“What’s it like to go back to school at our age?” asked a friend a few months ago upon learning that I was in an executive MBA program.
“Are you asking if it is hard?” I countered.
“Yes.”
“You know what I am going to say,” I smiled.
“I know, you are going to say, it depends.”
“It really does depend,” I explained, “The very first thing that would be apparent to anyone considering going back to school at our age is that we are not merely students. Today, we are sandwiched between many competing obligations. Some of us, like you and me, are still raising our kids. Others are also taking care of their aging parents. Some of us have more of our professional journey in the rearview mirror than ahead. While for others, their career may be in peak growth mode. All of this means that we have a lot more on our plates than we did when we first went to college. Then, all we had to do was study.”
“The second factor that makes going back to school at this age hard,” I continued, “Is our age. We all know that as we get older, our brain’s ability to process information slows down. I was surprised by how much longer it took to learn new things. And it was not just the competing obligations distracting me. It just took more time. I really had not considered this when I signed up for the MBA program.”
“But you are a doctor. You are smart!” he protested.
“Smarts have nothing to do with it. We all slow down with age.”
“Are you saying we are old?” he teased.
“I still feel young at heart. But, I tell you, I got everything I was trying to learn. It just took a little longer than I remember it taking when we were in our 20s.”
“Was there anything about it that was easy?” he asked, looking for some ray of hope.
“Something about having lived life made it easier.”
“How so?”
“If I had done this MBA right after college, it would not have been as great an experience. It would have been very theoretical in knowledge. I would have to imagine the scenarios in which I could apply this knowledge. Today, I am able to both reflect on past experiences where this knowledge would have been useful, as well as, know with a lot more clarity where I could apply it today. Not just imagine, but actually know. That makes the learning more fun and durable, even if it is absorbed slower.”
“Whew!” he said with relief, “At least something about this is easier.”
“Yup! While a full plate and a slower brain make it harder to go back to school at our age, our experiences make it easier,” as I concluded, I asked, “Are you thinking of doing it?”
“No, not yet!”
“I will tell you this: so far, I am not regretting doing this. But if you want to talk more about it, let’s do that some day.”
And we left it at that.
