Depends, you'll have to calculate (increase in pay caused by new qualification, multiplied by number of years you plan to work in this new job) minus (loss of salary due to leaving employment plus college costs including fees), times chance of getting this higher paying job. See example 4.
Example 1, my mother did her five year diploma in Russia which is equivalent to MA. But to teach in the university in my country, she required a MA obtained from a university in my country. So she did her second MA in my country after she was 40. By the time she'd completed this MA, she was already teaching in the Russian consulate. So when she joined the university, it was only as a part-time lecturer.
Example 2, forum Fuhrer Jacob's wife (sic: said in context) went to college again to become a CFA
Example 3, forum user Jason has gone to college again to (sic) do everything right this time. He says it was worth it.
Example 4, how I calculate if my degree is being ficonomical (worthy wrt taking me toward FI) in my journal
Calculating hourly cost:
Total cost of BE degree is little under 8 lakhs and FI compliant job requirement is about 200 per hour. College costs 104/hour before classes and 154 to 194 /hour after classes, depending on subject.
I like to think of it this way: Would I/someone pay someone/myself between 192 to 200 an hour, to have had that hour?
Setting point of reference:
2 years back, as mentioned is a previous post, I interviewed for and got a job that paid 51/hour. For the time after exams and before being admited to engineering, it was tempting to take it for the pocket money, for 1 to 2 month(s) . At that time firequirement was 104/hour for fiin24years. As it wasn't fickonomical, so I did not take it and didn't join. Besides it was for night shift.
College raises this 51/hour to 104/hour.
Classes raise this 104/hour to 154/hour.
Swadhyay self-study must raise it to atleast 192/hour
Which is the lower end of the firequirement,
for this whole 8 lakh engineering wager to be worth it,
and for me to break even.
Go to post:
https://forum.earlyretirementextreme.co ... 25#p151843