going back to school?

[Sabre002]

Who here has done it later in their life?  I'm really thinking hard about going back to school for a mechanical eng deg.  leaning toward vehicle dynamics.  I"m fearful of going back and getting over whelmed with the work load.  Any advice you wish someone gave you when thinking about going back? 

[jparker7]

Id do it if Someone would pay all my bills while im in school.  I just don't see how it would be possibile unless everything I owned was paid off. 

[Sabre002]

I'm lucky I have a cell bill and car insurance other then that I don't have bills really other then living expenses. 

[mattster03]

Who here has done it later in their life?  I'm really thinking hard about going back to school for a mechanical eng deg.  leaning toward vehicle dynamics.  I"m fearful of going back and getting over whelmed with the work load.  Any advice you wish someone gave you when thinking about going back?

I'm not sure if you have a school picked out that has a focus on that area of engineering, but most schools don't have such focused programs.  Prepare yourself for 4 years of general engineering and then learning the vehicle dynamics portion when you get your first job in that field.  I think it's always a smart idea to become more educated, sounds like you still have a good opportunity in life to go and do it.

[gc3]

if you open a miliken book and dont like what you see, dont pursue vehicle dynamics.

that said, going back to school is always a good idea

[Demon]

There any male stripping classes out there? That's some good money!

[WannaBeFast]

Hey come to Virginia Tech and you can help me finish my car lol.

I'm going to school right now and i'm 30. I got an associates in Engineering - started Electrical Eng. at Tech and it didn't go so well lol. I'm starting Industrial Engineering in spring.

Nothing better than school tho despite all the suffering.

[WannaBeFast]

The question is not are you going to school! The real question is why? 

[Sho Amo]

I think you might like this. There's lots of schools out there that compete in Formula SAE. I have a friend at university of Michigan that is competing this year.

http://www.vtmotorsports.com/

This is the complete list of teams.
http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/fsae/teamsites/

[gc3]

I think you might like this. There's lots of schools out there that compete in Formula SAE. I have a friend at university of Michigan that is competing this year.

FSAE is a great experience, I was actively on the U-M team a couple years back, I was just down there last weekend doing some welding for them. Who's your friend?

[Sho Amo]

His name is JP, short stocky hockey player from Maryland.

I'd love to get into FSAE but I already work and go to school at American U, and they don't even have an engineering program.

[dream36realms]

funny because I am 35 years old and a high school drop out. I have an appointment today to talk to a counselor on what the next step for me is. I havent found a field I want to go into but if they have placement tests I will know better at that point. I say its funny because I have a daily reminder on my phone that says "get it together!" been doing that for two weeks now. once I am on track again then I can delete it. I would love to get into the auto field but I feel I am much too old for it. hmm maybe I can go back to work at porsche.

[Sabre002]

Who here has done it later in their life?  I'm really thinking hard about going back to school for a mechanical eng deg.  leaning toward vehicle dynamics.  I"m fearful of going back and getting over whelmed with the work load.  Any advice you wish someone gave you when thinking about going back?

I'm not sure if you have a school picked out that has a focus on that area of engineering, but most schools don't have such focused programs.  Prepare yourself for 4 years of general engineering and then learning the vehicle dynamics portion when you get your first job in that field.  I think it's always a smart idea to become more educated, sounds like you still have a good opportunity in life to go and do it.

I was looking at USC SC they have a FSAE car too.  I expect this to take easy 5 years with summer classes. 

if you open a miliken book and dont like what you see, dont pursue vehicle dynamics.

that said, going back to school is always a good idea

Hmm I might have to find that book then.   

Hey come to Virginia Tech and you can help me finish my car lol.

I'm going to school right now and i'm 30. I got an associates in Engineering - started Electrical Eng. at Tech and it didn't go so well lol. I'm starting Industrial Engineering in spring.

Nothing better than school tho despite all the suffering.

I was looking to stay in state cause of all the money I can get to do it.  Hell they give ya 600 a semster just for taking 4 classes here . 


I want to go back cause I"m tired of not learning anything new really.

[gc3]

His name is JP, short stocky hockey player from Maryland.

must be a noob. i don't recognize the name, but i heard they got a good batch of freshman this year, so hopefully he's a useful one!



college has a lot of distractions. if you can stay focused on what you want to do, it's not bad.

[mech-head]

I started college when I was in my late 20's (sold my 1970 GTO Judge to help with costs ).  Getting my degree was one of the wisest moves that I ever made, so I say go for it.

Your bachelor degree will just get you started.  If you are going to focus on vehicle dynamics, an advanced degree will be wise.  Using the SAE programs will look good on a resume, so take advantage of anything like that.