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Starting a Career in Science at Age 38?
A Science Nostalgic writes "I'm 38, have a successful career as a software developer but feel the all-too-similar enterprise apps are boring my brains out, and I'm intensely missing the world of science, which I didn't pursue in favor of programming when I got my engineering degree. Now, I'm contemplating a job in research, but fear the age and the lack of 'exercise' with math and physics would pose an understandable handicap. If I study math seriously, I can realistically shed the 'rust' in a year, maybe two, but I still fear I'll be considered too old for research. I graduated abroad so I don't have any old contacts at the local universities (there are a few in my city). I checked their job boards, and they have no positions for research, just the usual ones in software development that I could use as an entry point. Do you have any experience with such a career change? Is it feasible at all to get into science once you approach 40? I feel my brain is still alive and kicking, and years of debugging have taught me a few things about investigating causes and correlations, which are useful skills in research."
Don't do a wholesale switch where you abandon your skill set for whatever Science you prefer.
The way I did it was literally cold-calling people in the field I wanted to be in, eventually got some feedback on the skills I had versus the skills I needed to be desirable in that field and figured out ways to get those skills in a professional environment.
It won't happen overnight and it requires constantly thinking about where you want to be versus where you are but it will happen.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
The biggest problem with mid-life career change is avoiding getting in at the bottom rung in your new career. As an established professional, you'll want to demand more money, and be willing to work fewer hours, than your typical early-career employee in your new field.
I would advise you (as I've been advised) to search for a company that has both roles, your current one and your desired one -- and explicitly state during the interview process that you're looking to change to the new career. If you find the right company, they may even pay for refresher courses.
Once you establish with your target company that you're extremely enthusiastic about them and the roles (as well as being a go-getter and a good worker) you'll be in good shape. At a bare minimum, make sure you've read the latest journals in the particular field, so you can dmeonstrate your interest.
One other note -- taking the initiative to better your situation is a Good Thing(tm), both for yourself, and to prospective employers. Many good employers will consider that a huge advantage over a candidate who is just beginning a career and can't be sure if that's where they really want to be.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
I would second this opinion. I am a Biologist with, as I sometimes say, "a penchant for the virtual". I have spent much of the last 8 years writing programs, sometimes rather clumsily, to answer questions or demonstrate complex concepts. I have often wished I had a programmer to help me. I cannot pay one now, but I do write $$ into grant applications for someone with more programming chops than me. Your age would not affect my willingness to hire you.
My suggestion would be to look at Bioinformatics. There is more money in that field now and a huge need for programmers. Also check http://www.nescent.org/ for an example of a broader effort to develop software to deal with rapidly growing large sequence and gene expression datasets to answer evolutionary questions. The hire people like you fairly often.
The national labs generally support training on the job, so if you come in as a programer, you can get a second degree and move over to a science position. Look at the National Academies website http://www.national-academies.org/ to find mentor contacts in a field that interests you. Career Links is down and to the right.
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Or, convert everyone to solar http://www.powur.com/mdsolar
In the case of the biological sciences, if you want to run a lab, you need to put five years into your graduate career and have a ~five year successful post-doc. If the applicant is 40, that means they won't be able to even apply for a faculty position until they're 50. If the applicant is looking at industry, then five years of experience is equivalent to a PhD (in order to get top industry job you still need that successful post-doc position) and graduate school won't help them. If the applicant "simply wants to learn", they they appear to have no focus. We have picked up older applicants, though they all had very good reasons for seeking an advanced degree (for example, in two cases they wanted to teach at the community college level). If you apply to graduate school, you must address these issues in your essay. Also, when you write your essay, focus on your work/research experience (this goes for all applicants) as we don't care about 'how you've dreamed of being a scientist since you were two'.
One other piece of advice, if you want a job in research, don't look at the job boards. Find a lab that interests you, and contact the PI directly. People come and go all the time and if I don't have a position open, I typically know of someone who does. I've never hired someone through HR, but only hire people who are interested in my research as I don't have enough time to focus on someone who 'simply wants a job'. Best of luck to you.
As someone involved in academic research, I have to agree with the parent comments.
Basically, science nowadays is very much an "advanced degree" field. From your post I'm guessing you have a B.Eng. Unfortunately even with a B.Eng. and lots of years in software development, you do not yet have the qualifications to be hired as a research scientist.
