Would this be career suicide?

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Before I start, I know I still have yearrrrs to think about this, but I'm worrying about it now so I want to figure things out

I've had some rough years in highschool, and so it took a bit longer to graduate than most other people (a delay of 2 years).
After highschool I made a huge mistake, as I wanted to become a pastry chef. So I spent one year in France (to learn French) and another year at a pastry school, which was as challenging as watching paint dry, I was definitely not cut out for this course as it was way too easy (a delay of 2 years).

I finally plucked up the courage to take a 3 (or 4 with the Master degree included) year Cultural Anthropology course (one of the courses I had always wanted to do, but because I'm so slow and 'stupid', thought I'd never be intelligent enough for).
Which is where I am now, at 22 years old.

I've always wanted to do 2 courses though, so I'd have more job opportunities and because I like the idea of being knowledgable on more than just 1 subject.

And another course that has been on my mind for some time, is something more 'technical'.
Recently I found out, with the diploma I got from highschool (which mainly gives access to courses on society, languages etc.) I can study 'Artificial Intelligence'.

Which is a lovely mix of psychology and more technical stuff. Great!


However.... if I'd take both courses, I won't be out of uni for the next 7-8 years! (depending on which master degree I choose to do). Or in other words, I'll be 29 by the time I'm ready to go jobhunting....


I can imagine employees being more interested in young people (like 20 somethings fresh out of uni) than someone in their 30s...

But is that true? Or...would I still have a chance?

Actually, I'm not so sure about that. My school has plenty of older students who happen to be there because they're passionate about what they do. And with age comes maturity and life experience. Learn what you're interested in now, and figure it out later. If you'd rather set yourself up with a job sooner than later, you can always work and go to school part-time, and change your career choice later on. But don't ever restrict your interests.

Age is an issue, but with certain caveats.

Employers generally expect that as you get older, you have more stuff to brag about on your resume. That presumes that you got out of school and went to work by a given age.

Now, they won't know your age in the application process until they meet you in person and can guess how old you are.

If you were 34 and got out of school but didn't have much as far as work experience, you are no worse off than a 25 year old in a similar position (lack of experience).

So, the key is to have jobs while in school. Internships, teaching assistants, or even just heading up school organizations that place responsibilities on you (i.e., being heavily involved in the weekly school newspaper if you're a journalism student). All of these can illustrate your ability and work ethic in a practical environment and they complement your grades.

As a general rule, age discrimination starts at 30 because that's the point when most people start realizing that living for a career isn't all it's cracked up to be. So, the employers who tend to be exploitative will question your dedication to the job if you're on the older side. Other employers will expect that if you're older you should have something impressive on your resume. That expectation can be balanced if you can show/explain that you went to school later in life and just graduated.

Or, to put it in simpler terms, trying to get into an entry-level job at 2 years post-graduation would be easier than 10 years post-graduation if in both cases the person has nothing impressive on their resume. The former can state that they are still looking for a good job after being in school for the last few years. The other has to explain why he couldn't find a good job in 10 years of searching.

You know, the combination of Cultural Anthropology with Artificial Intelligence actually makes a whole lot of sense. As AI develops, you're going to see divergences between different cultures into how they define and develop AI, so I suspect you may have something of an advantage here.

If you can get the funding to study for the next seven or however long years, I think it would be a great idea to do so. Asperger's folks take longer to ossify than most folks, (that is, we take longer to mature, but it leaves our brains open for longer) so I'd take advantage of that fact, and keep on learning.

Come on, if you're looking to develop artificial intelligence, are you going to hire the youngsters, or someone whose spent years studying, and might just have a different outlook?

I took two years longer getting my Oxford degree than most folks, but it didn't cause me any problems. In the end, I had more experience than the kids I graduated with.

My advice is, go for it.

I feel like I'm a little bit "late" too, since I'm just starting my Master's at 28, so I'll be 30 when I'm done. Though I've worked full time for 4 years after undergrad so I have some experience. From my own experience, I've started late because I took a long time to decide what I wanted to do and also took 5 1/2 years for undergrad (bombed the 1st year, like many of us do). Personally, I would only do the multiple courses if I felt it would be advantageous in the long run e.g. if the material is similar enough that it can be "mixed" together in a future career path.

For most of the time since I was in high school, I had some form of employment, which when done school, will at least make my resume look decent in regards to employment when getting work in my newly trained field.

I'm 29 and hoping to finish my doctorate just before I turn 30. Education can take a long time, but it also opens a lot of possibilities. Most advanced education programs give you opportunities to work in your field through internships. These are a form of work experience, and in conjunction with your expertise in the field, should place you in good standing when you are ready to enter the work force. Good luck.

zer0netgain and mgran make some very good points.

People in their 30's are generally more stable and desirable as employees than people in their 20's, so that shouldn't be a problem. Even if you just get some summer work doing interesting things, that's enough to show you know how to be an employee.

I think that combination is AWESOME. Just for fun, check out 'artificial stupidity' research. It's mostly jokes, but there is some really interesting serious stuff, too. I use artificial stupidity models (seriously!) to understand human interactions.

Thanks for the advice everyone:))

Sorry for the late reply, my computer is being repaired so I don't have a lot of computer access.

A lot of what you said was echoed by my sister when I asked her whether I'd be too old to keep on studying after I hit 26 or so.

And I think you're right about getting some form of experience during my university years (by joining clubs, volunteering etc.). I'm not sure if I can handle responsibilities as such at the moment though, as this is my first year and I still need a lot of getting used to, but I hope to be able part of a project in my second year or perhaps halfway my first!

I feel so much more relieved right now:)
I thought I'd blown it by 'wasting' four years.

And mgran, that's what I was thinking too!
About how it combines quite nicely:)
I'm no math genius, but back in school I always found subjects such as physics, science, math very interesting.
So maybe if I push myself hard, and take a couple of Summer classes to brush up on those subjects, things'll work out:)
But first I have to try hard and finish my Cultural Anthropology study^_-

Don't worry about time. I'm working on an Associates right now to then pursue a B.S. in Political Science, medical school, seminary, and while in medical school possibly doing a joint M.D./J.D. program.

At this rate I'll be done with the A.A. next year (2010), finish my undergraduate studies in 2012, medical school in 2016, residency in 2020 and seminary sometime afterward which will make me 32 by the time I officially am a psychiatrist pursuing seminary. Even another 3 years for the seminary degree would mean I would finish school entirely at 35 but that would mean I go full-time for the next 14 years. And that's not even counting the joint M.D./J.D. program which would add another 2 years making me 37 and just finishing school.

Although, on my resumé, I would be (say my name is Doe)

Rev. Dr. John Doe, Esq., A.A., B.S., M. Div., J.D., M.D.

my that's a mouth full