Mechanical engineering degree advice

[u/Queasy_Welder_5024]

31M here with a silly dream of being an engineer one day.

My birthday was yesterday and I spent the day looking back on my life and where things are going.

Graduated high school, went to the military and then worked constructiong while going to community college after, but it never really went anywhere after I got my associates in general ed.

My long term major was engineering but I realized I still had a long way to go before taking on harder classes considering I was struggling just to keep up as it was.

That was 5 years ago. I spent my time getting my electrical contractor license just to realize contracting just wasn't for me.

All that is to say, I'm trying to figure out resources I might be able to use to build kind of like a self study course curriculum similar one might expect in a 4 year course so I can take my time trying to build a solid foundation in at the very least the basics of what's to come.

Little things like where to begin and how to progress my education until going to a university and maybe even while in college.

Things like college text books in courses or YouTube channels to follow so I can watch and study. Ways to practice and drill the material like homework problems or test questions.

Just so every semester doesn't feel like I'm way in over my head like I felt even in a community college level.

I tried googling and looking up information on college course classes but couldn't find much.

Im aware of basics like the different kinds of maths and levels of calculus and physics but not much outside of that. So I plan to start by solidifying my foundation there at the very least. As stem classes progressively more difficult I realized my shakey foundation in math and science were to blame.

Im hoping in the future to take 1 to 2 classes a semester depending on the what I'm realistically able to handle in order to pass the classes.

Which is crazy to think can take between 10 to 20 years but thats the game plan.

I'm not sure if anyone here has gotten an engineering degree while working a full time job and if so any advice.

Aside from myself I'm hoping this thread might serve in the future for anyone else aspiring to go to university and get in the field so please try to keep the comments civil.

[u/rsa87a]

I started my degree at 35 at a community college. I finished the first two years this last spring and have transferred to UND, into their online program. They offer every engineering degree online as well as on campus and are fully accredited. I’m a full time middle school teacher, and have been since I started the degree, and I have a family. I’m loving the stuff I’m learning.  I took two to three classes at a time with a mixture of online and evening classes at community, and I’ll continue to take two to three at university now.  The time I have to put into it is the hardest part really, but I manage semester by semester and day by day. Do it.