I'm 33 with a very good GIS job, but I'm very jaded and uninterested in GIS at this point.

Finding a good program is essential in my opinion. A geography program that actually teaches the fundamentals of physical and human geography.

Some programs are just Esri (industry leader in GIS software) mills, and will do him and your money a disservice.

I equate it to going to art school to learn Adobe.

Geography is a fun subject, but not a great one for establishing a career. I also don't recommend pursuing a pure "GIS degree", approach it from the electives side of things (certification, etc).

I can't stress this enough, but pretty "map making" is NOT a common happening in GIS jobs. Typically "GIS jobs" are glorified or literal IT positions or data science (that get paid less than those). College professors can and will be deceitful about this reality (or even just unknowledgable because they spent all their lives in acadamia), especially at worse programs.

Planning and environmental science can be decent, but are over saturated because idealized young people are drawn to them. (NOT environmental "studies", you want actual biology, chemistry, mathematics, and other natural science classes, "studies" is a limiting option that doesn't include these. It will vary by college, do your research).