Never. Not what you want to hear,but hear me out. Because if it safes your sanity it is worth it.

• I got my apprenticeship as a paramedic first and then went back to school to get my full A-Levels. Specialized school we have here,thankfully for these cases. The oldest one of my classmates was 52.

• I studied economics with someone who was 55 and basically had already done the job we all wanted when we graduate for 25 years. He did so so he finally would get a more comprehensive background and maybe get up the ladder once more. (Which according to linked in he did)

• I currently do another master (in a distant education setting,though) simply out of interest in the field and to broaden my CV. And you know what? I am 25 years in my field and still learned a fuckton of things, got a better network, love the research field AND got so much better at my job AND found a lot of opportunities.

• An former paramedic trainee of mine was almost 50 when he started paramedic training. He was a C level executive before and at one point had enough - he changed careers so he would not get even more depressed and is now very happy with it. And I had multiple people do that in my bubble.

Now,from my current perspective: Was it stressful? Fuck yeah. I literally cried sometimes. Was it a tough time financially? Fuck yeah. I am self employed/have a small company and I had month were making ends meet was really though due to the added expenses and the lost revenue. But it still was worth it. Because: For what it’s worth we all gonna need to work till 70+x anyway to afford retirement. And that’s a long time.

Self-improvement is never a stupid idea.
Ceasing to work towqrd self-improvement is what’s stupid.

I’m an elder millennial in school I’m doing great and I love it. I can finally afford to go and I like learning new things from the younger generation. I’m proud of them they’re super cool

When you’re dead.

It’s got nothing to do with age. As you pointed out there are financial reasons where you might not be able to. But that’s realy the only hurdle. And there are plenty of ways to clear it.

I went to school with quite a few mature students. They were all great classmates.

Lots of seniors go because they want edification. Never a stupid idea.

Now if you are asking financially, that depends on the time and cost of the program and the anticipated market for that kind of work. Do the math. Cost of school (tuition, books, materials and living expenses x number of years of the program) - opportunity cost of opportunity cost of not working your current gig during those years, + the estimated differential of what you reasonably think you could make for the remainder of your new career before retirement.

Every program, job market and tuition support is different. Do the math with your own local info.

My Mother got her Bachelor’s degree at 55. She graduated with some rare honours.

NEVER stop learning!

It’s never too late. If you’re 110 you might not make it to graduation though.

It depends on if you’re going back to school for career reasons or personal enrichment. For the latter it really is never too late. For your career, though, too late will depend on when you’re hoping to retire, when you’ll complete the extra schooling, how much the school will cost, and how much more money you’ll expect to make with your new degree.

Without any info, assuming you want to retire around 65, I would think it would be normal to want to use your new degree for at least ten years, so whatever schooling you’d want to do you would want to be finishing by the time you’re 55. But those other variables come into play. If you’re borrowing $100,000 to pay for med school, your cutoff date will probably be earlier because it will take a longer time to pay off the student loans. On the flip side, if you’re paying $5-10,000 for a 6-month programming boot camp that will boost your income by $10-20,000/year then you might even consider doing that at age 60, especially if you’re already bringing a computer science background where your experience and new skills will keep you in high demand.

There’s not really a one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

I have a friend that is taking courses at 50… but we’re not in the US

You should never stop learning and school is a very good way to learn. If you don’t learn new stuff all the time your brain will literally stagnate and rot. It will atrophy.

Very few people are cut out for true self directed learning so, unless you’re one of the gifted few, structured and group learning is the best way to do it.

If you’re highly motivated anything is better than nothing. Find free courses, look stuff up, engage the academic world as best you can 🤷‍♀️

Too late according to which criteria? Money? Definitely in the biological age when you can reasonably expect to not finish the school alive. And probable a bit earlier age.

Other quotation is for what to use school? If you definitely need a diplom to do what you want to do, that school makes sense.

Of you just want to learn something that is somehow useful, eg. for job promotion, than there are tons of great books, online video courses, many even free or cheap.

One my friend asked me about how to get to university in my country. When I dig deeper, it showed up she even don’t need university for that topic of education and probable would do better without university at all.

My wife got her masters degree last year, at age 58.

I graduated as a kid with 2 retirees in my psych classes who told me getting their degree was one of the most important, rewarding things they had ever done.

Also, nowadays you can travel abroad in dozens of countries, take English-language courses and get accredited degrees in every field for very affordable tuition fees, as in 90% cheaper than the US.

While you’re attending those schools, your cost of living will be dramatically lowered as well.

If anyone wants details, talk to me here or in Travel.

Good/bad doesn’t have to do with age. Are you going to Harvard or a local college with subsidized night school classes? Are you wanting to learn a specific skill, get a degree, upskill for a career path, retrain for new work?

I had a grandfather who ended up deployed in the army when he was planning to go off to college. When he got back, he took the jobs he could and continually took night school classes.

My father got his masters degree when he was 46, which resulted in 20 years of increased pay at work.

Me? I’m constantly learning, using free online courses. I don’t care about the degrees or certifications; anyone who knows me knows what I’m capable of.

I knew a woman who got her PhD in Law at the age of 97.

My workplace pays for appropriate certifications for its employees.

There’s all sorts of ways to go to school.