There are many reasons why people do a (second) study or start studying at an older age than is usual. Maybe they decided to take a break or work after high school, or maybe it is their second bachelor’s. Everyone has a slightly different story and experience. In this Bacchus we share our thoughts as two students who started a second bachelor’s degree.
Reasons to do a second bachelor
When I decided to move to Amsterdam and start a new study, many people I know couldn’t understand at first why I was breaking out of the normal script of life. Study one thing, work in a related field – because it is thought of how life should go. I already had work experience and a full study in my pocket. I could have started working right away. All these points had me doubting whether starting a new study was the right thing to do. However, in the end, I decided that I wanted to do psychological research and that my previous experience in work and studying could help me achieve that. My previous study was not an extra weight I had to carry but more of a useful tool.
During one of the first-year tutorials, a classmate who was 20 years old told us he feels old and behind. Another classmate, who appeared to be about 40 years old sighed, smiled, and said jokingly in an angry tone something along the lines of “How am I then? If you are old and behind”. Feeling behind is something I experienced too as someone who chose to do a second bachelor’s. It is interesting that we have a script of how our lives should progress and we tend to get anxious when our own journey does not match this script. But sometimes taking a detour is the best thing you can do. Despite the occasional anxious feelings, I also feel empowered, my goals are clearer and I am way more motivated than before. I started a second bachelor in order to study what I am really passionate about and be with like-minded people in a place where I can develop the best. Because of these reasons, my student experience so far has been great.
Lessons learned after the first bachelor
Doing a second degree also means more experience with studying – but also a bit with life in general. I think that it adds to a more relaxed and realistic but also more motivated mindset. I know the world is not going to end because I have a bad grade or did not meet the expectations I had for myself. And I also am very sure that what I am doing now is what I want to do with my life, which adds a different motivation. It puts studying into perspective. I do not study the material because it is mandatory, but because I think it will be helpful knowledge for my future life.
Having completed a bachelor’s before, I also feel more motivated and focused. I know more about my learning style; I plan my time better and I have fewer worries when it comes to mastering a skill or the material. I used to be nervous before exams even if I was well prepared, now I rarely feel this way. It might be because I was exposed to so much examination that I became immune to it. I also like to think that I became better at guessing which parts of the materials are more likely to be on the exam. And studying seems easier. There are a couple of good habits that I developed after so many years of studying. The most important ones are peer reviewing and peer discussion – I always discuss my ideas with other classmates and ask them to give me feedback on my papers.
The age gap
One thing that I was really worried about at the beginning was the capability of very young people to think fast. They were at the peak of their intelligence (which is at around 20 years), while I had already passed that. I was doubting my capabilities a little bit but once the first year started I realized that I had learned so many ways on how studying works best for me and how I can achieve things efficiently (minimum effort – maximum outcome). I realized that I was not lacking anything at all.
Being with people who are mostly younger than you is refreshing and makes you stay in contact with your younger self. I suspect this much more so for people who change careers or start their studies at an older age. It is a valuable experience to have. First of all, you recognize situations in which you were before and have a second chance to reframe them. Second of all, it pushes you to focus on what people do and say, and disregard the age they have. And lastly, it shows you how much you can still learn and how much there is to learn.
However, it can sometimes be weird when people who give courses, teach you things and give you assignments are younger than you or your age. It can make you feel weird about the power dynamic and you might feel like you should have moved on already from being in the place of getting assignments and being told what to do in tutorials. But it can also create a nice bond with the teacher and an atmosphere in which you feel more eye-to-eye to the teacher than younger students might.
Overall, I would say that starting a new study that you are very passionate about is very empowering, especially if you go against the stream of “how a life should look like” and it was purely your own decision. It is, of course, a little risky and sometimes you might feel the pressure of ‘really succeeding this time’. Nevertheless, as soon as you remember how much you like what you are doing now and that you already have earned a degree and experience, it makes the whole journey much more pleasant and brings a lot of happiness. <<
There are many reasons why people do a (second) study or start studying at an older age than is usual. Maybe they decided to take a break or work after high school, or maybe it is their second bachelor’s. Everyone has a slightly different story and experience. In this Bacchus we share our thoughts as two students who started a second bachelor’s degree.