It also depends, however, on whether you want to be "involved in science" (as a technician, programmer, etc.) or whether you want to be "a research scientist" (planning experiments, interpreting results, etc.). If you want to be involved, then I'd say with your current qualifications you should certainly be able to find a neat job at some university or research institute. Your programming skills will be quite valuable, in fact. Yes, you will take a pay cut, but the environment may be much more stimulating. In this kind of post, you'll end up being connected to a wide range of different science projects, which can be really rewarding. (You may end up in a job where every day a Grad Student comes up to you and says "would it be possible to program something to do..." which could be alot of fun.)
If you want to really "be a scientist" then I'm afraid your only option is to get another degree. The upside is that while getting such a Masters of Ph.D. you'll be "doing science" which can be alot of fun. This will also let you know, immediately, whether this is something you want to do for many years to come. The downside, of course, is that you will be spending another 5 years on education, and receiving a rather small stipend while doing it. (Also, keep in mind that many of your fellow grad students will be about 20 years old.)
I wish you the best of luck. Personally I love science, and getting an advanced degree has been "worth it" for me. But given your situation, it might make more sense to try and find a job, with your current qualifications, that is closely tied to science.
There seem to be a number of "go for it!" posts, so I'll suggest something different. I know a few people (in astrophysics) who signed on to a certain research institution in a sysadmin type role, but since these sorts of places are pretty free, they were able to pick up the science on the side and join in with active research groups on projects. Since the field is so computer-driven, there's a fair bit of crossover (both ways, incidentally). It is probably the fastest way to doing research, it won't commit you to a 5-year degree program, and it will play to your strengths. Good luck with it.
If you're OK with just working with physics as opposed to doing research yourself, there are other places where software is a research tool and the people who write it get to learn about the physics.
The national supercomputer centers sometimes have ultimately cool projects like simulating galaxies colliding and rendering images of the result. That gets you the fun of programming big iron, some really challenging numerical problems, shock wave physics, and the chance to watch science being made from the inside. Once there, you can at least try to impress the right people and move into doing your own research. For sure you'll get a clearer idea whether that's what you want to do.
hi,
after abandoning careers in market/advertising/PR and computing consulting, i returned to college and, starting from the bottom, obtained a physics BS at age 35, a master's at 37 and a Ph.D. in experimental high-energy physics at 44 -- i'm currently a post-doc and will start searching for a real job either in academia or national labs (not necessarily in the US) starting this summer -- moreover, it seems reasonably realistic to believe that i can obtain such a permanent position
however, that said, there is an age bias built into the system and you additionally must be willing to accept drastically reduced earnings expectations over the (hopefully long!) time span of the rest of your life
however, my life is infinitely richer now than it might have ever been had i stayed in the business of business
good luck!
At the same time, the scientific programming positions the parent mentions would probably be a great fit for you, if you don't mind trading some income for interesting work and a less-regimented pace.
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I am. I am in the midst of going back to grad school after about 15 years of IT/Software work. Most of the people I spoke with said older students are really not at a disadvantage as thier experience and work ethic usually pull them through.
There are also fileds like geology where the stereotype is that older people in the field make the most important discoveries.
You should maybe take a few classes in math, chemistry or whatever you may need to brush up. Statistics is never wasted.
Also, being in software and if you know a little math, you can probably get a job as a modeler to pay for school (assistantship).
So I say, 'go for it'
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Looking for a programming job within a research group is certainly the approach which is safest and most likely to succeed. There are plenty of positions for programmers in medium sized physical science projects. Unfortunately, at least in my experience (US academic astrophysics), a rather large number of jobs are already filled long before they are advertised publicly. Trying to get your first science job may take a long time without any insider contacts. But, getting your *second* science job will be much easier, assuming you do excellent work.
I've known and taught a few people who started a physics undergrad degree from scratch in their middle thirties. It's certainly possible, but it won't be entirely easy. If you decide to take that route, you'll be marked as an outsider from the start in a highly collaborative field. Expect to be referred to as "you know, the older guy" by your peers, and asked completely inappropriate questions by lecturers at the start of every semester. Meanwhile, you'll be working hundred hour weeks, as often as not on material that you find irrelevant and unengaging. And, you'll probably be facing seven to twelve years of school before you can apply for permanent positions with any hope of success. (The first for a MS and a high level tech job, the second for a PhD and a chance to do truly independent research. A BS and a lot of prior experience *can* land you an interesting job with some creative freedom, but its far from guranteed.)
Those who pull it off tend to be outgoing people with a great deal of personal charisma and an overwhelming passion for the field. It's not a decision to be taken lightly.
On the other hand, the field and the world in general would be better off if more people joined late in life. Anything that brings someone other than 20 year old white boys into the department is a good thing, if you ask me. But, the personal cost shouldn't be discounted.