The PhD Lifestyle

[crugs]

On 2/17/2017 at 7:10 PM, Tybalt said:

I started my program at 31, so there's always hope!  A good friend was in his 40s when he was accepted to Indiana, too, so while it really is different program to program, age IS just a number!

 

Out of curiosity--when I saw your sig line (the bit about Shakespeare and education, which are also interests of mine), I scrolled back to see how you defined your research interests.  Have you thought of looking at PhD programs in education?  Your proposed project in previous posts seemed to be more on the education side of things.

I am a HS teacher now and have hated every education class I've ever taken-wouldn't be able to bear a full phd. I really want to focus on the categorization and accessibility of each play, WHY it's taught rather than HOW, if that makes sense!

[Dr. Old Bill]

1 hour ago, crugs said:

I really want to focus on the categorization and accessibility of each play, WHY it's taught rather than HOW, if that makes sense!

I think that's a really intriguing approach! Similar questions have crossed my mind, but I've never really explored them -- I truly hope you get a chance to do so in an academic context.

I took a research seminar as an undergraduate titled "Marginal Shakespeare." All of the plays we read were ostensibly on the fringes of the Shakespeare canon, and (again ostensibly) don't warrant as much academic study. Some of the professor's selections made sense -- The Two Noble Kinsmen, Timon of Athens, Pericles etc. all seem to be less recognizable than most. Then again, I thought Measure for Measure, Cymbeline, and Troilus and Cressida were all unusual choices...especially when she could have chosen King John or even my beloved Coriolanus. The question of "marginality" has stuck with me since then, and I'd love to hear more about your research in that area at some point. 

[ThousandsHardships]

I'd say in the humanities at least, going straight from undergrad to grad school tends to be an exception rather than the norm. As an undergrad, my TA's were all in their late 30's or early 40's. When I was doing my master's, my cohorts were mostly between 23 and 27 years of age (with a few exceptions...exceptions meaning older, not younger) during their first year. They've explored career options, they know what they want to do, and they have lives outside of school. Speaking of which, there is no reason that your academics should get in the way of your dating life or married life. Tons of grad students get married and have babies and take advantage of campus resources for student parents. There's absolutely no issue in doing that. Sure, it might get stressful and you'll be busy, but a family and a career do not need to be thought of as mutually exclusive things. And if you finish your PhD, you will have a job that you will have to dedicate just as much time to, and things that enter your life that you didn't even have to worry about in school. You won't suddenly be free to do all these extra things that you pushed aside during school. You have to make time for them, then or now, if you deem it important to do so.

I'll be starting my program at age 27. I was forced to take a gap year after my undergrad, after which I started a PhD program that I didn't finish. I graduated in three years with a double master's instead and am spending the year abroad. I'm not in a relationship and never have been. I want one, but my anxiety makes it very difficult and stressful to make time for guys, especially when it's unplanned. But I don't think of school as a barrier. I think it's actually a great opportunity to get involved and get to know more people.

[orphic_mel528]

27 minutes ago, bradley610 said:

This. Exactly. I'm 31 now, and got married less than a year ago. I'll be applying in the next cycle, so I'll (hopefully) be 32 when I start my PhD. To the OP: it may feel like it all has to happen now, but life feels much more manageable and enjoyable when you let go of this idea. And to orphic: so sly of you to do the "You can decide for yourself whether I'm washed-up in the looks department." thing; you just broke a lot dudes' (and maybe ladies') hearts by saying you're married.

Ah now, Bradley. Thanks for the compliment. We geriatrics were in another thread earlier today talking about prunes; sorry you missed it, but I think @Wyatt's Terps took down minutes. 

[rheya19]

On 2/18/2017 at 2:15 PM, ratanegra19 said:

Also @Bumblebea and @orphic_mel528, I couldn't stop laughing when I watched that video--are you familiar with Amy Schumer's "Last F***able Day" sketch?

Love that sketch! "Ever notice how Sally Fields played Tom Hank's love-interest in Punchline, and 5 years later was playing his mom in Forrest Gump?"

[orphic_mel528]

4 minutes ago, bradley610 said:

Ha. Well, my wife tells me I'm hot all the time. It's one of the great things about being married, but it may just be her irrational spousal attraction. Hopefully it's a while til I'm prune-ish yet.

It was less resembling the prunes and more consuming them medicinally for regularity, but either way.

[orphic_mel528]

7 minutes ago, bradley610 said:

Ha. Well that is far more horrible than I'd imagined. Best of luck to you, orphic. Keep breakin' those hearts.

Thanks Bradley.

[Dr. Old Bill]

7 hours ago, orphic_mel528 said:

Ah now, Bradley. Thanks for the compliment. We geriatrics were in another thread earlier today talking about prunes; sorry you missed it, but I think @Wyatt's Terps took down minutes. 

"Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
 In death's dream kingdom"

Edited February 21, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

From what I can see there is no direct correlation between singledom and academia/non-academia. All my (28 and above) friends in the "real world" who are single can attest to that and the grad-cafe community seems to agree. Your post seems to suggest you're unhappy about being single (or at least the idea of still being in a few years time), so I would suggest you prioritise your happiness and put aside some of your time during grad school for dating. People get through grad school with families and children to look after, so if you want to I am sure you can make some space for someone extra in your life.