I'm going back to school

In my adult life, I have noticed a bit of a pattern. Every six or seven years, I get bored in my job. I just cannot imagine doing what I'm currently doing for another 30 or even 20 years as a living. I need novel input for my brain, bringing new motivation (hello ADHD brain). My last change was seven years ago, so it is about that time where I'm starting to really feel it. So for the last year or so, I've been pondering where to go next.

I've always had an interest in the natural sciences and math, and especially developed a fascination for astronomy. So I was looking into ways to find some work in that field - or at least adjacent to it. But a full astronomy degree, which requires a bachlor and master degree, and potentially a PhD, seems a bit out of reach at my age. Sadly, I do not have 10 years of cash saved up to do that. So I was looking into something I could do in combination with my degree in computer science, as many parts of natural sciences are computational nowadays. And the Vienna university indeed offers something like that, a Master's course Computational Science. That sounds like a good compromise.

40 year old freshman

To qualify for said degree, I do need a couple of courses in natural sciences. So this week, I'm starting courses on the basics of astronomy and biology. Those are first-semester courses from their respective bachelor's degrees, so I'm expecting to be in a room with plenty of teenagers or early twens. The last time I attended courses on that level, there was no AI, there were no smartphones, not even YouTube where you could easily access explanations for any topic imaginable, and Wikipedia was still generally considered to be not a reliable source. So I'm fully expecting a culture shock this time around. It does feel exciting, however, and that is a good sign. I hope that will still be tha case come exam time. But if I discover that studying is instantly tedious again, I can just stop. At least I will have learnt something, and that's always very nice.