Was notified back in April that I was going to be laid off at the end of October due to our department getting bought out by another bank. My employer didn't want to lose me, offered me a position on another team, and said it was mine if I wanted it. I discussed this with my wife and decided to pass on it and make a career change after being unhappy in the financial industry for the past 20+ years. 

In late August, I took a couple of night classes (Interpreting Engineering Drawings and CAD with SolidWorks) at the local community college while I was still employed. Took the three hour CSWA (SolidWorks Certification) exam last month and passed!!

Now I'm trying to figure out if I should pursue an Associates Degree in Engineering. On hold for the past 30 mins with the transcripts department of my former college where I got my Bachelors in Finance, so I don't have to retake Calculus, etc. I'm in my late 40's and know that I am lucky enough to be financially able to change careers. Just wondering now if getting an Associates at my age will be enough for me to break into the industry.

Well... do you need to work for someone else?  That is a pretty valuable skill set, and if you get a job, it's because you can make the owner more money than he is paying you... it has never been easier to self-monetize a skill like that...

I think a person should always bet on themselves, which you have done by doing the hard work of learning a new skill, why not go all the way, and bet on yourself by being your own boss... freelance, or start an agency... Upwork, Fiverr, etc..

my two cents.. but, if a job is in the cards... an associates from a respected CC  department in that trade should show  an employer that you have the skills.

32 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

Was notified back in April that I was going to be laid off at the end of October due to our department getting bought out by another bank. My employer didn't want to lose me, offered me a position on another team, and said it was mine if I wanted it. I discussed this with my wife and decided to pass on it and make a career change after being unhappy in the financial industry for the past 20+ years. 

In late August, I took a couple of night classes (Interpreting Engineering Drawings and CAD with SolidWorks) at the local community college while I was still employed. Took the three hour CSWA (SolidWorks Certification) exam last month and passed!!

Now I'm trying to figure out if I should pursue an Associates Degree in Engineering. On hold for the past 30 mins with the transcripts department of my former college where I got my Bachelors in Finance, so I don't have to retake Calculus, etc. I'm in my late 40's and know that I am lucky enough to be financially able to change careers. Just wondering now if getting an Associates at my age will be enough for me to break into the industry.

I’m in financial services and honestly it’s not what I want to do the rest of my life. But right now I have job security and it pays well so I’m not changing careers yet. I’m 100% behind you on changing careers. Sounds like you’re on the right path and best of luck!   

Edited January 3, 20223 yr by Mathew

42 minutes ago, Mathew said:

I’m in financial services and honestly it’s not what I want to do the rest of my life. But right now I have job security and it pays well so I’m not changing careers yet. I’m 100% behind you on changing careers. Sounds like you’re on the right path and best of luck!   

Thanks! That's exactly what I had too. Job security (given an opportunity to stay with the company instead of being laid off) and it paid well too. That's why it was such a hard decision to make, especially with two kids. My wife and I felt that staying in the industry that I haven't been happy in for the remainder of my work life (about 15 years) would be a bad thing. Like I said, I'm thankful that I have the financial ability to go back to school and try to do something I'll be happy with.

If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Hoping to make that come true.

50 minutes ago, House Schubert said:

Well... do you need to work for someone else?  That is a pretty valuable skill set, and if you get a job, it's because you can make the owner more money than he is paying you... it has never been easier to self-monetize a skill like that...

I think a person should always bet on themselves, which you have done by doing the hard work of learning a new skill, why not go all the way, and bet on yourself by being your own boss... freelance, or start an agency... Upwork, Fiverr, etc..

my two cents.. but, if a job is in the cards... an associates from a respected CC  department in that trade should show  an employer that you have the skills.

My wife is self-employed (attorney) but I don't know if that is in the cards for me. Thanks for the suggestion and input though. 

On work travel from Iowa to Washiongton and visited the Boeing store.  I've ordered online from them before but this was the first time seeing it in person.

It wasn't today, this was actually back on Sunday. 

I ran the Houston Marathon in 3:16:28, and qualified for my first Boston Marathon at age 46.

I'm still flying high, enjoying the break from running this week, and eating anything I can get my hands on. 

20 minutes ago, rpaulson7 said:

It wasn't today, this was actually back on Sunday. 

I ran the Houston Marathon in 3:16:28, and qualified for my first Boston Marathon at age 46.

I'm still flying high, enjoying the break from running this week, and eating anything I can get my hands on. 

Nice job from a fellow marathoner. You were cooking! To get a time like that takes a lot of work. I think people get desensitized to how much work it is to run a marathon at a pace like that when we only hear about what the pros do. What they are doing is absolutely insane so there should be no comparison between the two groups.

27 minutes ago, rpaulson7 said:

It wasn't today, this was actually back on Sunday. 

I ran the Houston Marathon in 3:16:28, and qualified for my first Boston Marathon at age 46.

I'm still flying high, enjoying the break from running this week, and eating anything I can get my hands on. 

Holy crap! That is an insane pace/time! Congratulations!

My wife is an ultra-marathoner and would love to qualify for the Boston one day. She inspired me to run as well, but no long distances for me. My sweet spot is 2-4 miles. Longest I've ever run non-stop was a 10K but that was only once. I run for my heart, lungs, and general health. 

56 minutes ago, rpaulson7 said:

It wasn't today, this was actually back on Sunday. 

I ran the Houston Marathon in 3:16:28, and qualified for my first Boston Marathon at age 46.

I'm still flying high, enjoying the break from running this week, and eating anything I can get my hands on. 

