Luke, Only you knows what is best for you and what you are most comfortable with. I went back to study after maybe 20 years. It was not easy, but then such an undertaking is never going to be easy whichever route you choose. I personally found that having the background of experience to draw upon was a help. I knew what I was already doing in given situations and so hearing about alternatives was great. Yes I found it difficult to get back to studying, but that is where the part time courses score well, since you have a day a week to really home in on studies; you are doing it with a lot of other people and can draw on them for help and you are importantly, working through challenges together and drawing on everyone's experiences. For me this was a great way to do things, was far more appealing than distance learning, and meant that a large proportion of what I was doing was taught and project / problem solving based, which is more real than learning from simply paper material. Ultimately I suspect the current economic environment will actually largely take you in a particular direction. ie are there any jobs out there that you want to take, and will those employers feel good about you spending time on study say in a couple of years time. So....do you have a real choice in how you proceed, or will this be determined by the climate and the options available to you as a result. Finally doing things part time, makes the economic formula more palateable. If you factor in the opportunity costs of 2 years earnings plus the actual costs of the course, it is quite a tall order to recover all of these costs in the short term. Indeed that is what your original question was focussed on ie an economic return on your investment. Anyway I hope this gives you some food for thought. Good luck, Peter

As a continual developer I am highly pro learning at whatever stage of your career you are at. Once you think you know it all, you are lost. Any relevant training should be accepted and look for opportunities to not only brush up on new skills but to learn new ones all the time. You are never to old to learn

I've heard good things about Toastmasters from contacts who are professional speakers.