Is 30 too late to start a PhD?

[stacktrace]

I had an interview a couple of days ago and the professor mentioned that I am older than most of their applicants. I had to explain that I did not waste my time after I graduated and all. I am 30 now and I want to start a PhD in one of California's top schools (Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Caltech.. ) in biomedical informatics. I was just wondering if the adcomms from those universities put so much importance on your age. Is 30 already too late to start a PhD? I don't see it that way, but I would like to hear other people's opinions.

[singlecell]

*Walks to my HR soapbox*

I have to brush up on my title 6, but even so, this is utterly ridiculous.

*Steps down from HR soapbox*

I know, it stinks. I think because it was an informal Q and A and not a legit interview the Professor barely squeezed by with that comment.

[planetparker]

I guess I would hope that what exactly one spent those years out of school doing and how it was related to the program would be a factor. If you spent 15 years being a Tax Accountant, then suddenly decided you wanted a PhD in English Literature or something, I can see how that might work against you, but I'm hoping that ones relevant work experience comes into play.

The first thing I wanted adcomms to look at was my resume, then my master's thesis, then my grades from my master's program.... and then my dismal undergrad grades, and then I wanted them not to look at my GRE scores at all.

Well, I will be 41 in a couple of weeks and applying to start a PhD in Fall 2011. I did my undergrad BA in Archaeology, then worked for 17 years in investment banking as a Chartered Accountant in the City of London. Applying to do a PhD in palaeontology/geology....... I don't see why the work experience must be relevant to your field, experience is experience after all. Here's hoping.

[Golden Monkey]

Well, I will be 41 in a couple of weeks and applying to start a PhD in Fall 2011. I did my undergrad BA in Archaeology, then worked for 17 years in investment banking as a Chartered Accountant in the City of London. Applying to do a PhD in palaeontology/geology....... I don't see why the work experience must be relevant to your field, experience is experience after all. Here's hoping.

Wow, really? That's really cool. Well, my mom got accepted (master's not PhD) at the age of 50 with absolutely no work experience.

[Lola80]

I am also 30. I finished my MA when I was 25 and then thought I'd try to find work in my field, never did and began teaching, in an unrelated field to youngsters. Now, five years later, I know I definitely want a PhD but, hoping I didn't wait too long

[Bonkers]

I had an interview a couple of days ago and the professor mentioned that I am older than most of their applicants. I had to explain that I did not waste my time after I graduated and all. I am 30 now and I want to start a PhD in one of California's top schools (Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Caltech.. ) in biomedical informatics. I was just wondering if the adcomms from those universities put so much importance on your age. Is 30 already too late to start a PhD? I don't see it that way, but I would like to hear other people's opinions.

30 is not late at all! When I was doing my MA a woman in the PhD cohort was in her early fifties... she was going in for her second PhD. I think age is an advantage in this grad school game. It shows that you have experience in life and you are serious about going into graduate school.

[Threepwood]

In my current MA program the average age is something like 27, and it's a resident program, not night-and-weekends. I've found that having a couple of years of work or life experience under your belt makes you a stronger candidate. I just turned 30 myself and I'm applying for Ph.D admission in a separate but related field to my MA, and I don't feel at all like it's a disadvantage. Quite the contrary...

[adstatus]

Well, ha, I sure hope not! I'm 43 and am applying to PhD programs right now. Though in my case, all of my industry experience is (extremely) relevant to the programs I applied to, so it isn't like I suddenly changed directions at my age. I suppose the way I see it is that I'm applying to get a degree in an academic version of something I've already been doing for a living for 15+ years.

Though whether or not they'll see it the same way remains to be seen, I guess.

Glad to hear it. I'm 43 as well and applying to PhD programs in Marketing. I've worked in industry for 20 years on both the strategy/managmeent and creative/tactical sides and have taught as a visiting/clinical prof at at Big 12 university for the past 4. I really see this move as an extention of what I've been doing, but getting into the theoretical research side rather than applied research and application. Profs who wrote my LORs said my age MAY be a factor, but the rest of my profile is so strong, it shouldn't make much difference.

