Topics specific to "non-traditional" graduate students

[Golden Monkey]

I thought of this subject while reading through the thread.

Those of us who are starting/continuing grad school later in life than most have our own set of challenges, fears, advantages and disadvantages that we perhaps wouldn't have if we had done this earlier in life. I don't expect anyone to have answers to these questions, but I figured I'd throw them out there anyway.

Is "real world" industry experience actually valued in academia? In my case, my master's degree wasn't a 180 change of direction from my career, so much as it was a very gentle 10 degree change of direction from my professional life. By the time I started on it at age 40 (finished at 43,) I had 16 years of relevant industry experience. My friend brought up the possibility that some professors might feel threatened by this, rather than enthused. So far, this has not been the case at all, but now that I'm applying to PhD programs, I'm starting to worry about that again.

If one finishes a PhD in ones mid-late 40s (or even older,) what, exactly does one do as far as a career direction? At this point, I have zero teaching experience. Like anything else, everyone wants you to have teaching experience before they'll let you teach, but you can't get teaching experience because everyone requires you to have teaching experience first... I feel like I'm 22 again.

Like I said, I don't expect anyone to have answers to these. It's an awkward age-- not young enough to be looking forward to your entire career, yet not old enough to be looking forward to retirement either.

[NadaJ]

I'll try to shed some light...I work in a department where many of the TT faculty earned their PhDs later in life. I think maybe 5 out of 16 faculty went straight from UG to MA to PhD. This is what gave me the courage to even think of applying for a PhD program. I am 30, and if I get accepted to the one PhD program I applied (because I am not moving my family and leaving my house for anything other than the program I want to go to) I will definitely aim for a TT position as well. I think the dept chair earned her PhD when she was in her 40s, and she's now maybe 60.

As far as real world experience, I think this is field specific. And in regards to teaching, you will have that opportunity in your graduate program, so you'll have teaching experience when you go on the market.

My "non traditional" graduate student questions all revolve around when and IF I can have another baby. I really want my daughter to have a sibling, and maybe I can pull it off once I've completed the dissertation proposal, but the large family I thought I would have may be some hybrid of my one human child, 3 cats, and maybe a dog. As an only child, this is not what I envisioned. BUT, maybe this route, I can instill in her that she absolutely can do anything she sets her mind towards.

[Golden Monkey]

I'll try to shed some light...I work in a department where many of the TT faculty earned their PhDs later in life. I think maybe 5 out of 16 faculty went straight from UG to MA to PhD. This is what gave me the courage to even think of applying for a PhD program. I am 30, and if I get accepted to the one PhD program I applied (because I am not moving my family and leaving my house for anything other than the program I want to go to) I will definitely aim for a TT position as well. I think the dept chair earned her PhD when she was in her 40s, and she's now maybe 60.

As far as real world experience, I think this is field specific. And in regards to teaching, you will have that opportunity in your graduate program, so you'll have teaching experience when you go on the market.

My "non traditional" graduate student questions all revolve around when and IF I can have another baby. I really want my daughter to have a sibling, and maybe I can pull it off once I've completed the dissertation proposal, but the large family I thought I would have may be some hybrid of my one human child, 3 cats, and maybe a dog. As an only child, this is not what I envisioned. BUT, maybe this route, I can instill in her that she absolutely can do anything she sets her mind towards.

Thanks, this is reassuring to hear, especially with regard to your department chair. I guess the sheer numbers freak me out a little. Probably 90% of the students in my master's program are in their 20s (or early 30s at the latest,) so I don't really know what happens to the rare ones who are a bit older.

But I guess on the other hand, I've never heard anyone respond with, "wow, that's a terrible idea at your age! You're wasting your time."

Best of luck with your application.

[rsldonk]

Thanks, this is reassuring to hear, especially with regard to your department chair. I guess the sheer numbers freak me out a little. Probably 90% of the students in my master's program are in their 20s (or early 30s at the latest,) so I don't really know what happens to the rare ones who are a bit older.

But I guess on the other hand, I've never heard anyone respond with, "wow, that's a terrible idea at your age! You're wasting your time."

Best of luck with your application.

That was the case in my Master's program, of the 15 who started, only 2 of us were older. Of the 15 who started, 3 of us finished the program in 2 years as intended, both of us older students and only one of the under 20s. We just got what was required done and didn't whine about it.

[Golden Monkey]

It was also pretty weird being the same as the faculty in my master's program. I imagine if I get into any of these PhD programs, I'll be dealing with that again.

[Trin]

I'll be 50ish by the time I get my PhD. I expressed concern to my UG profs that I would not be able to have a career in teaching because of my age; they all disagreed. One said, "Oh, you'll have 20 good years after you get done, for sure." I'm still a little queasy about that, but I'm not concerned for now.