What country are you in now?

The difference between mechanical and electrical engineering is huge. Why do you want to do either? In your last paragraph you are also considering computer science.

You need to decide which degree you actually want and why. What will you be able to do with a degree that you can't do now?

I can only speak for the US but I would look at college curriculums and look at the actual classes you need to take. Many public universities in the US have partnerships with community colleges where you can take many general education classes from the first 2 years and get the credits to transfer.

I have an electrical engineering degree and there were labs in some classes but others had none.

Maybe when you get to that point you can work part time or with flexible hours and go to those classes during the day a few times a week and work during the night.

All of this means you are going to have a big change in your life. That could be cheaper housing, cheaper vacations, less time for a personal life, etc.

I feel you. I am 43 and have two kids and already have a masters but not in CS. I want to go back because even though I am working in industry for quite some time, their a foundational gaps I have since I learned things on the fly. Very little time between work and life to do so, and at the end of the day, really have a hard time justifying cost when I’ve got so much experience already…

> I'd have to do it in person and it would be hard to balance with a full time job and I would need to work to just pay for life

This is true. Don’t compromise. To get the value of a degree you need to be studying full time for something like 8-9 months of a year for 3-4 years.

The only part that sounds inaccurate is the 80k. State schools in my area are 5k a semester.

I don't know where you are located but Massachusetts has free community college for adults 25 years old and older: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/free-community-college.

I'm in Canada so the fee is a lot more manageable, but I absolutely have no time.

TBH I don't think going back to the school is a good idea. They have weird rules that you have to follow as a customer; You have to take a ton of BS courses to make the degree. It's just BS considering that they just have a monopoly of degrees and you have to go through one of them.

If you want to go into EE, maybe try finding some embedded job?

I wonder if OP would be able to test out of the basic requirements - algebra, language, etc. I was able to skip some of my curriculum because I took some of classes in high school that transferred over, and some I just fully tested out of - saved me probably at least a semester's worth of classes.

Degrees from Europe are very transferable. Germany, Italy, France, the nordics etc. all offer engineering degrees in english basically for free (or close) for all EU citizens. I cannot think of any better and cheaper education path. Some of the best engineers (and professors!) in the US actually got their education from minor and major Universities in Europe where they got their education for free.

I think you now have to pay for education if you come from outside the EU, at least in France. It is still cheaper than the US because it is massively subsidized by the working class. A person coming to EU only for free /cheap education is not welcomed.

What about MSCSO at UT texas?

Online but same degree as offline, good AI offering that is recent and around $10K.

Georgia Tech is also a good one.

The university of Helsinki has similar things [1].

Germany and the Netherlands have affordable degree programs open universiteit/open universität are the keywords. Not sure if you need to learn the language.

I hope this seeds your creativity a bit so you can look for a solution that fits you.

[1] https://www.helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education/open-uni...

Just thinking outside the normal options, you could try to apply for PhD programs.

They typically pay doctoral students, albeit not very much (~$30-40k), which could lessen the financial burden. With a little creativity in your application, you could certainly write a convincing case for why 8 years of software engineering is superior to an undergraduate degree.

Also, I would very strongly encourage you to take one or more intro classes on the side before you jump in full time. It’s critical that you don’t delude yourself about what you’re actually getting into before you fully commit.

Without a BS or a master’s degree it will be hard to get into a PhD program.

Imagine the lab you could set up for 80k. And the projects you could do. IMHO not worth it going back to school.

> I do have an option to attend at my country of birth, in Eastern Europe, for much cheaper but I don't think it's easy to transfer that outside of the EU.

Even if that is the case, which it might not be, you'll still receive the skills and experience you are after. Personally, I say go for it, however of course adding moving on top of any situation may constitute a dramatic increase in leverage, so. Know your personal tolerances and work sustainably!

Where are you looking for a bachelor's degree that costs 80k?

Start with an associate at community College. It's way cheaper, maybe even free.

A lot of places will allow you to transfer an associates to a 4 year. Do the general education requirements at the CC, which is practically free and will be easier to work into your schedule. Then transfer directly into your major of choice (talk the uni about this first).

Some states also have "adult learner" deals which bring the cost down if you're older. Not sure if you're old enough. If you aren't yet, you're close--I knew someone in their late 30s doing this when I was in undergrad. If you're too young, wait a couple years, save up, get a head start on your degree of choice, them do it.

Drop me an email at HN at richardboegli dot com

Sorry just sent one to the original, will send one to this as well.

If you want a degree get a degree. All the concerns you list are the least hard part of getting a degree.

Giving yourself permission to get a degree...permission to live your actual values...permission to make yourself happy...those are the hard part. Good luck.

> All the concerns you list are the least hard part of getting a degree.

I don't think that "paying $80k" and "finding the time to actually get the degree while maintaining a full-time job" are the "least hard" parts.