[space-cat]

Interesting to read everyone's thoughts on this one. I've actually heard that, in my field at least, ad coms are less enthusiastic about admitting candidates in their early twenties because they tend to be unfocused, take too long to finish their degrees, and don't have a lot of life experience to draw on. We were all encouraged to take a few years off before even thinking about applying. Of course, I'm in anthropology, where "life experience" is considered more relevant to research ability than it might be in, say, computer science or engineering.

On the other hand, a friend of mine is applying to med school at 30, and has gotten a whole lot of backlash about her age.

[Golden Monkey]

Glad to hear it. I'm 43 as well and applying to PhD programs in Marketing. I've worked in industry for 20 years on both the strategy/managmeent and creative/tactical sides and have taught as a visiting/clinical prof at at Big 12 university for the past 4. I really see this move as an extention of what I've been doing, but getting into the theoretical research side rather than applied research and application. Profs who wrote my LORs said my age MAY be a factor, but the rest of my profile is so strong, it shouldn't make much difference.

My friend mentioned that some profs might feel threatened. Do you think this is true?

[emmm]

My friend mentioned that some profs might feel threatened. Do you think this is true?

I can't see why . . . none of my CC instructors has seemed to feel threatened, even the ones I have a few years on.

[neshmi]

It seems to be a trend nowadays to concentrate academics all in one go. This is actually (in my humble opinion, of course) more harmful than good. First, I think people need to get out and get experience in their field of choice after their undergraduate years. First off, you need to know if you like it. Second, you need to figure out what questions you want to ask. By the time most of us have finished our undergraduate we've been in school approximately 16 years of our lives. We're fed up, and ready to do something else, and we desperately lack "real world" experience. I think there is something about getting a couple years of experience and then going back into academia, if then! I am 7 years out of my undergrad and I am no longer in the same career that I was then. I am now switching gears, albeit a half gear, and changing my direction somewhat and honing it to something I am more interested in. This only came from experience and time in real work environments. What would have happened had I gone on to do an MA or PhD straight out of undergraduate studies? Well, I'd be stuck there now and maybe not very happy with my job and feel like I would need to change directions but probably feel like I've invested 8+ years in my education speciality and not want to walk away from it. Blah. One might even say that 30 is to young to start a PhD. My mom got her masters after she was 50... and why not??

[ZeChocMoose]

As someone who has known a couple people who have gone straight on from their bachelor's degree to earn their doctorate and now want nothing to do with their field-- I think it was helpful to work a couple years in my field to make sure I enjoyed it enough to invest 5+ years in a PhD program.

That being said, I think there are some people who know from an early age what they want to do for their career. I didn't have that realization until my master's degree.

[Golden Monkey]

It seems to be a trend nowadays to concentrate academics all in one go. This is actually (in my humble opinion, of course) more harmful than good. First, I think people need to get out and get experience in their field of choice after their undergraduate years. First off, you need to know if you like it. Second, you need to figure out what questions you want to ask. By the time most of us have finished our undergraduate we've been in school approximately 16 years of our lives. We're fed up, and ready to do something else, and we desperately lack "real world" experience. I think there is something about getting a couple years of experience and then going back into academia, if then! I am 7 years out of my undergrad and I am no longer in the same career that I was then. I am now switching gears, albeit a half gear, and changing my direction somewhat and honing it to something I am more interested in. This only came from experience and time in real work environments. What would have happened had I gone on to do an MA or PhD straight out of undergraduate studies? Well, I'd be stuck there now and maybe not very happy with my job and feel like I would need to change directions but probably feel like I've invested 8+ years in my education speciality and not want to walk away from it. Blah. One might even say that 30 is to young to start a PhD. My mom got her masters after she was 50... and why not??

