To ask if you have done a PhD?

[ClaraBean]

And if you have, how old were you when you started it?
I'm 42, and really feeling the urge to go back to uni and do my PhD. I'm obsessed with the idea. Will I be an old crone? Is it the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard?

@bibliomania - but the cost value to personal development and self esteem from having completed a major project?

I think it's worth saying not everyone does feel a boost to their self esteem from having completed a PhD. For me, doing one was the right thing, and absolutely necessary since it's so far been how I earn my money. My, like the PP who was a bit concerned about the 'just go for it' advice, I am a bit cautious about the assumption everyone who completes a PhD feels an enormous sense of achievement. I loved quite a lot of doing my PhD, but I am disappointed in myself for how it went at the end. I never published from my thesis (which most people do, who stay in academia and work in my discipline). I have since written a book, which is the same sort of length/type of project and I am very proud of that despite knowing it's far from perfect, so I do have something to compare to.

It is perfectly possible to get to the end of a PhD and actually feel quite a lot of frustration that your pet project didn't come off as you'd hoped, or an honest sense it really isn't as good as you'd have liked.

I don't think that's necessarily a reason not to start one - just, I think, you shouldn't go into it assuming it will make you feel really proud at the end.

I have a PhD. Work in public sector but not academia. In my field there are quite a few people with PhD. It certainly doesn't go against you but you can probably do just as well with a masters and then the extra years of experience will help more. Not that I regret it. I'm glad I did it (I was in my 30s). My kids were very little and it was easier and more flexible to be a student than to work full time.

Maybe that's something, @Redyellowblue34 - it's hard to quantify. I also have a personal writing project in mind, so maybe I could have used that time to make progress on that project and potentially even get something published. I can't honestly say if I could have used the time, money and energy in an equally (or more) constructive way or whether I would have just frittered it away.

I have a PhD....I started on my 22nd birthday, finished at 25. In retrospect I was too young to get the most out of it. At the same time, I wouldn't be able to do it now (age 37). My experience was intense, not particularly pleasant and demanded a lot of weekend working. I didn't do badly in the jobs market afterwards, but mine is a life science PhD. For humanities, arts and social science PhDs life can be much harder afterwards.

I did my humanities PhD in my late 20s. It was a soul crushing, exhausting experience that costed me a lot (I also had to work to support myself through it). I did publish but as I went through the motions, I realized I didn't want to work in academia after all and, much like the other PP - found my PhD to be an obstacle to get a job outside academia and think-tank world. So I stayed and did a post-doc too while desperately looking for a way out.

All my jobs since (private sector) developed from a single project that landed into my lap due to a very niche set of skills that had nothing to do with the PhD... or at the very least, didn't require a PhD.

I did one in my 20s, driven by interest rather than academic career aspirations. Plenty of older people doing them at the same time.

I'm definitely glad I did it, I enjoyed some parts of it, others not so much, but I think that's the case for anything you spend 3+ years doing. It's been far better for my career than I could have anticipated, I work in a brilliant field that I love, that pays well, it certainly hasn't put employers off in my experience.

@FirewomanSam

I’m doing mine at the moment and I’m not much younger than you. It’s very, very hard and takes a lot of determination but it’s also very rewarding and satisfying. Expect enormous highs and lows, and to feel incredibly stupid a lot of the time, but otherwise go for it!

The comments about the IT industry are very interesting. My PhD is in the humanities and I work in a field where having a PhD is almost expected, and not having one severely limits your job prospects. However, I have previously worked in IT and sometimes went to university recruitment events on behalf of my company. I met a few PhD students at those who were utterly obnoxious and would come up to me to ask how much more than the stated starting salary they could expect to get, given that they were PhDs and therefore ‘worth more’. My bosses used to roll their eyes behind those students’ backs and say they would never hire anyone like that. I had no idea there was such a dim view of PhDs in the IT industry in general though!

It's entirely possible to get a PhD in Computer Science by doing less practical programming than someone who went through a 3 month bootcamp. There are quite a few jobs that pay crazy amounts for PhD's in the right specialties but for your 'average' IT job a PhD isn't more knowledgeable than someone with a BSc.

In this sense it's similar to accounting - a PhD doesn't qualify you to become a chartered accountant. In fact the more 'academic' the university for bachelor's degrees the more exams you'll have to sit as university modules tend to focus on broader themes and not the detailed technical knowledge required for the professional exams.

I tried doing one when I was 24 straight vafter my master's but picked the wrong topic (not interested in it), had no idea how to conduct research or generally what to do. I dropped out after 6 months. Tried again at age 32. This time chose the topic carefully, had learnt how vto do research and wasn't afraid to ask questions. In my case being older definitely helped.

I started mine when I was 31, finished when I was 35 and I was nowhere near the oldest in my cohort.