My 32 year old brother is about to invest 2 years and 24k into a CompSci degree - how do I stop him?

brotherhood wrote:

His age is a huge disadvantage and if he takes this course - even if he manages to bootstrap his way through it - he'll likely be a mediocre grad and one of the oldest as well - very tough spot to find a job.

His age isn't a disadvantage unless he expects to get paid like someone with 10 years experience. I hire software devs and engineers and I would hire an entry level 34 year old over an entry 24 year old every day of the week considering all else was equal.

He has a job that he finds super boring *now*, you said it yourself. He obviously isn't finding it fulfilling.

Programming isn't boring to everyone, so he might actually enjoy it. He has probably not just picked it completely randomly, but decided it was something he might find rewarding and enjoy. The fact that he's done some Wordpress stuff is more than many who start computer science programs, tbh. You also acknowledge that he's a smart guy, chances are he'll do fine.

2 years and 24K to improve your life by finding a profession you will actually enjoy doing for the foreseeable future, which will give you more professional opportunities and let you advance both financially and gain more responsibility and grow in your career – not a waste.

rwara wrote:

He worked at a max (quick-e-mart style of store, i don't know if they are everywhere).

You mean Mac's, and yes that gives away you're in Canada, most likely Western Canada.

Why so much debt for a Canadian college 2 year program?

In any case, it's worth it if he's tired of bartending AND most importantly has a passion for computers. If he's doing it because coders make good money, he'll fare poorly. He could always switch to technical sales later if he prefers people but wants to stay in tech. Sad, but top tech sales guys make more than Engineers.

This is a key point. Even if he isn't super passionate about coding, there are plenty of other types of positions you can move into relatively quickly if you've got the computer science foundation. It opens up way more possibilities than just continuing bartending, which he doesn't even like.

You're also acting as if 35 makes him some kind of ancient artefact. No, he's still got probably 35 active working years left, that's A Lot.

Sure but what is there background?Probably lots of previous interest and/or another technical field with good work experience (ie. 10 years of a business background with a business degree)Would you honestly hire a bartender with a 2 year certificate from some random college??

Surprise! wrote:

His age isn't a disadvantage unless he expects to get paid like someone with 10 years experience. I hire software devs and engineers and I would hire an entry level 34 year old over an entry 24 year old every day of the week considering all else was equal.

I would ordinarily agree with what you say but the chances of this paying off for him are low. #1 - He doesn't have that kind of money so will have to put himself into debt #2 - He'll then have to put himself into further debt and give up everything he loves (traveling, evenings with friends etc) so he can bootstrap 2+ years of part time work and part time studyI foresee this scenario a year from now: He quits 1/3 of the way through the program - He is now in debt 20k+ having given up a year of travel, recreation etc.

mh wrote:

He has a job that he finds super boring *now*, you said it yourself. He obviously isn't finding it fulfilling.

Programming isn't boring to everyone, so he might actually enjoy it. He has probably not just picked it completely randomly, but decided it was something he might find rewarding and enjoy. The fact that he's done some Wordpress stuff is more than many who start computer science programs, tbh. You also acknowledge that he's a smart guy, chances are he'll do fine.

2 years and 24K to improve your life by finding a profession you will actually enjoy doing for the foreseeable future, which will give you more professional opportunities and let you advance both financially and gain more responsibility and grow in your career – not a waste.

In a junior developer type position (junior as far as expectation of knowledge level aka entry level, not age) if the person had documented good results and showed he was passionate, 100%.

My company has recently hired someone who is about 38, has mostly worked in temp type jobs previously, but then took a 3-year degree in computer science. He's good at what he does, and it's a nice balance to have someone more mature on the team. Diversity is a goal, and diversity is more than gender.

How old will he be if he doesn't get the degree?

Huh? I'm not from Canada - you're quoting rwara - a different poster. I live in California so tuition is expensive. Exactly right! His passion for computers obviously isn't there - he just started thinking about this as a random career "out"

former canuck runner wrote:

rwara wrote:

He worked at a max (quick-e-mart style of store, i don't know if they are everywhere).

