Back to school after 23 years

[rachel83az]

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you're in your 40s, you likely have many years left in the workforce. The way today's job market works is that you have to apply electronically... and most of those systems will not even allow you to submit an application unless you can check the degree box. It's a required field. I have been shut out of so many opportunities for that reason. You need a degree to even apply now. And you can't sell yourself and your experience unless you can get your CV seen by a human. 

This is a really good point! I've only ever applied to jobs where a degree isn't required but there are fewer and fewer of those available. And the jobs where a degree isn't required tend to be low-paying ones that probably wouldn't hire someone with decades of job experience anyway. Even if you've been in the same job for years, you never know when your company is going to go under and you're going to be out of work. I'm sure that most of the employees at Enron had no idea that they were going to be out of work soon. So, get that degree! You never know what the future will hold.