Insights Blog
-- Browse All Articles --
Physics Articles
Physics Tutorials
Physics Guides
Physics FAQ
Math Articles
Math Tutorials
Math Guides
Math FAQ
Education Articles
Education Guides
Bio/Chem Articles
Technology Guides
Computer Science Tutorials
Forums
Science and Math Textbooks
STEM Educators and Teaching
STEM Academic Advising
STEM Career Guidance
Trending
Featured Threads
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Science and Math Textbooks
STEM Educators and Teaching
STEM Academic Advising
STEM Career Guidance
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
Science Education and Careers
STEM Career Guidance
Beginning Physics Studies at Age 39: Is it Nuts?
Reply to thread
Message
[QUOTE="SuperMaser, post: 6522402, member: 689787"] I did pretty much the same and was even older than you. However, I was completely financial independent after a rather successful careers before I enrolled to an undergrad program and then PhD. IMO, it would be a very bad idea if you had not attained financial security. First, you need to spend 4 years to finish your undergrad degree. Then average PhD physics would take 6 years to complete. After that, under current academic environment, you would be lucky to find a tenure track assistant position after 2-3 years of postdoc. Therefore you are looking for 12-13 years of education before making yourself available in academic job market. By that time, you will be 50+ years old and your chance to build a career in Physics is very low. The risk of landing a tenure track position was simply too high if you have not already attained financial independence. Another issue is indeed ageism. Age discrimination is illegal in the US but it would be very difficult to judge since the whole PhD admission or faculty hiring process were so competitive and subjective. My own experience was that not all schools would take your older age into consideration but I did feel that some schools did. Older age students enrolling in PhD Physics at top schools are very very rare which directly affect the chance of landing on your postdoc and first junior faculty appointment. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Post reply
Forums
Science Education and Careers
STEM Career Guidance
Beginning Physics Studies at Age 39: Is it Nuts?
Back
Top