Starting college in my 40s - What am I thinking?

What have I been doing for over 20 years that I would just be starting college now??? Well, working a career in mortgage lending and raising a kid just to name a couple.

But that kid is now in college and as far as my career in mortgage lending - well, Wall Street killed that off. This is the 2nd major market crash I've endured - and I've had enough.

I've been madly searching for jobs for over 2 months but it seems that 20+ years in mortgage finance qualifies a person for almost nothing else except cashier jobs...and those are scarce in a crashing economy.

I was called recently to interview for a job in a bakery/cafe. The manager called me in the morning with a happy voice and asked me to come in that same afternoon. So as a smart business person does, I dressed nicely in black slacks and a white fitted button down shirt and went off with a happy heart to what I hoped would be a nice, low-paying yet stable job. When I arrived, one of their teenage employees went to fetch this happy-sounding manager. The manager walked out through the kitchen doors, looked me straight in the eyes, then rolled her eyes and stormed back through the kitchen doors.

Yes, I was totally deflated. After another half hour of waiting alone in a corner table a different young woman came out to interview me. I was told during this interview that I would only be considered for a catering assistant job....minimum wage....minimum hours...and even that they couldn't guarantee. To add further insult to my injury, I was informed I didn't have any real experience and she didn't know why I wanted the job in the first place. Nice.

It was about that moment when everything became crystal clear...my choices are:

1. Starve and wait for the recession to end
2. Compete with children for low paying jobs where experience is not valued
3. Obtain a college degree to ensure that I'm always competitive in the job market

I chose option #3 ---is there any wonder why?

So now I've been accepted as an incoming Freshman at my local community college where I'll get to compete with children for seats in already over-crowded class rooms. Well, they may roll their eyes at me too -- but I won't give a shit because they're not signing my paycheck.


Tomorrow is placement test day. This ought to be a laugh - its only been, like, 25 years since my last math class. Unless they'll be testing me on credit scores or qualifying ratios, I think I'll suck big-time.