This column is written for statisticians with master’s degrees and highlights areas of employment that will benefit statisticians at the master’s level. Comments and suggestions should be sent to Megan Murphy, Amstat News managing editor.

Bill Bentley is the owner and president of Value-Train, a consulting and training business. His Atlanta-area company was started in 2002 and provides data analytics and process improvement consulting and training. Primary training topics include Six Sigma, Lean, and applied quantitative methods. Besides his degrees, Bentley holds three SAS certifications, an R in data analytics certification, and an Informs Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) certification.

Why did I put my successful consulting practice on simmer to go back to college? At my age—I’ll admit to being over 50—what were my goals? Why did I join the growing number of seniors pursuing new college degrees? How did my university handle me and the few others close to my age?

In short, I am a curious person who is eager for new knowledge and experiences. I have a BS and MS in electrical engineering, I am one credit shy of an MBA, and I have a long and successful career doing advanced computer automation and engineering—later in management to the CEO level.

After 9/11, I built a successful process improvement training and consulting practice. Recent consulting jobs required building statistical models and doing other statistics-related work. One of the courses I regularly teach is Six Sigma Black Belt, which is essentially a less-detailed version of an applied statistics course. I have a natural understanding of statistical techniques and when to use them. My curiosity led me to check out the kinds of jobs available for those with degrees in applied statistics.

Jobs advertised by more than 350 companies in my city alone—using job titles such as data analyst; quantitative analyst; big data guru; data engineer; programmer in SAS, R, SQL, and Python; and sometimes just statistician—led me to believe an MS in applied statistics would be a worthwhile addition to my knowledge base.

After interviewing all the local programs, I chose Kennesaw State University near Atlanta, where I live. I decided their program was by far the best in the area for my purposes, even though the commute was terrible. Though giving up most of my own training and consulting to concentrate full time on the degree did take loss of income and guts on my part, I was excited and energized to be among others eager for knowledge and career advancement.

I am a lifelong learner, but hadn’t gone for a degree in years. Professors weren’t sure of my intentions, and some thought I was simply taking up space while filling my time. Half-way into the program, I made appointments with each professor and the department head to explain my purpose in being in their program. I will not say their eyes lit up with understanding, but some professors began to take me more seriously.

According to NBC news, the percent of older college students going back to school for degrees is rising faster than the growth rate of traditional college students pursuing a degree program. But do colleges know how to handle their senior students? If my experience is typical, they have a long way to go.

Had I been less motivated, I may have chosen to audit classes rather than continuing for the degree. Instead of becoming discouraged, I sat in the front row, paid attention, and asked most of the questions. I soon realized my younger, inexperienced fellow students didn’t have business or life knowledge to ask certain questions and appreciated me being in their class. I began to build study teams for my own and the younger students’ benefit. I challenged myself and my professors every step of the way.

My goals were clear. I wanted to solve problems for companies while using my many skills. My maturity and experience are valuable. Working and contributing to society will keep me vital and active. I love to learn, I am not afraid of new experiences, and I feel more alive when I am working.

Unfortunately, a poorly hidden scourge in society and the workplace is age discrimination. I was surprised to find it in my college setting. Not from students, but from the professors. I thought professors would welcome an older, stable, and experienced student thirsting for knowledge. I thought they would admire my grit and determination.

Professors seemed ill-equipped to handle their older students. I received smiles and nodding heads. When I asked for help or direction in finding jobs needing my new degree, they had nothing useful to offer despite boasting of their high employment rate for graduates. Their focus and claims were only on full-time starter jobs for typical college graduates. Administration seemed oblivious to me and others in my age group. Faculty seemed to think us oddities. Job opportunities via the school were zero. Fortunately, while I hoped for more career support, I expected none and got none, so it’s good I planned to tackle that task alone. So far, so good!

When asked by a professor if I was there to kill time in retirement, I was insulted at the lack of awareness and sensitivity. To put a successful self-employment business on hold to earn a degree and accomplish a strategic professional goal was an expensive decision. One observation I had was that some college programs may see re-educated seniors as competition for their own private and university consulting practices.

So, though many seniors are active, vibrant, capable, and wanting to work and contribute, my observation is that some traditional universities lag in ability to deal with those who want to learn at the college level. The New York Times had an interesting piece online that discussed how universities are preparing for a senior boom in enrollment. Some universities are way ahead of others. Stanford has created a $65,000 program for successful seniors who are returning to college to advance or re-invent themselves, simply to help them choose a direction to go in. Wow!

My education was not a waste of time or resources; it was inspiring and I’m glad I did it. I am confident my new MSAS degree and accompanying multiple SAS and other certifications will be valuable to my clients. Though I am on my own with my new degree, I am excited and optimistic. My university experience was mostly positive. In the future, though, when I next return to college, I hope my professors are better trained and more welcoming and understanding of seniors like me. And I hope the one senior-focused facility I found has better hours. They did have a room where ‘mature learners’ could study, use computers, and enjoy free coffee and tea. It closed at 5 p.m., but nearly all the graduate program classes started at 6:30 p.m. They got it right for the older undergraduates, but not for the advanced learners. Nice try though!