by Dr.Liew

Created on: April 18, 2008   Last Updated: April 21, 2008

As the average life span of human beings is being extended due to better health care today, the world is facing a lot of challenges brought about by the aging population. One of the biggest problems is to find enough employments for the senior people, because they need to remain productive as well as to earn a living for themselves. In order for a senior person to be employable, he needs to have relevant skills and knowledge. Therefore, a lot of older folks are going back to schools and colleges to acquire latest knowledge and skills so that they will remain relevant in the latest job market, particularly in the field of ICT. Although going back to learn new knowledge at an old age might sounds very interesting to many people, actually doing it is not easy, it could be an uphill task for many people because older people are generally weaker physically, they might not have enough energy to complete the whole program. However, as a person who has obtained a master degree and a doctoral degree at a relative older age(I got my master of management degree at 43 and my doctor of business administration degree at the age of 47),I dare to say that we older people can perform just as well as the younger folks. So, let me share with you the tips and secrets for older people to succeed in an academic program normally designed for the younger folks.

To me, the most important ingredient we older folks must have is to be physically and mentally prepared before we join any academic program, be it an undergraduate or a post-graduate program. Keeping fit physically and mentally is very important because it will allow us to have energy to pull through the whole program. I keep myself physically fit by playing tennis almost everyday and that made me nearly as fit as those twenty something people. On the other hand, I keep myself mentally alert by playing chess, reading, designing web site, writing and mix around with young people. So for those of you who are forty something and above and thinking of going back to school or college to study, and you have not been exercising and involving in mental activities for quite sometime, you better do something now. In addition, you must also be psychologically ready to join any academic program. If you are not prepared psychologically, you might face a lot of stress later. So, you need to persuade yourself to think positive and believe that you can succeed in the program.

The next thing you should do is to search for an academic program

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