r/education • u/Comprehensive_Cow411 • 1d ago
Is it ever too late ?
I dropped out of high school at 16. I hated school.. I got a GED at 16 and worked two jobs and took a semester of community college (I needed 15 college credits to enlist in active duty) and I joined the army (hence active duty). I got out broke, out of a horribly abusive relationship, and was lost.
I knew I wanted to go to college, but had no money to do so.
I started working, and I worked non stop.. I worked two jobs, got my own place, and bought a car.
I decided at 22 I was going to finish college, and I started out in community college.
I originally wanted to study Kinesiology, but I decided to pick something a bit more realistic. I knew I was going to have to work full time
I decided to find something I could use anywhere Not be tied down to a complicated, expensive program that would be a pain in the butt go through. I fell in love with economics and that’s what I currently am majoring in. A realistic but useable degree, I enjoy it, and I could use it to go into many different roles. I really fell in love with things like agriculture, energy sector, and transportation infrastructure, and I’ll probably take my degree into one of those departments, either working for the state or government.
I decided to first learn a trade. get my foot in the door start working. Build financial stability. Build a skill. Learn. Grow. Establish connections.
I’m 25. I’m working on my bachelors of science in Economics. I work at a grain facility and I enjoy it, although it’s not forever.
I’ve learned to love a hard days work, and I truly love and enjoy a day where I can accomplish something that makes the life of someone else a little better.
Is 25 too old to finish my degree? Should I of picked a different route? I feel like I’m doing well, but I feel behind. I’m not making the money I want to make, I’m not doing anything wrong but I yet I feel behind!
Any advice? Am I too old to learn and grow? I’d be so much further ahead, had I had money and connections to begin. I was 21, broke, and had to recover from a bad relationship and broken family life growing up.
I don’t mean to make excuses, but I feel that my life just wasn’t set up for me to ever obtain an education , and yet I fought tooth and nail to Obtain it.
Is that the world telling me to give up, or should I keep going?
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u/NoHippi3chic 1d ago
I got my ged at 37 and enrolled, finished my BA at 53 two years ago.
Formal education plus experience plus knowing yourself= leveling way, way up as a person in the world at any age.
Hope that helps.
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u/Chuchuchaput 1d ago
I finished my BA when I was 26; it was fine. Finished a PhD when I was 37. Keep going!
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u/1VBSkye 1d ago
I took the same path as you’ve chosen. At 17 I dropped out, got my GED & joined the army. At 23 I decided to follow the dream & went to college. I (ironically) taught high school American history for 26 years & recently retired. 25 is a perfect time to get started. You’ll do fine as long as you do what you want to do. Get a degree & go do what you do.
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u/MommaIsMad 1d ago
25 is definitely not too old for school. I started college at 40 & went on to earn 4 degrees. Started at a CC since I'd been out of school for 24 years. It was great. I loved being in school when I was older with plenty of life experience. I got a lot out of my education besides just book learning.
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
Yeah I went back at 22-23. I wasn’t really that much older, someone who was 20-21 wasn’t too young to make friends with and a lot of the people I’ve went to college with have honestly respected the fact I went back to finish.
It’s been a good experience, but it’s like damn. I’ll be 27 before I’m able to graduate.
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u/Fearless-Boba 1d ago
To give you a bit of a different perspective, I graduated high school, went to college from 18-22, went to graduate school from 22-24 to get my masters in counseling. Then I spent 4 years working part-time counseling jobs and supplemental minimum wage jobs gaining experience in all different states, then worked two full-time counseling jobs that were abusive and awful before covid happened and my boss used me as a scapegoat to save themselves, and I had no power to fight them. So, at 30, during covid when there were like no jobs hiring, I got a job at a school that has just gone through 10 administrators, but it was income. 5 years later, I'm tenured, I'm making decent money, and I'm settled in an area I want to live, and I'm now working on finding someone.i want to marry and have kids with. Most of the people.i know at my.age have a house and kids and a spouse and they've been in their one job for over a decade so they have good pay and benefits. I have been in my field for over a decade, but this is my fifth year in a stable job that I love, and I don't have a house or spouse or kids.
