Catman9000;
I was in your same boat when I started my degree pursuit 5 years ago...I was 8 years out of high school, fresh out of the military and ready to start college. But being so far out from my last time in a classroom, I had to start at the bottom, like you mentioned, getting spooled...
On my campus we have an aviation research facility that offers part time employment to undergrads and masters seekers, 20-30 hours a week. At the masters level, they reimburse your tuition. This might be an unusual situation, since I'm sure not all campuses have aviation research facilities on...
