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rsq_a
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pa5tabear said:Don't worry about age. If you have the drive, and can keep the drive, you will make it.
It's not so much about age as it is about circumstance. Drive is definitely connected to age and age to circumstance. For example, when you're 20 years old, and your entire lift is devoted to schooling, then it's relatively easy to concentrate on your studies and pull an all-nighter. Try doing that when you're 30, married with kids, have to pay a mortgage, etc. etc.twofish-quant said:You are young aren't you? Young people tend to worry less about age.
This is what people don't realize about careers in academia. The hard part isn't the exams---it's the attrition: 4 years of undergrad, 4-6 years of grad school, 2-4 years of postdoc, then another 3+ years getting tenure. At each stage, the field is getting smaller and things are getting more and more competitive. Think of it like playing a sport. Getting into a top school undergrad program is like making your high school team (you have to be bright and have potential). Getting into a top school grad program is like making a collegiate team. Getting into a top school postdoc is like making a pro team. And so on. Plenty of amazing high school players never make their collegiate team in the same way that many undergrads who say "I'm planning on getting a PhD" run out of steam by their 4th year and just want to get out of school.
I know of many amazing scientists with great drive who just couldn't deal with the constant uncertainty of academia. It's naive to just say "If you have enough drive everything will take care of itself". Try saying that to the baby that your wife just gave birth to.
If the OP's goal is to start a career in Physics at age 34, then he's looking to finish his studies at maybe 38-40. After that, what's next? A postdoc? Tenure track? It's not an easy route at that age. And yes, to answer the question, people will give preference to younger students. If you were a top gymnastics coach, would you take on a 30 year old?
My advice to the OP is to think about the long term. What happens after grad school?
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