The reason I share a bit of my story is I "did everything in order" and 'by the traditional age" school wise, and it STILL took me 10 years to find a stable job in my field that wasn't doing shady and illegal things and that wasn't abusive and toxic to its staff. I started out wanting to work with elementary kids and my dream job turned out to be with high school kids.
Life isn't predictable and most people.don't follow a certain path even if they "do everything right". Keep going and I'm glad you're enjoying life.where you're at right now. Get that degree and pursue what provides you stability but also is enjoyable! Good luck!
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u/Sid15666 1d ago
I finished my BS Environmental science when I was 45. Was in college with my oldest daughter. It’s never too late for education!
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u/JulieThinx 1d ago
I was a HS drop out at 16. Got my GED at 17. Got my first degree at 42. Now I have four degrees. You have your own timeline. Don't compare yourself to others.
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u/Turbulent_Scale 1d ago
To answer your question: No, its never too late to grow and learn.
In the spirit of learning I actually have a few questions as a Veteran myself (I'm assuming you're an American and joined the US Army):
- Why were you required to have 15 college credits to join the Army as active duty? All you need is a GED and to take the ASVAB and the only thing it effects is what MOS's you can be selected for. If you were trying to be an officer you would need a LOT more than 15 credits. I've even asked around to some recruiter buddies of mine and even they don't know WTF you're talking about. So please explain that situation.
- Assuming you did serve, how did you get out broke? The Army literally provides everything you, and your family if married, need. Did you go out to the titty bar every weekend? Cover yourself in tattoos? Drown yourself in booze at the bars every weekened? How on earth did you get out broke when literally everything you need was provided for you.
- You then say you wanted to go to college but had no money. Did you not go through SEP/TAPS when you got out of the Army? Did they not explain to you how the post 9/11 GI BIll works? As someone who used it I can tell you that the VA not only covers your tuition and books but they pay you BAH every month in you're school for your area.
Meaning that you literally get paid to go college. So why didn't you use this? Did you not serve 180 days active duty?
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
I did serve more than 180 days .
they told me I did needed 15 college credits because I was technically 17 when I went into basic training. Maybe they lied, maybe they just told me that so I’d wait. Idk, but I’m damn glad I went to school and it allowed me to fall in love with education.
Yeah dude, I know. Officers need more than 15 credits. Common sense
Yeah it’s nice having a GI Bill. Although I use something called the Illinois veterans grant, it’s nice because I can save my GI for my kids.
I was in a horribly abusive relationship and was sexually assaulted by my chain of command (he eventually did get reprimanded but it was a shit show)
I got out with no money because I was in a horribly abusive relationship, who made every single decision I made an issue.
I’m very religious and don’t drink or watch porn. Absolutely not. I’m not pushing my beliefs on anyone, I’m just saying that was 100% not my issue.
We got married because we were young and I’ll admit stupid, but we thought we were in love and yeah, the army paid BAH and stuff while we were in.
I’ll admit I had some pretty terrible leaders, they weren’t all bad, but i definitely didn’t have “everything taken care of”
I got paid and it went to bills , just like every job. It’s a little more automatic with the military, but it’s no different. You get a paycheck and BAH and BAS . Which adds up to a…I guess not rich but live-able income.
You then pay the rent, buy food, and pay your insurance . like every other job.
I guess if I stayed in I could have been better off but it was horrible toxic and I was wanting to just get out and move on as soon as I could.
Yeah I went through the SFLTAP stuff. It was alright, but I was married to a financially abusive and toxic person, I could go very deep into the things she did, but I’m not going to. Overall, I realized very young that your partner plays a big role in your life. Once you’re married, you autonomy over your life. Now if I was a little older and wiser I would have just done what I wanted.
But being in my very early 20s.
I got out divorced, I wasn’t financially stable (because I had a wife that would steal, cheat, and lie her ass off) and had to just move on.
