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Ph.D. in your 30s?


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I'm very seriously considering returning to grad school for a clinical psychology Ph.D. I'm going to turn 35 in a couple of months and I'll admit I'm pretty daunted by the idea of spending 5+ years in graduate school at this stage of my life versus, say, my mid-twenties.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone who began a doctoral program in their 30s--about your experience, any hardships you faced or benefits you enjoyed being an "older" student, what it has been like to leave the workforce, and whether on the whole the experience has been positive. It would be helpful also if you mentioned the discipline you pursued / are pursuing.

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I don't have my Ph.D., but I can say that all of the people I know who went after theirs started in their 30's. Not sure if that helps. :)

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Yeah, SG, it helps a lot! I keep picturing myself surrounded by 22-year-olds and a couple of token middle-aged people and feeling morbidly lonely for 5 years, not to mention dateless. So to know that starting a Ph.D. in your 30s is not uncommon is a comfort for sure :)

 

I also want to retain some of my separate, non-university life...and I know when I was younger and in grad school that was hard for me to do. I want to have some outlets outside the university that I can turn to to keep my feet on the ground throughout the process.

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Anyway, most in the people in my MS program were in their mid-twenties, I was the one in the early thirties. While those in the PhD programs are late twenties and early thirties.

 

I do not see why you can't get your PhD, in your thirties.

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GorillaTheater

Not speaking from from my own experience, but I recall a professor I had as an undergrad who didn't even start his BA program until he retired from the Navy as a Master Chief, and was probably 50 by the time he completed his PhD. Guy I went to law school with was in his 60s and was a retired executive. He went on to work in a low-income legal assistance program.

 

Personally, I love stories like that.

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I'm 32 and I'm in my second year of my program for my doctorate in education. Some of my classmates are a bit younger than me (in their late 20s), but I would say that the majority are my age or older.

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Also, I'm considering going back to school to get my fifth degree, my MPA/MPP/MPPA, in addition to the AA, BA, MA, and JD I already have. I'm 33, and was told that's a pretty average age for the program I'm looking into. A Ph.D might interest me someday... And by someday, I mean late 40's!! :laugh:

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I was 26 when I started my PhD. Most of my cohort was between 26 and 40. For the younger students, they were coming from BA or MA programs. For myself, my slightly older best friend, and the other people in their 30s, we were coming from within academia but had not recently been students. We were almost always working tangentially with our field too. I don't know how the selection process works for psychology, but would this possibly hurt you?

 

It was incredibly difficult to keep my "non-university" life going while I was in the PhD program. I was in a very rigorous program and I found that most of the little free time I had was spent with my cohort. The older people were somewhat more successful at keeping outside lives but they found themselves out of the loop within the university itself - it's hard to strike that kind of balance. (By out of the loop, I don't mean about parties and the like. I mean that they didn't form writing groups, or know about workshops, or things like that that were rather vital to our experience because they simply weren't around.)

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Also, I'm considering going back to school to get my fifth degree, my MPA/MPP/MPPA, in addition to the AA, BA, MA, and JD I already have. I'm 33, and was told that's a pretty average age for the program I'm looking into. A Ph.D might interest me someday... And by someday, I mean late 40's!! :laugh:

 

A side note, I say go for the MPA. It would be "easy" compared to your JD.

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A side note, I say go for the MPA. It would be "easy" compared to your JD.

 

Scholastically, yes. But when I was in law school, I didn't have a full time job. I'm worried about balancing work and another Masters program, but a handful of my friends have done it while employed, so hopefully I won't die! :laugh:

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threebyfate

GreenCove, have you paid off all your debt and can afford to spend 5 years in a grad program? If not, I would heavily encourage you to be pragmatic considering how many, many students can't afford to pay off their student loan debt since they can't get a job or get a job that pays sufficiently to handle the repayment schedule. It's an ROI issue of education v. debt where there's currently a glut of psych degrees.

 

That said, you're not too old. Unless people are experiencing alzheimer's, they're never too old to learn.

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I started my PhD when I was 34, and I have several colleagues my age and some older. No regrets.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Sorry for the radio silence; I have had family visiting the past 2+ weeks and so my internet time has been limited. Thank you everyone for the replies. Your encouragement as well as that of people I know IRL has led me to start the process of researching and preparing for doctoral programs. To answer TBF and Sm1tten, I paid off all my school loans 5 or so years ago, and since age 21 I have worked tangentially in the field, with the exception of this past year. So I think I'm good on those fronts....

