don’t give me the it’s never too late bs. Life happens, people have jobs, debts and rent to pay.
Going back to school when you’re employed means debt, earning way less or nothing during your bachelor or master, stress, opportunities you’re not aware of because you’re simply not at your workplace anymore, unpaid overtime during those 2 to 3 years… the money you lose is more than what the bachelor / accreditation costs.
When does it start being a stupid idea? Is it when you’re 30? 40? 50?
Depends on your situation and objective. If you’re currently employed and want to increase potential earnings in the same track, then probably around 30/35 from my personal judgement. You should really have enough professional experience and context at that point to make up for a degree, especially if you’re engaging in continuing education, staying up to date on professional articles, watching conference talks, etc.
If you’re looking to get an MBA to move into a management track, it’s probably worth it later in life until like your 40s and 50s earnings wise.
If your current industry is tanking and you need to pivot to a new one, then you don’t really have any other options than to reskill no matter how old you are.
If you just want to learn philosophy or history independent of your work, then there’s not really a point where it’s too late, just how many classes you have time for which is wholly dependent on your life circumstances and doesn’t depend on age.