You mean Mac's, and yes that gives away you're in Canada, most likely Western Canada.

Why so much debt for a Canadian college 2 year program?

In any case, it's worth it if he's tired of bartending AND most importantly has a passion for computers. If he's doing it because coders make good money, he'll fare poorly. He could always switch to technical sales later if he prefers people but wants to stay in tech. Sad, but top tech sales guys make more than Engineers.

Being in school doesn't mean giving up your life. Sure, he might put himself in debt, but who doesn't for their education.

Failure is always a possibility, but if you just never do anything because you assume it will fail, you'll never get anywhere. He sounds like he's motivated to do this, because it would definitely be easier to just stick with his current job, so let him try to do this.

Staying in a job that is making him miserable is certainly not going to help anything.

Of course it doesn't make him an artifact but why the heck coding? It's literally the worst path he could choose. It has nothing to do with the last 10 years of his interests, personality or work experience. He could take a path that more closely matches these things and doesn't have ageism! ie. trying to become a hotel manager, a bar manager etc.

mh wrote:

This is a key point. Even if he isn't super passionate about coding, there are plenty of other types of positions you can move into relatively quickly if you've got the computer science foundation. It opens up way more possibilities than just continuing bartending, which he doesn't even like.

You're also acting as if 35 makes him some kind of ancient artefact. No, he's still got probably 35 active working years left, that's A Lot.

Sure, but he's obviously not interested in those types of jobs, which makes the chances of him quitting that much bigger.

Lots of people choose their field of study based on what they think sounds interesting, not based on their prior experience.

Staying in his job isn't making him miserable - he's just bored of it - but he's just the type that would find any job boring. Also he would totally have to give up his life! He would have an extra 30 hours a week he needed to go to school and study PLUS he would have 10-20 hours less $ AND loans. All the camping, traveling, gym time, sports teams ect. would be totally diminished (he travels to Mexico/Europe twice a year or so and that would end) He's basically going to waste a year and be 1/4 of a computer coder.

mh wrote:

Being in school doesn't mean giving up your life. Sure, he might put himself in debt, but who doesn't for their education.

Failure is always a possibility, but if you just never do anything because you assume it will fail, you'll never get anywhere. He sounds like he's motivated to do this, because it would definitely be easier to just stick with his current job, so let him try to do this.

Staying in a job that is making him miserable is certainly not going to help anything.

If you are top 10% give or take in your classes I would say it could be worthwhile.

Thanks I agree with that - he'll be competing with LOADS of fresh faced grads that have tons of energy and are ready to work. Almost certainly he won't be in the top 10% and I doubt top 50% I don't want him to lose a ton of money he could save for retirement or a down payment on a house. Stick to what you know bro!

beergutkid wrote:

If you are top 10% give or take in your classes I would say it could be worthwhile.

You are absolutely wrong. If he chooses a smart path he will make plenty of money straight out of college. The market for software engineers of all types is in high demand. Kids straight out of college with those degrees with very little experience make a half decent coin.

References: I'm a technical recruiter

ummmmmmmmmmmmm ever hear of jamin?

Haha he's far from a kid - he's 32! He'll be 35 when he graduates if he's lucky. He'll more likely be 37 taking a part time route.

Thebest42 wrote:

You are absolutely wrong. If he chooses a smart path he will make plenty of money straight out of college. The market for software engineers of all types is in high demand. Kids straight out of college with those degrees with very little experience make a half decent coin.

References: I'm a technical recruiter

The other part is talent/aptitude. If he is smart enough, with proper discipline he can compete with the newbies. Maybe he could take a course or two or semester and see where he stands and go from there.

brotherhood wrote:

Thanks I agree with that - he'll be competing with LOADS of fresh faced grads that have tons of energy and are ready to work. Almost certainly he won't be in the top 10% and I doubt top 50%

I don't want him to lose a ton of money he could save for retirement or a down payment on a house. Stick to what you know bro!

beergutkid wrote:

If you are top 10% give or take in your classes I would say it could be worthwhile.