Congrats, that's awesome! I was fortunate to be able to run Boston a few years ago, and of all of the races I've run in my life, there is absolutely nothing that compares to that experience. Assuming you plan to run Boston you will have a blast! 

1 hour ago, rpaulson7 said:

It wasn't today, this was actually back on Sunday. 

I ran the Houston Marathon in 3:16:28, and qualified for my first Boston Marathon at age 46.

I'm still flying high, enjoying the break from running this week, and eating anything I can get my hands on. 

I was a runner in my late 30s/early 40s, but only did half marathons.  That beat my best half time by a good 15 minutes.  Awesome job!  Congrats on the qual!

52 minutes ago, oneknightr said:

I run for my heart, lungs, and general health. 

You're a better person than me, the most I run is to the fridge and the bathroom. 

For those that could use a bit of motivation to exercise; Ground Breaking European study of 20K participants;

Basically they wanted to see this difference in positive health benefits between  those that ran a little regularly (1.5m once a week) and those that ran  3miles a day 4 to 5 times a week.

the findings were astonishing...basically if you jog a little every week, but kept it up, you get about 70% to 80% of the health benefits as those that were much more active.

I'll look for the study...

5 hours ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

For those that could use a bit of motivation to exercise; Ground Breaking European study of 20K participants;

Basically they wanted to see this difference in positive health benefits between  those that ran a little regularly (1.5m once a week) and those that ran  3miles a day 4 to 5 times a week.

the findings were astonishing...basically if you jog a little every week, but kept it up, you get about 70% to 80% of the health benefits as those that were much more active.

I'll look for the study...

1.5m?? Now we're talking.

31 minutes ago, keymomachine said:

1.5m?? Now we're talking.

I think you earn one of those ovals for runners that they put on their cars. But it reads “0.0007”.  

We dropped our daughter off at daycare today for her first full day of daycare. It'd weird having more time without a baby needing you during the day.

It's also my last day of work until I start my new job at the end of the month. Time sure does fly.

We dropped our daughter off at daycare today for her first full day of daycare. It'd weird having more time without a baby needing you during the day.
It's also my last day of work until I start my new job at the end of the month. Time sure does fly.

My daughter turned 14 today. I’d swear it was just a couple months ago we were dropping her off at daycare…

Congrats on the new job!

5 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

My daughter turned 14 today. I’d swear it was just a couple months ago we were dropping her off at daycare…

Congrats on the new job!

 

We just dropped one back at college last week…they get so big in the blink of an eye (but they still love LEGO, so there's that!)

We just dropped one back at college last week…they get so big in the blink of an eye (but they still love LEGO, so there's that!)

Mine asked for the Encanto set for her birthday, so yes. Love that they still love the blocks.

On 1/21/2022 at 7:53 PM, Lego Lass said:

We just dropped one back at college last week…they get so big in the blink of an eye (but they still love LEGO, so there's that!)

 

On 1/21/2022 at 9:05 PM, Alpinemaps said:

Mine asked for the Encanto set for her birthday, so yes. Love that they still love the blocks.

my 14 yr old girl has moved beyond the brick

Started finishing up the drywall to my new Lego hubby room. 

5 minutes ago, Thanos75 said:

Started finishing up the drywall to my new Lego hubby room. 

Dang. Mudding looks professional. I can’t do that and I know how our tapers do it…you’re hired!  

I just bought a bunch of lego to flip today lol 

On 1/19/2022 at 9:55 PM, $20 on joe vs dan said:

For those that could use a bit of motivation to exercise; Ground Breaking European study of 20K participants;

Basically they wanted to see this difference in positive health benefits between  those that ran a little regularly (1.5m once a week) and those that ran  3miles a day 4 to 5 times a week.

the findings were astonishing...basically if you jog a little every week, but kept it up, you get about 70% to 80% of the health benefits as those that were much more active.

I'll look for the study...

I jump rope a few times a week, lost about 7kg (15lb) in 3 months. Its super efficient if u just want some quick cardio. I'm at my leanest in 15 years.  No access to gym (I use only office gym previously) so mainly bodyweight exercises for me. 

2 hours ago, coelian said:

I jump rope a few times a week, lost about 7kg (15lb) in 3 months. Its super efficient if u just want some quick cardio. I'm at my leanest in 15 years.  No access to gym (I use only office gym previously) so mainly bodyweight exercises for me. 

Nice! What I did today is that I bought a jump rope.

24 minutes ago, joesnow2005 said:

Nice! What I did today is that I bought a jump rope.

Awesome, just take it easy in the beginning. My feet and shin hurt at first and it took couple of weeks to get used to. 10min is plenty if you haven't been working out much.

I hope you got a weighted rope, speed ropes are hard to learn as there is little feedback. Crossropes are too expensive for those starting out. For a beginner I think 0.5pound is perfect, once you learn the basics the 1lb rope provides a great workout. By weighted rope I mean thicker ropes, having a weight in the handles does not really work you as hard as having to swing the weight in the ropes itself. 

 

7 minutes ago, coelian said:

Awesome, just take it easy in the beginning. My feet and shin hurt at first and it took couple of weeks to get used to. 10min is plenty if you haven't been working out much.

I hope you got a weighted rope, speed ropes are hard to learn as there is little feedback. Crossropes are too expensive for those starting out. For a beginner I think 0.5pound is perfect, once you learn the basics the 1lb rope provides a great workout. By weighted rope I mean thicker ropes, having a weight in the handles does not really work you as hard as having to swing the weight in the ropes itself. 

 

Didn't know there are different types of jump ropes. The one I bought feels ok to me. I'll start with it. I need to lose at least 20 lbs. Let's see what happens...