I am old. Can I get into a top tier Statistics PhD program?

[iamold]

I'll try to give as much detail as I can without identifying myself:

I have a bachelors in Math and am working in industry as a data scientist (in tech if it matters.) As an undergrad I always liked the idea of going and getting a phd and returning to industry afterward, but life happened and that wasn't an option until recently. I'm turning 30 in 2019 and am starting a masters in stats at a top 20 stats department that I will finish in 2020. Naturally I'm revisiting the possibility of getting a phd.

Am I already out of the running at top 10 departments? Top 20? Moreover, what would I need to do and how would it differ from what some hot shot kid straight out of undergrad would have to do? Finally, is there a way to go in openly and consciously seeking to use the phd in industry, rather than academia, so that my age and experience in industry plays to my advantage - or are all top departments exclusively seeking to bring in future tenure track university researchers?

[Stat Assistant Professor]

You are absolutely not too old. You may be on the older end but it's not ancient either. And it's not unheard of either to start a PhD in your 30s. I just looked at the UC Berkeley Statistics program and saw that there is one PhD student who finished his BS in 2002 and who entered the PhD program there in 2013 (I'm only aware of this because this student was one of the winners of a Student Paper Competition at JSM ). Looking through the PhD alumni at Berkeley Stats, I also see one alumnus who got his BS in 1997 and finished his PhD at Berkeley in 2012, and is now a Professor at Harvard. And there is another one who finished his Bachelor's in 1985 and didn't complete his PhD at Berkeley until 2013 (almost 30 years after he got his Bachelor's!).

So you're golden if you want to spend another 4+ years getting a PhD after you're finished with your Masters.

Edited April 5, 2018 by Applied Math to Stat

[psytillidie]

My fiancè finished his bachelors in statistics at 29 and began a PhD program at 30. He ended up leaving the program after two or three years because he landed his dream job in industry (sports related). Anyway, at 37 (about to be 38) he is considering going back to get his Ph.D. in the next year or two. In the psychology program where I currently work, there is a guy in his 40s who just started the program like two years ago. So in short, you're definitely not too old to pursue a doctoral degree!

[frisbeeindustry]

Just to add another anecdote to hopefully make you feel better about all of this - I'm going to be 34 this summer and will be starting a PhD at a top 5 program in biophysics. I interviewed at 4 top 10 programs and was accepted to all of them. My age was only really brought up at one of them, they seemed to view it as an asset (I got in) but it was the only school where I felt like I wouldn't fit in due to my age/background. I was also worried about being too old going in but in retrospect the schools don't seem to care at all and it was more of a matter of finding the right environment where I was sure I could find community. You'll probably find that some top tier programs tend to recruit more traditional students (I was easily 10 years older than the rest of the recruitment weekend students at that one school), whereas some actually make an effort to diversify their cohorts. This factor was important to me but may be less so for you, in any case I wouldn't worry about your age holding you back. Good luck!