When is the right time to get your degree? Part 1

When we’re young, it’s a time to push boundaries, try new things, generally kick the tires of life in our quest for adulthood. When we finish high school, we’re presented with a choice – study now and work later or work now and study later. The decision we make isn’t simple and can be influenced by personal and economic factors. In this 2 part series we’ll start by looking at Why should you get your degree while you are still under 30, and in part 2 we’ll explore Why it’s still a good time to get a degree when you are over 30.

There are a whole bunch of reasons to consider, and we’ll look at a few now.

Completing a degree takes longer as you get older

Statistics show that the older you are, it takes longer to finish a degree. So pushing off that degree for a few years, can actually have a big impact on how long it takes to complete. When asked how long does it take students at colleges and universities to complete their bachelor’s degrees? the National Center for Education Statistics says:

“Forty-four percent of 2015–16 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients completed their degree 48 months or less after first enrolling in postsecondary education. One-half of those age 23 years or younger graduated in 45 months or less, compared with 162 months or less for those age 30 years or older.”

That means that it could take you four times longer to get your degree if you leave it ’til later. But it’s not all bad news, remember that programs like the Total Testing Daemen University online program make it easier to finish your degree even more quickly than that.

You have more available time

An interesting statistic from US Bureau of Labor Statistics – people aged between 15 and 19, when compared with those aged between 25 and 34 spend about the same amount of time each day doing the same things like sleeping, eating, housework, and leisure activities every day. The big difference is that 15-19-year-olds spend about an hour working and 4 hours studying each day, whereas 25-34-year-olds spend an average of 1 hour studying and 5 hours working. So, if you plan on getting a degree in your 30s, you may have an hour or two left to yourself. If you can get your degree before your personal and financial responsibilities increase, you can maximize the amount of time that you can pursue your degree.

You’re doing what your friends are doing

Clickworker.com describes the power of the crowd as…

“…the crowd’s ability to exert influence. This phenomenon can be observed in many sectors, such as social sciences, politics and economics. In practice it describes how interests can be enforced, problems solved and changes implemented with the help of many individuals.”

Don’t underestimate the power of the crowd. If your friends are out having fun, you know it’s hard to stay home. Conversely, if your friends are all in degree mode, then it’s far easier to go with the flow and get to class, turn in those assignments and study for tests.

Your time is managed for you

It’s good to be the boss. isn’t it? You get to decide everything, no one tells you what to do, right? Is that why Elon Musk sleeps in the Tesla factory? It seems that the best bosses are self-disciplined and work long hours. If that’s not you, it may feel restricting to be given a schedule and to lose the flexibility to do what you like and when, but planning and actually performing all the parts of your study program is a job in itself. As we said, younger adults have more available time, so inserting a structured university program into that space can mean the difference between success and failure.

You can give-it-all-up, and go get a degree

The average teenager can sleep on any sofa, but as we get older, life becomes more routine. We go to work, drop the kids to school, go get groceries, go to the gym, and meet friends on a Thursday. Making changes is difficult, you have little enough time as it is, how can you fit in a degree plan? For a younger adult, there’s less in place, and it may be an opportunity to go do something new, so it’s less disruptive for those under 30 to give it all up and go get a degree.

It’s not all work and no play

And don’t forget, at this stage of life’s great adventure, now you’re looking to meet new people, do new things, open new vistas and generally work out what you really want to be when you grow up. That’s a whole ‘nother side of getting a degree that’s better when you’re young.