Yes, if it hadn't been for my career path, I never would have known of the existence of the programs I applied to. I got sent to a conference a few times by my employer, and after seeing some projects and going to a couple of talks, I realized that there were people doing an academic version of the stuff we made a living doing for commercial projects. When I was an undergrad, most of these programs didn't exist yet.

One thing about being in your late 30s early 40s: you're only halfway through your working years! When you're only at the halfway point of your career (and expected lifespan for that matter,) I'm kind of baffled as to how it can be considered too old for a career shift.

[neshmi]

Its almost the best time to go back to school. You have some experience in the work force, you know what its like out there and going to school can only help to hone those skills and when you go in to graduate school later in your life you are going to be a lot more serious about it then if you came straight from your undergrad studies.

[aquellita]

I had an interview a couple of days ago and the professor mentioned that I am older than most of their applicants. I had to explain that I did not waste my time after I graduated and all. I am 30 now and I want to start a PhD in one of California's top schools (Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Caltech.. ) in biomedical informatics. I was just wondering if the adcomms from those universities put so much importance on your age. Is 30 already too late to start a PhD? I don't see it that way, but I would like to hear other people's opinions.

Nope!

I'm 33 and hopefully starting in the fall and I feel better and more sure of myself than 10 years ago

See, I've worked in industry long enough to know what I want and what I don't want and I definitely feel super ready to tackle graduate work

Plus I've been married, divorced, have a child, and let me tell you, i've been there and done that

So for me, graduate school is IT!!!

I wasn't this sure 10 years ago

Good luck!

[kkeefe]

With the economy as it is, schools have got to be seeing a larger influx of older candidates this year. I'm 35 and applying now, and I can say without question I am more focused, efficient and dedicated than I ever was when I was in my early twenties. Schools wouldn't have wanted me then if they had known.

[Zorah]

I'll be 53 when I start in Fall 2011.You're never too old.

I had an interview a couple of days ago and the professor mentioned that I am older than most of their applicants. I had to explain that I did not waste my time after I graduated and all. I am 30 now and I want to start a PhD in one of California's top schools (Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Caltech.. ) in biomedical informatics. I was just wondering if the adcomms from those universities put so much importance on your age. Is 30 already too late to start a PhD? I don't see it that way, but I would like to hear other people's opinions.

[Golden Monkey]

Flip side, sorry to be a Debbie Downer:

This is one thing I wonder about: going back to school, even at a fully-funded program undoubtedly means barely making enough to live on (well, I'm already doing that,) but almost more importantly it means sacrificing benefits like 401k and health insurance. I sometimes wonder at my age if it makes more sense to just try to find a better-paying job so that I can keep contributing to my 401k, keep being covered by health insurance, etc. If I finished a Phd at the age of 47 or 48, would I really be better off professionally, or would I have just denied myself 4 years of saving for retirement, exacerbated by the fact that I had to pay for my own health insurance?

Though I'm in a situation where I have no dependents, so at least if I did something stupid, no one is affected but me.

[diggergurl]

Will add in my 2 cents: I'm 42 and have been a lawyer for 15 years. About 3 years ago, I realized that I wanted to change careers. Have just finished my master's degree and applied for PhD programs in the fall. At no point did any of the profs I interviewed with mention my age as a factor. The only comment was that since I already had a "professional" degree and a profession I was qualified for, why did I want to change and go back to school? I have to agree with other posters that I wasn't mature or experienced enough in my early 20s to really define what I wanted. I just went along an expected track that seemed like a decent choice, and have been fairly unhappy with that ever since. When I realized a few years ago that I wanted to change careers, I found lots of support. I would hope that ANY student of ANY age would be encouraged to keep studying, whether you have 20 or 30 years of "productivity" ahead or not! Why should you stop learning at a certain age? Maybe you won't have as long a career if you enter as an older student, but you are still capable of making a valuable contribution to society at any age!