[solardev]

This was my plan too, until I realized I'd start at 40 and finish at like 45 or 46. Would any company/engineering firm hire a mid-life intern with no engineering experience?

[tjmc]

Absolutely. There was a student in his 50’s in my graduating year who was an aviation mechanic previously. There’s also a lot of opportunities at engineering firms for developers. Start that way and see if you like it maybe.

[solardev]

That's good to know, thank you! It's a dream I hope to pursue someday soon...

I didn't know engineering firms hired developers (what for? CAD stuff, or...?) That's a great idea, though.

[tjmc]

It's a great way to get started if you're already a developer. Here's some of the stuff my company is doing in the digital space: https://www.aurecongroup.com/expertise/digital-engineering-a...

They like to showcase the visualisation and AI stuff but there's also a lot of development doing stuff like parametric modelling plus everyday CRUD apps for internal systems etc.

[gcheong]

Not just that but, if you need to finance that degree, you need to also consider how long you're going to be paying it off.

[tjmc]

Fair point. I did my mech eng degree in Australia where university is heavily subsidised for citizens. Total cost for the 4 year degree here was $32,000 (roughly $21,560USD at today’s exchange rate)