The 40-Year-Old Freshman?

When I enrolled as a freshman at The University of Texas in the fall of 1988, I did so under protest. I didn't have any friends who cared about school, I didn't care about school, and I didn't care that I didn't care about school. The University called me a Presidental Scholar and an Undergraduate Fellow, but beneath the titles and the test scores I was a disaffected, angry young man.

I thought the idea teaching a bunch of eighteen-year-olds the theoretical underpinnings of the world was ridiculous. With little to no practical experience on which to hang the theory, how could they possibly exercise any critical judgement? They would have no intuitive feel for the topics they were being taught and would have to take it all on blind faith. Universities, I said, were more appropriate for people who had lived long enough to truly develop their own worldviews than for teenagers.

Over the next four years not much changed apart from the fact that I earned—with the absolute minimum effort required—a degree in Computer Science.

Fast forward twenty years.

It's now 2008, and I'm a bit more mature than I was then. I've grown up and built a career, a couple of companies, and a family of my own. I know something about discipline, achievement, responsibility, and sacrifice. I'm proud of what I've done, and I find that I've become one of those people I imagined when I was eighteen who's experienced enough of the world to truly appreciate higher education. So I'm putting my theory to the test and going back to school.

I considered getting a master's in CS, but have decided instead to add an Economics major to my degree. I'll still be working on Spanning Sync (and other, unannounced projects) full time, so I'll only be have time for one or two classes each semester. My first day of class is Tuesday, January 20.

And of course, I'll be blogging the whole thing at FortyYearOldFreshman.blogspot.com¹. Hook 'em.

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¹ OK, I'm not yet 40 (38, actually) and I won't be a freshman (degree-holding senior, technically), but "The 38-Year-Old Degree-Holding Senior" isn't quite right.

Comments

[Michael Stiber]

I'm curious why you chose to get a second Bachelor's in econ, rather than something like a Master's in Business.

There's one advantage that 18-year-olds have regarding college: time. Not all of them, of course, but most of them don't have the demands on their time of 40 year olds.

Having said that, as someone who teaches returning students such as yourself frequently, they tend to be more serious about their studies, less likely to be discouraged -- more determined. If they have the time. Don't overcommit, and take it a step at a time.

[Charlie Wood]

Michael-

I considered getting an MBA, but decided that I already have a good bit of experience with *how* business works, but lack any formal understanding of *why* business works at a fundamental level, hence economics. And since I don't have any undergrad economics education, I'm starting at the beginning.

With a little study I probably could have placed out of the intro courses, but I really want to learn economics from first principles. I also want to wade back into school from the shallow end. who knows, I might be romanticizing the whole thing. :-)

I think I'll be an immeasurably better student this time around. Even though there are more demands on my time now (wife, kids, company, etc) than when I was 18, I think the discipline I've gained since then will more than make up for it. Plus, I'm only taking one or two courses at a time (I only need 25 more hours of classes--all economics--to satisfy the requirements of the major).

At the end of all this I may well decide to continue on to graduate school. But I have a couple of years to figure that out. In the mean time, I have some curves to blow. :-)