Am I too old?

Post Reply
tweetie_brid
Posts: 63
Joined: Wed May 30, 2012 7:59 pm

Am I too old?

Post by tweetie_brid » Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:28 pm

First of all I am an older student I am 39years old , with 2 bachelors (one in physics one in computer science)

----------------------------------------------------------------

I have been putting off getting a phd and even a masters.

I keep putting it off. I am currently an Oracle DBA which has high income potential.( By the way why do so many physics majors wind up programming computers, but anyway I digress.)

I havent done calculus in 15 years so I took the general GRE in 2009 to see where I stood. I got a 610 in quant with no study. But I didnt take the Physics GRE.

I keep putting off grad school. But I feel incomplete without a Phd even with the salary from my IT job.

So I have decided to take the General GRE in October and the Physics GRE in April 2013. I am hoping to start grad school in 2014.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There is one good thing about procrastination. Originally I got into physics because I thought I was going to solve the high temp. superconductivity problem. But after watching superconductor research for the last 20 years looks like the best minds have been unable to produce a room temp superconductor. So by procrastinating, I didnt waste my time trying to produce a room temp superconductor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.superconductors.org/rtsc2mkt.htm

Anyway I have fell in love with astrophysics, I am officially an amateur astronomer. I will study astrophysics in grad school, and will get to use my computer skills in the computational aspects of astrophysics.

No more procrastination.

Do you guys think I am too old?


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ironically work sometimes makes you alittle lazy. Although I work 10 hour days. The IT work is much easier than my physics undergrad days. I need to get into the habit of study and research. This is the main reason I want to return to school. I love tackling tough problems. I love the hard work of physics

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Am I too old?

Post by twistor » Sat Sep 08, 2012 8:05 am

You're not too old however there are some other things to consider. Like you said many people studying physics end up in careers other than physics. There is a very good possibility you will spend 4-6 years studying astrophysics to obtain a Ph.D. only to end up back in IT.

User avatar
quizivex
Posts: 1031
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:13 am

Re: Am I too old?

Post by quizivex » Sun Sep 09, 2012 3:31 am

Hi tweetie_brid, this type of question comes up innumerably many times... so I'll just point you to a nearly identical query on a past thread that has some helpful responses. My two cents to you would be the same as my post to tomtom.

CarlBrannen
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 11:34 pm

Re: Am I too old?

Post by CarlBrannen » Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:32 pm

I'm starting my 2nd year in physics grad school. I was born in 1958. Last year I passed 10 graduate physics classes with a 3.91 GPA and passed the PhD preliminary exam (which most students take at the end of their second year). Now I'm working on research for my thesis and am a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (gravitational wave detector).

So no, I wouldn't say you're too *old* for physics grad school. But you really need to get back in practice. You want an 800 on that GRE quant test. It's designed for high school students and a physics grad student should slaughter it.



Post Reply