I don’t know if I really agree with this admissions person’s perspective. I’ll give gem bonus points for being an alumni of their school which means they have a ton more understanding of a maritime academy then your run of the mill admissions counselor. So say you go through this program, MS degree, license and all, at that point in time you are now 60 when you finish. What do you want to do next?
Option 1) Get a job on a ship: I know ageism is protected against discrimination HOWEVER, this may come into play. Someone hiring you is going to see you as a green third mate, who they also have to worry just how long you’ll be around. Do you have any medical issues? It’s none of my business, but it may hinder you from passing a medical exam. Even if you pass the medical exam you’ll still have to meet various assessments by showing that you can perform certain tasks. Some of these can be physically challenging like firefighting and swimming for BST. Don’t take any of this personally maybe you’re in great shape for your age, maybe better shape then me, I can only go based on what I see as the “average” 60 year old. Now another job hunting problem after going to school, what if you can’t find a mate job right out of school, would you take a deckhand or AB job? A tug company might hire an academy grad as a deckhand or AB, put him on deck to see if he can bust his knuckles for a few months(or a few years) before moving him into the wheelhouse. Would you want to do that? Would the hiring manager want to do that(vs the dozen 21 year olds who sent in an application.)
Option 2) Get an office job at a maritime company leveraging your IT skills: You can already do that. In this case you might be better off working for some type of IT consulting firm. I don’t know of many maritime companies that have dedicated in-house IT security people. Either it doesn’t pay much as a regular entry level IT Job, or it pays well, but the “cyber security” part is a very small part of the broader Safety, Security, Environmental Management because it’s not really an IT job. Safety Managers in these positions usually have experience in the maritime industry, in some case sailing for the company for a few years before being promoted to an office role. In that case someone has to have a much better understanding of marine safety, environmental compliance, regulatory compliance, etc., rather then just IT security knowledge.
Is any of this doable? Yes everything is possible. Is it statistically likely, in my opinion no. Are there better options with similar work? Absolutely. For similar work that you could obtain right now without the degree and license rigamarole you could get a facility manager job for a company, school, hospital. If you really want to work on a boat, you might be better off going and getting a deckhand job anywhere rather than going to school. I encourage many people, even later that if they want to enter the industry or switch careers, that the MS degree with the license is a great option. I highly recommend it to people that come here and ask. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though, and in your case I’m not sure if it would really benefit you.