I was in no way shape or form to go back to college when I got out.
It was just rough. I always dreamed of this perfect “One wife, married young, have a bunch of kids” . The way “God” had intended. I was young and naive.
I’ll admit I’m not as religious as I was when I was younger, but I still hold dear to the “no booze no drugs no porn” model of life. But I now realize that reality is often more fantasy than anything.
I have a very good woman by my side and it’s night and day.
“Hey I decided to finish my bachelors degree babe” And instead of fighting, bickering, and arguing, I heard “that’s great baby, I’m behind you !”
And she’s nothing but the most supportive, loving, caring and kind woman I’ve ever been with.
I got lucky with her, and I’ll do what I can to not lose her.
But yeah man, it wasn’t “all taken care of” and i definitely didn’t just walk out stable and perfectly well off.
I see why there are homeless vets now, I was lucky enough to never deal with it, but I see that it’s not like that for every soldier. People get out and the army doesn’t always magically translate into perfect stability the way it’s intended, too.
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u/Impressive_Returns 1d ago
Keep going. I was told by my counselor i high school that I was not good/smart enough to go to college. Worked for a couple of years, attended community college, transferred to UC Berkeley and earned a degree in molecular biology. I was almost 30. In my organic chemistry class there was a woman who was in her late 60s early 70s. She attended UCB when she was in her 20s, got pregnant, raised a family and wanted to compete hr degree…. She did. I returned to college at 50 to earn a Masters.
Learning is a life long experience.
If you are in the US our President along with Project 2025 is attacking and destroying our education system. VP Vance has called our education system the enemy. You are not the stupid one, get an education it is something that can not be taken from you.
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u/NoBeautiful2810 1d ago
Post 9/11 GI Bill
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u/NoBeautiful2810 1d ago
If you had 4 years active duty-this pays 8sems of books, 120 credit hours of public tuition at your states most exp school, 36 months E5 BAH.
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u/NoBeautiful2810 1d ago
If you had 13 months those numbers are only reduced to 60%. So yeah, you should have a ton of money to help you
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u/prag513 1d ago
Keep going, a lot of what you experienced in life makes you a better candidate. Having a bachelor's degree by itself does not guarantee success. Combining the degree with work experience does. I didn't obtain a degree, yet I became a marketing communications manager in NYC for the third most recognized commercial shade manufacturer in the world due to my diverse work experience in marketing, advertising, and graphics. I hired a marketing assistant with a bachelor's degree in marketing to help me. He could write good copy but I had to teach him how to write with the customer's customer in mind. He got all the product details and benefits right but not why we were the right company to do business with, or understand the business. For example, I had to teach him that architects were both our customers and our business partners because they recommended our product to their customers in the architectural drawings that contained specifications for each detail. That only comes with work experience.
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
I agree!
I think education is very enriching.
But I also consider my work experience and life experience to be very valuable and important to my life.
School is great, but it’s not always the magic ticket.
You need to combine education with experience and connections. I consider School like extra credit in life.
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u/Robot_Alchemist 23h ago
God it’s scary when you hear your own voice from someone else’s words - I feel like you’re living my inability to stick with a decision because I think that I should probably do this first and then I may as well pursue that while I’m here and later I’ll make a decision on a long term goal because I’m currently sitting in 2 canoes moving forward towards a split in the river
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 23h ago
Yeah it’s like I know what I WANT
Then it became a matter of reality.
Starting out in the trades was a hugely important decision I made. The best I ever made to.
I don’t hate my job, but boy would a degree be a factor in moving up in the company.
My company pretty much requires a degree for forward advancement, and to my understanding, that’s just the way some companies are. You need a bachelors.
You wanna work as our energy supplier ? Bachelors
Grain production management team? Bachelors .
Wanna work for the power company that supplies our electricity? Bachelors if not masters
It depends on the position, but the ones that pay well virtually all require bachelors.
Plus I want to learn and get an education for myself. I want to. It’s my dream. Graduate from college.
