new_injuneer
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2011
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- 26
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I'm very much in doubt with my life direction right now, and I'd like to get some opinions. I have posted a couple of threads here before, but I'm going to lay it all on the line here to put things in perspective.
I am currently enrolled at a University for a 2nd Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. It is a top 50 school and so far I have all As. I have three relatively low key (12-13 credits) semesters left to graduate, or December 2013. I plan to go into Transportation or Land Development when done and possibly Structures (though I have been told a Masters is necessary for that). A PE would be my first goal. That is the good.
This is the bad. I am 37 years old. I have a degree in Environmental Sciences and 10 years in Environmental Consulting. I have a Masters in Environmental Planning I got a few years back which has not been of any use. Some of the funding I planned to use for school is no longer, so I had to move back in with my folks. I will have to stick it out for three more semesters if I don't want to go into serious debt. No family, no obligations.
My question is ... is this just a really stupid idea?
I'm sure some of you are Civil/Environmental Engineers and have worked alongside guys like me for Environmental Engineering companies. I could very well be doing the same thing I was doing before. I'd still have a PE as a goal, but this part of me thinks my plan is a very lateral move and a waste of money, time, and life. That I should just go back into my field and/or even just try and get a planning job with my Masters. Go find a job, get an apartment, a woman, and live like normal people my age do. It can also be frustrating at times to go to school with people who are practically children (though some of them are very mature).
However, the other part of me thinks that the BSCE and PE will lead to a more fulfilling and eventually better paying career. Better job security and selective mobility. I do enjoy school and a couple of my professors have already recommended me for internships because I was at the top of their class (I'm young looking). But as a guy who's been there, I know this doesn't necessarily translate to anything in the REAL world. Transportation Engineering or Land Development might also be more boring than Environmental Consulting and I might even get paid less. Again, this is the negative talking.
This is not the kind of move most people make at this stage in their lives and if you know me you probably know who I am. :wave2:
I figure this is the perfect place to ask. There are people here who are very familiar with both my 'former' industry and target industries.
I'm very seriously thinking of dropping out of school before fall semester. Opinions?
P.S. The reason I didn't go straight for the Masters was partly because they would have made me bridge in with many additional courses but also because I want the PE and that would have complicated things. I'm sure this topic has come up before here (I've seen it).
I am currently enrolled at a University for a 2nd Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. It is a top 50 school and so far I have all As. I have three relatively low key (12-13 credits) semesters left to graduate, or December 2013. I plan to go into Transportation or Land Development when done and possibly Structures (though I have been told a Masters is necessary for that). A PE would be my first goal. That is the good.
This is the bad. I am 37 years old. I have a degree in Environmental Sciences and 10 years in Environmental Consulting. I have a Masters in Environmental Planning I got a few years back which has not been of any use. Some of the funding I planned to use for school is no longer, so I had to move back in with my folks. I will have to stick it out for three more semesters if I don't want to go into serious debt. No family, no obligations.
My question is ... is this just a really stupid idea?
I'm sure some of you are Civil/Environmental Engineers and have worked alongside guys like me for Environmental Engineering companies. I could very well be doing the same thing I was doing before. I'd still have a PE as a goal, but this part of me thinks my plan is a very lateral move and a waste of money, time, and life. That I should just go back into my field and/or even just try and get a planning job with my Masters. Go find a job, get an apartment, a woman, and live like normal people my age do. It can also be frustrating at times to go to school with people who are practically children (though some of them are very mature).
However, the other part of me thinks that the BSCE and PE will lead to a more fulfilling and eventually better paying career. Better job security and selective mobility. I do enjoy school and a couple of my professors have already recommended me for internships because I was at the top of their class (I'm young looking). But as a guy who's been there, I know this doesn't necessarily translate to anything in the REAL world. Transportation Engineering or Land Development might also be more boring than Environmental Consulting and I might even get paid less. Again, this is the negative talking.
This is not the kind of move most people make at this stage in their lives and if you know me you probably know who I am. :wave2:
I figure this is the perfect place to ask. There are people here who are very familiar with both my 'former' industry and target industries.
I'm very seriously thinking of dropping out of school before fall semester. Opinions?
P.S. The reason I didn't go straight for the Masters was partly because they would have made me bridge in with many additional courses but also because I want the PE and that would have complicated things. I'm sure this topic has come up before here (I've seen it).