How Many Baby Boomers are in Your Class?

I’ve sat in a ton of classes with folks that are older than my parents. Have you? It’s not an anomaly. Baby Boomers are doing that nowadays, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“With the help of community colleges, some baby boomers are changing gears and retraining for new jobs that are less physically taxing. In doing so, these workers are among those who are redefining the traditional notion of retirement by working much later in life. And they are also leaving their mark on community colleges, many of which are fine-tuning their programs and making them more accessible to older adults.”

As the old folk realize that their blue collar jobs are not worth the physical strain and hassle, they are looking to educate themselves in college classrooms for more technical or clerical positions that don’t require the manual labor. One baby boomer, for example, went from carrying boxes of bread to take courses to become a surgical technician. Another went into construction but realized that sitting in a cubicle is a better way to spend the rest of his life. He’s back in school in his second semester. One 54-year-old electrician is studying to start his own business.

It’s never too late to start learning. It’s never too late to educate yourself and bring yourself to a higher level and boost your career opportunities. If there’s one lesson college students can take away from it, it’s that you can start school, go into work, and then go back to school to find something better. You have your entire life ahead of you.