You're never too old.

Here is a great story about a 30 year old guy, who dreams to be an engineer and lands a job at Tesla coming out of engineering school, Great job for him! Too much badness being shared lately..

http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/psu-graduate-to-head-to-tesla-motors-for-dream-job/article_9d56f803-2c5e-58d9-8708-7e3ec7fcf73e.html said: David Redick, 35, a manufacturing engineering technology major at Pittsburg State University, will go to California after today's commencement to become an associate product excellence engineer at Tesla Motors. "I never thought it would be possible," Redick said in a statement from the university. "It was a pipe dream. Now that it's happening, I feel like I'm living someone else's life. It doesn't yet feel real." Redick's journey to his new career began nearly five years ago when he decided, after a stint owning his own auto body business, to enroll in classes at Pittsburg State. But making that decision was not easy. “I was 30 at the time, and the thought of going back to school was a little scary,” he said. “I just knew that I wanted to do something with my life that required me to use my mind as much as my body. I needed a new challenge. I loved working on cars, but I wanted a clean slate.” Redick took metal casting courses at PSU, where he found the challenge he was seeking. Although he was nervous about starting his college career at a nontraditional age, he said he quickly felt at home with other students. “At the end of the day, we’re all taking the same classes and have many of the same interests,” he said. “You tend to forget about the age difference.” As commencement nears, Redick said he looks back at his time at PSU as a life-changing experience. “I would have never had this opportunity with Tesla, or any major company like that, without the education I received at Pitt State,” he said. “No other school in the nation has the facilities and hands-on learning experience like we do. The culture and the atmosphere here are amazing, and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it.

A very close friend of mine (who I am actually going to visit this weekend) just started his job at ford after finishing his undergrad this spring. he's just a touch younger than Redick.

I think it is actually something of huge value to an engineering firm, to be able to hire someone who has lots of experience working on the final product (with an engineering degree of course).

Do I want the person who has never seen the underside of a car before designing brakes? Maybe if they are a genius, but the person who has replaced thousands of brakes before and also understands the engineering side looks really attractive to me.

I'm strongly considering going back to school a dozen years after having completed my undergrad. Either that or get formal training as a welder and certification

I'm way too old to be 30...

captdownshift wrote: I'm strongly considering going back to school a dozen years after having completed my undergrad. Either that or get formal training as a welder and certification

Go for it!

For recent college grads, I know there are hundreds of positions at Ford. For experienced engineers, it's just over 350.

There's a process in place to get a voice when not attending one of the major schools- so you can get a chance.

edit- and starting a FSAE program would get you a LOOONG way- so that trailer full of buel's could come in handy.

As a former construction worker, I've seen too many architects that draw the impossible. If they were coming out of school after working in construction for even a few years, their grasp on home building reality would be far, far, greater. Age wouldn't be any problem for me.

Good for Redick. His experience could give him perspective that a younger graduate might not possess.

Age is immaterial. After 28 years of teaching school(shop teacher) I went back and got a degree in Computer Science. Which led to a job with a local company as a Programmer/Analyst.

I started pursuing an engineering degree in my late 20's and graduated with my BS at 32. I wasn't mature enough to do it 10 years earlier, but I will admit that if I could have done it then I would probably be better at what I do. Perseverance, hard work, and a good work ethic have compensated for the brain drain caused by 10 years off from school. I've had a relatively successful career and I'm happy with how things have turned out. It's never too late to learn useful things...but it is possible for it to be too late to pay off financially.

Appleseed wrote: As a former construction worker, I've seen too many architects that draw the impossible. If they were coming out of school after working in construction for even a few years, their grasp on home building reality would be far, far, greater. Age wouldn't be any problem for me. Good for Redick. His experience could give him perspective that a younger graduate might not possess.

Agree 1000%.

A couple years bending nails, after growing up building stuff with my dad and my neighbor, taught me way more valuable stuff about buildings than architecture school. Hands on practical experience FTW.

When I was contemplating grad school I realized that I would 30 when I finished. A friend of my sister who put things nicely into perspective by saying, "You will are probably going to be 30 anyway. Do you want to be 30 with masters degree or 30 without one?"

I finished Grad school when I was 30 and took my career in a different direction. Then I took my career in a drastically different direction at the age of 35. Keep pushing.