Reasons to do a second bachelor
When I decided to move to Amsterdam and start a new study, many people I know couldn’t understand at first why I was breaking out of the normal script of life. Study one thing, work in a related field – because it is thought of how life should go. I already had work experience and a full study in my pocket. I could have started working right away. All these points had me doubting whether starting a new study was the right thing to do. However, in the end, I decided that I wanted to do psychological research and that my previous experience in work and studying could help me achieve that. My previous study was not an extra weight I had to carry but more of a useful tool.
During one of the first-year tutorials, a classmate who was 20 years old told us he feels old and behind. Another classmate, who appeared to be about 40 years old sighed, smiled, and said jokingly in an angry tone something along the lines of “How am I then? If you are old and behind”. Feeling behind is something I experienced too as someone who chose to do a second bachelor’s. It is interesting that we have a script of how our lives should progress and we tend to get anxious when our own journey does not match this script. But sometimes taking a detour is the best thing you can do. Despite the occasional anxious feelings, I also feel empowered, my goals are clearer and I am way more motivated than before. I started a second bachelor in order to study what I am really passionate about and be with like-minded people in a place where I can develop the best. Because of these reasons, my student experience so far has been great.
Lessons learned after the first bachelor
Doing a second degree also means more experience with studying – but also a bit with life in general. I think that it adds to a more relaxed and realistic but also more motivated mindset. I know the world is not going to end because I have a bad grade or did not meet the expectations I had for myself. And I also am very sure that what I am doing now is what I want to do with my life, which adds a different motivation. It puts studying into perspective. I do not study the material because it is mandatory, but because I think it will be helpful knowledge for my future life.
Having completed a bachelor’s before, I also feel more motivated and focused. I know more about my learning style; I plan my time better and I have fewer worries when it comes to mastering a skill or the material. I used to be nervous before exams even if I was well prepared, now I rarely feel this way. It might be because I was exposed to so much examination that I became immune to it. I also like to think that I became better at guessing which parts of the materials are more likely to be on the exam. And studying seems easier. There are a couple of good habits that I developed after so many years of studying. The most important ones are peer reviewing and peer discussion – I always discuss my ideas with other classmates and ask them to give me feedback on my papers.
The age gap
One thing that I was really worried about at the beginning was the capability of very young people to think fast. They were at the peak of their intelligence (which is at around 20 years), while I had already passed that. I was doubting my capabilities a little bit but once the first year started I realized that I had learned so many ways on how studying works best for me and how I can achieve things efficiently (minimum effort – maximum outcome). I realized that I was not lacking anything at all.
Being with people who are mostly younger than you is refreshing and makes you stay in contact with your younger self. I suspect this much more so for people who change careers or start their studies at an older age. It is a valuable experience to have. First of all, you recognize situations in which you were before and have a second chance to reframe them. Second of all, it pushes you to focus on what people do and say, and disregard the age they have. And lastly, it shows you how much you can still learn and how much there is to learn.
However, it can sometimes be weird when people who give courses, teach you things and give you assignments are younger than you or your age. It can make you feel weird about the power dynamic and you might feel like you should have moved on already from being in the place of getting assignments and being told what to do in tutorials. But it can also create a nice bond with the teacher and an atmosphere in which you feel more eye-to-eye to the teacher than younger students might.
Overall, I would say that starting a new study that you are very passionate about is very empowering, especially if you go against the stream of “how a life should look like” and it was purely your own decision. It is, of course, a little risky and sometimes you might feel the pressure of ‘really succeeding this time’. Nevertheless, as soon as you remember how much you like what you are doing now and that you already have earned a degree and experience, it makes the whole journey much more pleasant and brings a lot of happiness. <<