 

I've registered for a relevant course for-credit this fall at a university and I've started soliciting input from everyone I've ever known and respected in the field.

 

I'm looking exclusively at programs that admit a small enough number of doctoral students that they can afford to give them all full fellowships. It's too late in the game for me to apply this winter for admission next fall, but I plan to apply in Dec. '12 for fall '13 admission.

 

I'll admit it, the blood just drained from my fingers as I realized I will be turning 37 right as I start my program. But really, who cares, right? It is what it is, and surely it's never a bad thing when you finally decide to pursue a path that is true to you, after having spent so long trying to accommodate to people who don't even know how to appreciate it. Heck, there's people who start medical school in their thirties--that's at least 8 years as opposed to 5.

 

Thanks so much, again, for all the input, guys!

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MorningCoffee

Certainly, you're not too old for this! I have a friend who finished law school and passed the Bar just shy of turning 50. I think part of the equation, though, is what is your plan for employment down the road? My friend did not compete with younger law grads, but opened an independent law office (she had been a paralegal for years before law school). Will you be competing with younger PhDs for college level teaching posts? or is that not a concern?

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A little late to jump in on this thread, but thought I'd add my opinion:

 

I just turned 30 last month, and I'm finishing up the last few credits of my B.A. Honours. I'll be entering graduate studies for fall 2012. (Hopefully!) I've been going to university full time for the past few years, and I am actually very glad I waited until I was older to start school. I find that compared to many of my classmates I have more strongly formed opinions and am more willing to express them, which in my program is important. My language skills are somewhat more "polished", and I have found my age to actually be beneficial when interacting with professors because I tend to regard them as people who have experience that can help me rather than authority figures.

Good for you for going for your Ph.D. Age is nothing to be concerned about and should not hold you back from academic success!

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Thank you for all the encouragement!

 

One of my big fears is the fact that at nearly 35, I'm still not married, and have no prospects on the horizon. I don't expect to have any prospects turn up in this tiny mountain town where I live, and even if any did, I know it doesn't suit me to stay here longer than it takes me to get ready for grad school (so, 2 more years, unfortunately).

 

So what will it be like to be single, age 37, starting a Ph.D. program? Am I dooming myself to remain single until my early 40s when I finish my program? Am I having to face the very real prospect that I might NEVER marry and have a child???

 

That's where my mind goes. Am I being ridiculous?

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Thank you for all the encouragement!

 

One of my big fears is the fact that at nearly 35, I'm still not married, and have no prospects on the horizon. I don't expect to have any prospects turn up in this tiny mountain town where I live, and even if any did, I know it doesn't suit me to stay here longer than it takes me to get ready for grad school (so, 2 more years, unfortunately).

 

So what will it be like to be single, age 37, starting a Ph.D. program? Am I dooming myself to remain single until my early 40s when I finish my program? Am I having to face the very real prospect that I might NEVER marry and have a child???

 

That's where my mind goes. Am I being ridiculous?

 

I work in academia/ do a PhD and people here get together ALL the time, so I'm not entirely sure where this sorry stems from. Why can you not marry while you're doing a PhD? People do that all the time.

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I work in academia/ do a PhD and people here get together ALL the time, so I'm not entirely sure where this sorry stems from. Why can you not marry while you're doing a PhD? People do that all the time.

 

You're right. I don't know why that concerns me so much. I guess because no one in my web of contemporaries is applying to grad school now--many of them already have their doctorates or MDs or JDs. And now they're free to focus on building their families, or on taking more career risks, etc. I guess I just feel a little out of sync. Like, the men most suitable for me will be freed from the constraints of school because they're done with it all, and so I'll be off the radar somehow.

 

As I type it, it sounds silly, I know. But that fear keeps cropping up. :rolleyes:

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analystfromhell

Almost 50 and in my PhD, am about average to slight above so I don't see your 30s as late at all. If you want to teach then it might be tough if you've not got a source of income but if it's for work or personal development then no problem.

