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I am very surprised from the feedback you received. I started my Phd in History a year ago when I was 35, after a very successful career 12 year career in STEM field. I feel that all the faculty members in my department think I have more responsibility and accountability given my real-world experience. The fact that you are doing a Phd (even though you had another paying job ) proves that you are actually serious about. I would say that having options outside of Academia is a great source of relief during your Phd experience, it will reduce the stress and tension (that others experience because they have no other options) which will actually help you finish!

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Hi Steven, I will share with you my own personal experience. I apologize in advance if it seems like a long-winded post. I started my Phd last year when I was 35 ( I am 36 now, as well) in a Humanities/Social Science program at an Ivy League College . I always dreamed of an academic career but due to family issues, I had to work right after college. I had a great job, but I also felt completely apathetic, and I thought I needed to do something that makes me feel alive again. I decided to try out my luck and pursue this old dream. Of course, I had several worries not just because of age, and the dismal job prospects (I had for many years followed blogs about the misery of grad life and the uselessness of a Phd in Humanities) but I put all this aside and decided to focus my effort on pursuing this thing. Aside from the application process, here are a couple of challenges that I have faced: 1. Whether programs will consider you or not: I am in the Humanities, I am afraid I do not have an answer for this specific concern in the sciences. It may be a challenge, because many people have to join specific labs/research groups and most people in sciences Phd's are fresh-grads, as far as I know. I did have this concern as well when I was applying. I tried to emphasize in my personal statement that the skills I acquired during my professional career (the responsibilities, managing teams and projects, budgets..etc) will basically help me get through the many years of the Phd. My program had many people in the 30's, this actually encouraged me to apply. You can check the grad student profiles on the department websites of the programs you are interested in, to get a sense of their backgrounds. 2. The job market sucks: that means you really need to a get in a very good program if you want to have any chances of getting a job. By a good program, I mean the very best. Pedigree matters a LOT. One professor actually told me you did 50% of your job search by virtue of by being in this particular college. This was the top priority for me, I would not have left my very good job and salary if I did not know that I will end up in the best place. 3. Financial: Never do this unless you have full financial support from your program! And even if you do, this will definitely be a HUGE compromise. If you are professional, then you will have a very different standard of living and lifestyle. You will live on an allowance, the stereotype of a poor grad student running between events for free lunches and scrapping to make ends meet at the end of the month, is a painful reality! and unless you put your heart and soul in pursuing this then this will hit you the hardest! By all means try to make it break-even, do NOT dip into your savings (if you have any). I am single and I do not have any dependents, if you have a family or any dependents, you need to think thoroughly of how the financial aspects play out. 4. Don't expect to be able to pick where you left off at the tender age of 23. Going back to study at the age of 35 is one of the hardest things I ever did in my life, and I am struggling with it. I was at the top of my class all my life and now I am finding it hard to keep up with everything and everyone. It's not that learning slows down as you grow older (although some studies actually prove this) but the set of skills you have acquired over your professional career is very different than that required for Academia. To acquire a new set of skills at this age is harder. It will take longer to finish things, to comprehend things and a lot of self-confidence and motivation not to feel like an imposter, but you can make up for that by working harder than everyone. Again, you have to be willing to put 100% of your heart and soul in this experience to make it work. And at times it will be frustrating but other times totally exhilarating. 5. Everyone is younger. I never realized that I am "old" until I actually started this program last year. This is frustrating, I am single and I did not realize before coming in Academia that almost EVERYONE is younger than I. In the Humanities, my sense is that people usually start their PhD's around the age of 25-28 and in Sciences I guess around 23-26. And while it could be great to hang around younger folks who have different set of challenges, I simply feel I am past many of theirs. I do have a tonne of friends though, and I have an active social life, I try not to make this matter, but it's always at the back of mind (maybe that's just me!) But on the other hand this could be something good, for example, I have travelled a lot and I have worked for 12 years, so now I don't feel this huge pressure to finish ASAP to go out to the "real world". This actually makes me focus more on my studies and on producing better quality research. I also cope well with the cynicism and the petty drama of Academia. By the age of 36, you have experienced enough in life to know how to handle such situations and not let them get to you. 5. This is a horribly narcissistic and lonely enterprise, it is very personal. It will test your very essence, your mettle and intelligence and sometimes you may realize you have reached your limits (and for me this was the scariest thing!) you will have to prove yourself all over again and again because everyone around you will be younger they may not be able to grasp what you are going through. The cliched adage of "fake till you make it" never felt more true! But again because it is a personal enterprise, every little success feels like a huge triumph and at the age of 36 it is incredible and fascinating to feel again to be able to learn new things and create new things Now, I have painted a very bleak image. But let me tell you this: So far, I think this was the best decision I ever took and I feel alive more than ever. I have concerns of course about my job prospects, but I am in a better position than my colleagues because well if worst comes to worst, I will just go back to my old career. Also, because it feels harder for me now at this age to go through those challenges, I feel even more persistent to make it succeed more than others around me. Every little win feels like a huge accomplishment. Best of luck!