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-- So he had significant prior training in a related field.

> He had to drop Calculus 1 initially because his basic Algebra was too rusty. So he self-taught himself through YouTube videos, and went on to ace Calculus 1 -4.

I agree with your sentiment (everyone should be afforded the same opportunity) but, I feel that you are being overly cynical. After all, other employees at the university had/have the same benefits. IMO, this man should be recognized for his accomplishments.

The older you get the harder it is to change careers. Maybe this man's story will help motivate others to follow in his footsteps.

Not only that but the man did so after two family businesses failed as a consequence of the 2008 housing crash. He had a family to support and had gone through bankruptcy. A lot of people would have given up because it is very hard to regain faith, more so when you get older.

Someone should get him an angel investment then; there is a lot of talk here about backing entrepreneurs that won't give up. Here is a perfect example of that personality trait.

He never ever gave up. Good for him.

I think you read it wrong, parent is calling him "one of the few successes" which to me actually is recognizing his achievement, but instead of "this is great", what he sees in the story is "how the hell was it so hard for him in the first place, it shouldn't", so it's a difference in perspective, but not that he does not recognize his success (that's my perception).

That being said, of course I agree with you. I was once enrolled in a community college program out of fun, thinking I would actually learn something, but with housewives and retired people in the class, the progress was next to nil and I dropped out pretty quickly, at first I was angry, but it actually gave me a glimpse into how hard even the easiest things were to them. I could read something for 5 minutes and be able to recite it, they would struggle with it for an hour. Not to say I am a genius, but one should really take advantage of all the chances while young, that's what I got from it, so I guess it was worth it.

So I deeply respect his achievement.

Clarification: Though I also partly blame the teacher for the bad experience, but that's another story entirely.

Edit: In case someone missed it, not so long ago this was on HN "Learning Chess at 40", very interesting read https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11653538

I took a web design class at a local community college once and the instructor spent like 2 days explaining what a file and and directory was.

Yes, I can see (now) a different interpretation of the parent post. I get your point.

It is too bad you didn't have a good experience with CC. My experience with community college was quite different and very rewarding. In fact, when I transferred to university I was farther along in computer science and math than my classmates. However, I did have one class, WordPress (in which I was told we would learn to build themes from scratch), that parallels your experience!

> IMO, this man should be recognized for his accomplishments.

He went to school while working.

Tons of people do that. Just because this is a nice feel good story doesn't make it more impressive.

Agreed.

I did that. I do that.

In fact, most everybody in all my classes at the local CC/TC and now at the four-year I'm at works and goes to school.

This is pretty common for people getting into tech, especially the IT/sysadmin side of things.

> He went to school while working. Tons of people do that.

[After losing everything, a man in his mid 40s went back to school for the first time since 1982 while supporting 3 kids and a wife (who also went back to school) working as a janitor and, at the same time, earned an engineering degree from a well respected school.] != [He went to school while working.]

One could say that this engineering degree finally put him into the place where he belonged all these years. It illustrates that there are unfair barriers that prevent people from making themselves and their families happy and healthy. Giving them the resources to succeed and provide for their families is a net good not just for their own selfish interests but for their surrounding economy and society as well.

I think the takeaway should be more about what we can give to the average working class person who is probably more intelligent and motivated than society is willing to give them credit for. What can we do for them instead of grinding them down in undignified, barely productive poverty wage jobs.

Calling it a "European Bias" is provocative and disingenuous. The US sits well above the average among OECD countries in both entrants over 30 and age at first graduation. The difference is how the US media reports, not how people in the US pursue education.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/...

I am only 30 and finding it tough to focus on learning anything new to retrain for a different career and I am not working as a custodian at night. Even if university was universally free here, this story would still be very impressive. Also, an Associates degree in Aeronautical "Engineering" (community college training for aircraft mechanic) is hardly prior experience for a Bachelors in MechE.

An associate's in AeroE would amount to nothing beyond a few calculus and physics classes. All of the important stuff is in the second two years.

> nothing beyond a few calculus and physics classes

With this quote of your own comment I rest my case :-)

So apt!

Downvoted for cheesy movie reference.

That's great. We all saw Gladiator. Russel Crowe is incredible. We get it.