Gatlin Jez , executive director of California Competes , a Bay Area educational-policy organization , says research from Georgetown University found that states that invested in shortterm certifications tended to stifle their long-term economic growth .
“ We hear from employers , from these billions of surveys that everybody does : They want critical thinking , they want communication . … They want comfort with ambiguity , all these sorts of things if you ’ re doing an eight-week training , you ’ re probably not getting that ,” Jez says . Still , she says , certificates can be valuable for people who already have degrees .
Four-year schools are eager for more older students . A program at Sacramento State , ProjectAttain , is aimed at helping students complete their degrees . The university launched this effort in 2018 , saying in a news release that it would “ bring together stakeholders from a variety of industries to promote educational attainment .”
“ There are literally 60,000 people within 15 credits of graduating in this area ,” Nelsen says .
It ’ s never too late
It sometimes might not be easy for older students to return to school . “ We see a lot of people that carry shame , that feel like failures that they didn ’ t finish the first time , that they have some level of impostor syndrome ,” Murphy says . “ We also find that they might have student debt .”
There has been some movement in California to look at educational costs differently , Murphy says , including working with companies to help them reevaluate the ways they reimburse their employees for education expenses .
Despite the difficulties older adults might face in their pursuit of more education to qualify for a second career , Murphy says , “ It ’ s never too late to be what you always wanted to be . It ’ s never too late to change directions . And it ’ s never too late to make yourself better in any kind of intellectual or academic way .” There are practical reasons to return to college as well , such as the fact that Americans have longer lifespans than in the past . “ Your second act may last as long as your first act in many cases ,” Esposito-Noy says .
Middle-aged to older adults ready for a second career act shouldn ’ t have anything to fear , says Nelsen . Before coming to Sacramento State , Nelsen taught for 34 years , including as professor in a doctoral program at University of Texas at Dallas . “ Some of my best students were in their 50s and 60s ,” Nelsen says . “ I had one who was in his 80s .”
Graham Womack is a freelance writer based in Sacramento . His work has appeared in a variety of publications , including the San Francisco Chronicle , The Sacramento Bee , and Sacramento News & Review . On Twitter @ grahamdude .
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