KEY POINTS:
The heavy bag of books will take a bit of getting used to but Barbara Hughes thought her first day back at university in 15 years was pretty successful.
After working for 14 years in real estate it was a big decision to retrain with a graduate diploma in primary school teaching.
A number of mature students were among the faces at the University of Auckland's education faculty's orientation day yesterday some no doubt swayed by a tough job market.
The real estate industry is tough at the moment, and Mrs Hughes said she was ready for a change in direction.
Teaching seemed a logical progression as she had studied for eight years before starting her career, and four of her family members worked as teachers.
Mrs Hughes, 51, thought she would be one of the oldest students in the course but she was pleasantly surprised to find more mature students than she expected.
Among them was Deena Chopra, who decided to move into teaching from a career in the banking sector.
She completed a bachelor of arts at India's Punjab University 20 years ago and said teaching was a field she had always wanted to go into, she was just waiting for her two children to grow up before she went into it.
Mrs Chopra said she was feeling "very good" about her decision after attending the orientation day.
"I am quite clear about what I am going for," she said.
Mrs Hughes was buzzing after watching her first powhiri, meeting course members and buying her new books.
She is looking forward to learning all about technology, and said "these people are going to keep me young".