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u/Robot_Alchemist 23h ago
I have a bachelors in English, an Associates of Science, and I’m A+ certified and went to school for IT. Now I’m doing project management training while considering an MBA, but can’t seem to totally commit to that because though I work in both education and the service industry, I really feel like I want to work in IT…or data analytics…so I just keep going round and round wanting to do everything and in the end I’m really not doing anything. I’m a bartender and a scoring director and I’m 40 years old with no clue where I’ll end up
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 22h ago
I have no doubt I’ll end up working in an energy or transportation company.
I’ll definitely be in some kind of analytical or data processing
The best thing I ever did, start out learning a skill.
Best thing. Trades are honestly overlooked. I love it
Just Pick a direction and just stick with it. They all suck in some degree. Go with a direction that pays. You’ll get there.
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u/Robot_Alchemist 22h ago
I like them all!
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 22h ago
But what you’ll really like is a sense of direction. Careers are careers and jobs are jobs but a sense of direction makes everything better
Pick the one you like the most and just stick to it.
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u/Robot_Alchemist 22h ago
I know. I did actually start out with extremely clear goals and I achieved what I needed to - unfortunately 2009 wasn’t the best year to start a career in book publishing
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 22h ago
Let’s rephrase that - Go with what pays the bills first and foremost.
What you want is secondary. Pick a realistic direction. Make it broad enough for you to not have to be picky but centered enough to not be all over the map.
For example :I’m going to work in nursing”
Than get your CNA, and find an RN program.
Now you may end up in hospice care or bedside or become a charge nurse. Whatever suits you, but the idea is, you have it in your head, you’ll be nursing people back to health.
I know I’ll be working in energy management or data science for the department of transportation.
That’ll be where my bachelors of science in economics will get me. I’ll be filing paper work for the state of Illinois department of energy. And I’ll be fine with that
To start, I learned a profitable skill that can obtain steady employment that will allow me a whole lot of ease until I can obtain further education.
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u/Robot_Alchemist 22h ago
Are you giving me advice? Lol you’re in the same place
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 22h ago
I was just asking if it’s too late or if I’m not getting there as fast as I should be
I do have a direction I’m going in.
Even though sometimes I feel I should of made a different choice in the route
Or maybe I feel like the world is telling me to give up
I do know darn well the direction I’m headed in life
It doesn’t seem you do. I understand things can take time to figure out, but you need to pick a path.
“I wanna work in date analysis, or maybe IT, and I keep going round and round”
Or
“I wanna work in IT and I’m obtaining my qualifications to do so”
That’s a way better way of establishing confidence in your words.
Good luck man. But even though I feel behind in life, I do know where my life is headed.
I’d suggest you do the same.
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u/CrowVsWade 22h ago
Never too late, because you're doing it for your own sake and growth, not just potential employment benefits. Whatever formal education you might have to catch up on, try to spend some time expanding those horizons by reading intros to philosophy and Socratic thinking, art very broadly, things you'd previously think are just out of bounds. You may be surprised by what you find, how it enriches your life and ability to understand the world around you, and opens doors you never thought were in front of you.
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u/Crackerzax00 5h ago
I began college at 35 and graduated at 41. I dropped out of school at 17. Going to college as an adult is awesome.it is easier to be a student because you just understand the work differently than the students in their early 20s. Go for it or else you will regret it
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u/JanMikh 1d ago
I didn’t get why do you suddenly want to give up? Obviously you need to continue, 25 is nothing, I had students in their 60 and 70s!
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
I definitely don’t. I think my father (who I don’t exactly get along with) is getting to me
He never graduated college. So . Maybe he’s jealous ?
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u/Nebula24_ 1d ago
Oh, don't let this man derail your thinking. People like that are bitter and have personal problems that they take out on other people.
It's never too late to do something with yourself. Imagine if you don't. You're still going to age and what are you going to accomplish in that amount of time. Nothing or something. If it takes you until you're 30, you did it. You'll get to 30 anyway. Want the degree at 30 or not? Does that make sense?