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You're right. I don't know why that concerns me so much. I guess because no one in my web of contemporaries is applying to grad school now--many of them already have their doctorates or MDs or JDs. And now they're free to focus on building their families, or on taking more career risks, etc. I guess I just feel a little out of sync. Like, the men most suitable for me will be freed from the constraints of school because they're done with it all, and so I'll be off the radar somehow.

 

As I type it, it sounds silly, I know. But that fear keeps cropping up. :rolleyes:

 

Well, in a sense it's good that the men are free from school, because it allows a certain division of labour. I put my H through grad school (financially) for two years. We couldn't have both done it at the same time. Later I left a high paying job for a less paid job in academia with the option for doing a PhD, which I can now continue because he's working. I couldn't sustain us both on my current salary.

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Scholastically, yes. But when I was in law school, I didn't have a full time job. I'm worried about balancing work and another Masters program, but a handful of my friends have done it while employed, so hopefully I won't die! :laugh:

 

Well you won't die but don't expect a life! During graduation, our university president said to thank (and keep) the significant others or marry the one who stucked by you during graduate school.

 

This thread is making me want to pursue an MS.

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You're right. I don't know why that concerns me so much. I guess because no one in my web of contemporaries is applying to grad school now--many of them already have their doctorates or MDs or JDs. And now they're free to focus on building their families, or on taking more career risks, etc. I guess I just feel a little out of sync. Like, the men most suitable for me will be freed from the constraints of school because they're done with it all, and so I'll be off the radar somehow.

 

As I type it, it sounds silly, I know. But that fear keeps cropping up. :rolleyes:

 

I don't think it's a silly fear - but I DO think that all kinds of things happen that you can't really plan for, so while it's worth thinking about, I wouldn't let it alter the course of your life.

 

I finished my PhD in my early 30s (in the physical sciences, so I had a full fellowship). My classmates were pretty evenly distributed around me in terms of age - there were people there in their early 20s who were right out of a bachelors/masters program, and then there were people who had worked in the field for years before deciding to go back to school at 40+. My sense was that the older students were more focused, in general - they often finished more quickly. ;) That might be because they had a clearer idea of what they wanted to do going in, so spent less time trying to figure that out and just got down to it.

 

Regarding a personal life...the thing is, grad school can be VERY hard on an EXISTING relationship. My marriage failed while I was in grad school - not because of grad school, but the long hours certainly placed a strain, and the intensity of the experience even more so. Pre-existing relationships get sorely tested - but the really strong relationships (which mine clearly wasn't) will come through swimmingly. I had friends who met in grad school and got married, friends who had babies while in school (some left for good, some stayed), friends who got divorced. I guess what I'm saying is, life doesn't really, in practice, get put on hold. It's challenging, but it's not like you'll suddenly be cut off from relationships or society. Your society, however, may become that grad school world for a little while, and those relationships will become paramount.

 

I don't know if that's helpful - sorry for the rambling. :) My gut, however, would be to tell you to go for it. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I'm so glad I did it.

 

Edited to add: I do have another datapoint. My sister decided to go back to school to get her PhD at about your age. Her degree, however, is in a field that did not offer her much financial support beyond scrabbling together teaching RAs to pay for room and board. She has worked very hard to stay on top of the debt as much as possible by holding down other jobs at the same time - but now she's about to graduate, and is facing a very dire hiring situation. Although she loved her program and I think is very glad she did it, emotionally, right now, she's a wreck, from the combination of having student loans to pay off, not having a job or personal relationship, and feeling old (she's in her early 40s) to be in all three situations.

 

So I don't want to sugarcoat this. Your situation would be somewhat different, however, in that you wouldn't go into debt to pay for school. (And my sister has NEVER been proactive about seeking relationships, so to a very large extent, that's a hole of her own making.)

Edited by serial muse
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  • 1 month later...

I've no idea where you're from or what field you're in, but here in my field it's very unusual for students to commence a PhD without substantial working experience behind them. Most of our PhD students are in their 40s and 50s. We prefer the more mature students, as those are more likely to complete - and complete on time - while younger students are typically not as serious about their studies and are more likely to drop out, delay completion or change topic so many times that they exhaust their supervisor's patience.

 

Good luck!

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Just curious, why would be young be an advantage to employers? I can understand them wanting a 27 year old over an equally-qualified 50 year old, because they would have retirement requirements in some countries. But why choose a 27 y/o over a 37 y/o, all other things being equal?

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