary school whose hippy parents decided to homeschool him after the school closed down after 2 terms.

His name was Ben.

Your dad didn't ride a motorbike with a sidecar, did he?

Myranda

Not only could you do a post graduate degree with support from the uni - research jobs, assistant tutor duties etc... there's also student loans for post grad positions now... Between being paid to be a student, with a huge discount on your fees but you can get money from The Man to pay for the rest and for shiny toys

Strat_a_tat_tat

Guitar_Slinger said:

axisus said:

IfI win the lottery that's what I'm doing!

If I win the lottery, I'll buy myself a bargain bucket from KFC and only eat the skin.

You'd probably be better off eating the bucket.

monquixote

There is enough awesome material on the web that you really don't need to go to university.

I dedicate time to learning every week