Am I too old for academia after a PhD?

Question

Currently, I am applying for PhD positions at United States and Canadian Universities. I will be 35 when I start my PhD in Computer Science/Machine Learning, and probably I will finish it around the age of 40.

Will I be banished from academic positions considering a possible PostDoc time and what about industry positions ? Should I plan my study towards industry or academia from the research perspective ?

Here's an example of a very successful researcher who started her PhD at 38: http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/pers/hd/s/Sagot:Marie=France.html — Anthony Labarre, Jun 02 '13 at 08:07
A colleague of mine who recently retired earned her Ph.D. at 50 and went on to an academic career, so the answer is "you are not too old". However, this is a duplicate of the question @earthling linked. — Ben Norris, Jun 02 '13 at 17:25

score 11 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:20

11

No.

Age discrimination is illegal in the US and (I assume) Canada. If you're worried, just don't put your date of birth on your CV. Most people don't.

Hiring committees just don't care how old you are. All that matters is the quality and impact of your research.

answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:20

JeffE

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What about research in mathematics? – sequence Apr 25 '17 at 18:29
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@sequence What about research in mathematics?? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Birman – JeffE Apr 25 '17 at 19:26

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 02 '13 at 07:29

I doubt you'll get banished, then again, I am in the same boat - though I'll be finishing my PhD by the time I am 37. Though, I think it will be a bit harder for us, but not terribly so.

Look at it this way, I presume you have alot more practical workplace experience, that will be to your benefit.

Am I too old for academia after a PhD?

2 Answers2

No.

Linked

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