At what age did you complete your undergrad and grad degrees and phD?

[fizziks]

BS at 23 (I entered college at 18 in August, so it took a while)
MS most likely before my 25 birthday.

 

[marcusl]

BS at 21, worked in industry a year, then PhD at 27. No masters--it didn't seem worth the time it would take to fill out the form! It's a little hard to explain now...

As for not having done Nobel-prize worthy work by age 30, Nobel's are probably overrated anyway :)

 

[vanesch]

M Sc in engineering at 23, M Sc in physics at 26, PhD at 30. Dang. Too late

 

[cjwalle]

How on Earth are you managing to get a B.Sc at 20-21? B.Sc is a four-year degree, right? So if you start at 18, which is normal, you'd be done at 22. Now me, I'll be done at 23, since Norwegians aren't done with High School until they are 19.

 

[cristo]

How on Earth are you managing to get a B.Sc at 20-21? B.Sc is a four-year degree, right? So if you start at 18, which is normal, you'd be done at 22. Now me, I'll be done at 23, since Norwegians aren't done with High School until they are 19.

It depends what country: BSc degrees in the UK are 3 year degrees.

 

[cjwalle]

It depends what country: BSc degrees in the UK are 3 year degrees.

Ah yes, I actually didn't think of that. Here in Norway, it's also a 3 year degree. But we're stuck in school 'till we're 19 to compensate for it.

 

[fluidistic]

I'll be done with my B.Sc. when 26 years old. Here in Argentina this lasts 5 years (as a minimum because the last year is dedicated to a specialty which end in a work similar to a thesis. So it can lasts 5 years as 8 years. The "good" thing of this is that one can directly apply for a doctorate without passing by a master.). I started at 19 (almost 20) years old but didn't do well in my first year so now I'm 21 finishing the first year.
But I don't want to apply for a doctorate here so I don't know exactly what my B.Sc. is worth in Canada. I'll certainly have to apply for a master (but don't know if I have to start it from the first year...) and then a doctorate. Say I'll be done around 34 or 35 years old. I'm not scared for the studies (I love it) but a bit worried about how I will make money.

 

[mathwonk]

defender, i "stayed in school" for that period as a student in name only, not really working at it, hence going nowhere.

 

[Necross]

Quick question for you guys. During the time you were doing your PhD did you have a family to support? How did you get by in terms of expenses and all?

 

[Norman]

Quick question for you guys. During the time you were doing your PhD did you have a family to support? How did you get by in terms of expenses and all?

I got married my first year in grad school and then had a son my last year in grad school. My wife worked and I had a fellowship the last 3 years that paid me ok (20k take home, 12 month support). My wife worked at a good job and really supported us. For my last 3 years of grad school, she actually worked for the University I attended and we lived close to the school so we would walk to work together in the mornings, go home for lunch, etc. This saved money on food and gas. A big bonus.

I had a lot of friends who were married in grad school and even had a few who had kids. It is not uncommon. If you come right from undergrad, the shock of being poor isn't that big of a deal. But if you come from industry and are not working in industry during grad school, you may feel very poor and this might affect your grad school mentality.

Anyways, plenty of people from all walks of life, all financial situations, all anything you can think of go to grad school. If you want to be there and make it work, you can. Grad school can be filled with adversity and hardship, but there is always your fellow grad students going through most of the same stuff so don't worry too much.

 

[Necross]

If you don't mind me asking, how hard is it to obtain a fellowship? Is there any statistical data on grad school earning etc? Also the thing is that I don't plan on having a family until I finish school but I would need to support my aging parents and my younger siblings. Herein lies the real problem.

 

[Norman]

If you don't mind me asking, how hard is it to obtain a fellowship?

Depends on the type of fellowship. The 4 different fellowships I had through grad school were:
1. A very nominal award that was given to almost all grad students every year (like $500 for the year). They used this make sure you lived up to expectations teaching.

2. A fairly competitive award from the grad school based on academic performance, teaching evaluations, department recommendation and research progress. (was like $2000 or so)

3. An award for summer research support through a state agency. Had to write a fairly nominal research proposal. Was like $3-4k I think.
Fairly competitive. About 20% of the proposals received were funded.

4. A nationally competitive research fellowship from NASA that fully funded my final 3 years of grad school. You had deliverables that had to be met by a deadline that you created in your proposal. The proposal was fairly involved- not quite as involved as research grant proposals once you graduate, but still pretty involved.

I cannot really comment on how hard it is to get a certain fellowship and how different departments handle their funding. But I do know I was in the minority of my friends. They tended to just TA to pay the bills until they passed the Qualifying Exams then get an RA for full-time support if their advisor had money. If their advisor didn't have funding for them they could either TA and do research unpaid or hunt down fellowships.

Is there any statistical data on grad school earning etc?

The AIP probably has some statistics on that kind of stuff for physics grad schools. For other fields, I have no idea where you would find it. That is something to ask your advisor, though I think.

Also the thing is that I don't plan on having a family until I finish school but I would need to support my aging parents and my younger siblings. Herein lies the real problem.

This is going to be tough I think. Even with a well paying job it would be tough. The thing is, you typically only get paid enough to live in grad school. Doesn't much matter if you teach or get a Research Assistant position or have a fellowship. Your money will be used to cover your basic living expenses. But this is all very subjective and I know there is a huge variance in how much grad students are paid and your cost of living is also a huge issue. Having to live in a big city vs a small town for grad school will factor in.