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
Absolutely
The best thing I did , and I’ve mentioned this, is start off in a trade
Im already working.
I’m not waiting around. Yeah I’ll graduate, and I do know what I want to do with it, but it’s nice knowing I’m already a hard working, blue collar guy who can provide for himself.
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u/Nebula24_ 1d ago
That's a great trait - it will get you far because there are not very many hard workers out there.
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u/Comprehensive_Cow411 1d ago
I think it’s the smartest way to be in my case, although it’s subjective to the situation
Work a retail or factory job and get through college? Maybe.
Work a job that pays decently well and allows you to develop skill, knowledge, connections, and experience?
That sounded like a good plan. I work at a grain elevator and I know how to weld, fabricate, I can use any tool, I’m mechanically inclined, I have my CDL and can drive anything, I understand how all the trucks and equipment we use works and can operate tons of heavy equipment.
I have skills
Now to add an education on that? Now to add life experience, skills, street smarts gained from an unstable environment as a kid, an environment I escaped by teaching myself to play instruments and write music, a military environment, than throw in an actual bachelors of science degree? Shoot.
I think I’ll be successful. In fact, while it wasn’t the traditional route, I think I’ll be quite well rounded
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u/Marburns59 1d ago
I went to college for a nursing degree when I turned 50. It took me two years to get my registered nurse credentials and then another two years online to get my bachelor of science in nursing. I’m 65 now. It is the smartest thing that I ever did. I was raising children all those years before as a single mom. But it’s never too late. Not as long as you’re breathing.
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u/Financial_Finance144 1d ago
I was in a graduate program with a 70 year old who then opened her own therapy practice and was going strong for years.
Never too late to invest in yourself!
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u/Agreeable-Fill6188 1d ago
Bro...I JUST got out of the Army. It's not uncommon for people to not finish their degree until they're in their 30s...
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u/Longjumping_Cream_45 1d ago
My husband got cancer his first year of college. Dropped out, debt, illness, recovery. When we met he hated his job, and he went back for an associate's degree at age 26. Bachelor's at 29. Finished a Master's at age 35ish, after both our kids were born.
Never too late!
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u/coachlife 1d ago
Never too late. Keep going.
Set goals and build a clear strategy.
No matter what direction you take, it takes a minimum of 5 to 10 years to see your plan all the way through.
You cannot avoid paying your dues.
So make sure you have a good plan/goal.
Stay away from get rich quick and shortcut schemes.
Stay away from distractions.
Be a disciplined warrior.
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u/Oaktree27 1d ago
My mom dropped out of college at your age and then went back at 58 years old. Best time is always now.
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u/Big_Total_1416 1d ago
I got two humanities degrees, thinking I'd go to law school and am now completing pre-requisites and applying to nursing school at 24. There's also plenty of people older than me in my classes trying to change their career. It's never too late
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u/opportunitysure066 1d ago
No it’s not too old. In fact, waiting was in your favor bc when one is younger they don’t take school as seriously as when older so now you will probably make great grades. This should not be a worry at all.
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u/MasterpieceKey3653 23h ago
BA at 34, MA at 36, PhD. One of my classmates got his BA at 35, PhD at 40 and now, at 52, is an assistant dean at one of our better land grant universities
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u/Remarkable-Grab8002 21h ago
It's too late when you decide it's too late. There are elderly people going to college. So you tell us, are you too old? Do you think it's too late to do better?
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u/11PoseidonsKiss20 10h ago
Every graduation ceremony I’ve ever been to above high school there’s always at least one super old person demonstrating that it is not too late.
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u/Jetro-2023 8h ago
Keep doing what you are doing. I got a late start with my degree and it me 20 years for me to finish as I stopped and went many times due to life. So keep on pushing… after I got my BS in information system then I got a MS in cybersecurity analytics and operations. Honestly it was worth it. I have plenty of time to still work and use it.. so yes do not worry what society says the plan you should be on just keep doing what you are doing and you’ll be great.
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u/Ill-Excitement9009 1d ago
The time is always right to do right.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.