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."

Comments

Go for it dude!

[Anonymous Coward]

You'll be poor, but hopefully happier :)

Have considered the same switch myself!

Physics

[trip11]

In my field of high energy physics, there is a large need for good programmers who know some science. Almost all of my work involves writing code to try to solve a specific physics problem. You're experience in this would probably give you a nice advantage over a lot of us who are learning to code as we go. And even though it is just writing code, there is something satisfying about writing code to solve your own problems that you are interested in, not just writing code to make a buck.

Also, I know when I was taking my classes in physics as an undergrad, there were several people in your situation. People who wanted to get into a new field at 30 or 40 and picked physics. I would say try to find a field that your coding skills will shine in, but where you can use them in a way that doesn't bore you to tears. You're experience should serve you well.

Of course you may be taking a pay cut starting in a new field and all....

Age may be benefit

[daeg]

Your age may be a benefit, actually, if you play your cards right. You may not have the knowledge that someone fresh out of graduate school would have, but you have maturity and (hopefully) stability.

Have you considered keeping your job but getting into teaching? Your company may like it and let you do both--it's good PR and a great opportunity to get quality employees. From their perspective you're basically giving your students a 4 month interview process. Teaching can be a great challenge and may be more fulfilling than trying to advance yourself enough to do research. Good teaching will also advance your own skillsets, too.

Math skills may not be essential

[caesar-auf-nihil]

What field of science you want to enter determines what level of math prowess you must have. If you're going to be a physicist, then you need to be strong in math. Chemist or biochemist - that depends upon what type of chemistry you're going to do. Simple algebra could be enough if you're thinking about organic chemistry or molecular biology.

I'm an organic chemist who practices material science and fire safety engineering - and I haven't had to use calculus since I took it for grade in undergrad. Algebra is about as difficult as I encounter in my field, and to some extent (and I know this will cause howls of disbelief and screams of being a lame scientist), there are many programs that do the complex math for you. It is more important to understand the concepts and design good experiments in many of the physical sciences than to be actually good at the underlying math in the equation behind measurements in that experiment. The exception to this is if you're actually measuring the measurements or determining new ways of measuring physical phenomena...but now you're moving back into the realm of physics which does require good math skills.

I would look at what you want to do and then figure out if you've got the math chops to do it before worrying about this too much.

Advanced Degrees

[the eric conspiracy]

Most people working as scientists have gone through a process that includes MS, PhD and post-doctoral studies that take 7-10 years after completion of their BS level degrees. Some people manage to do it by starting at a lower level and gaining the equivalent in experience and study as they work. You are seriously missing this background. With an engineering BS you would be starting as a low level technician. To go and try to get this science background would take you years of additional study, if even you could find a program that would accept you at your age. By the time you completed this you would be near age 50.

I am not saying it is impossible, my father went for his PhD when he was about your age - but his circumstances were rather different - he had already been working in an R&D role for many years, and was able to get funding from a prestigious scholarship to pay both a salary and his college tuition because he had built up a strong reputation as a scientist without the PhD degree. People who can do this are pretty rare.

Re:Climate science needs researchers

[DogDude]

Yeah, but those are all US government jobs, and I don't know how well those pay. But who knows? Shoot down enough real science, and maybe you'll get a job as head of FEMA!

Most of these people are high

[solussolus]

I guess I'm the guy designated to piss on your parade.

You're vague in your post, but to me "doing research in science" means either academia or working in an industrial research lab. What "science" means is harder to say, but I'll assume it's one of the traditional sciences, and not computer science, for which your prospects might be better depending on the flavor of CS you want to do.

All that said, the truth is that you're in for an uphill battle, and you will have to REALLY want it. I'm in the CSCI PhD program at a top 10 university and can tell you unreservedly not to bother with any of this unless you want your quest to be the principle thing in your life. One might debate whether this need be true for a person who's gone the traditional route, but PhDs are hard, and you need one to do what I've described above as "science research."

Let's assume you're a passionate guy, you work sixty hours a week anyway, and this is a well thought-out dream you're on the cusp of pursuing. Here's what I'd recommend:

0: Buy a bunch of Schaum's outlines in pre-calculus, calculus, differential equations, probability, and statistics. Beginning working through them. Somebody posted on here that he's a scientist and rarely uses anything above algebra. That's probably true, but irrelevent. You don't have that luxury; you have to be better than everyone else or nobody's gonna bother with you. Regaining the math chops will be easier than you imagine if you're diligent, by which I mean you work on it everyday for a couple of hours, as if you were taking a class. If you're not diligent you're fucked anyway.

1: Enroll in a decent public institution. Not necessarily in grad school; I took some classes post-BS w/ my status as "Adult special" which is for people who just want to learn stuff, not worry about a degree.

2: Take classes in your area of interest. You'll probably have to start w/ undergrad classes. Prepare to feel weird among all the 18 year old hotties.

3: MAKE CONNECTIONS. Be the guy who asks questions in class, and make them good questions. Get to know the teachers, and make them like you. This is a critical step. Make them know your name, and know you do excellent work and are a smart guy.

4: When you know some profs who are doing research things that you're interested in, ask them if you can help. Researchers love this; that's how our group gets new people. You get involved, you do whatever they tell you to, you PRODUCE. After a history of successes you can make inquiries about whether this person would support your attempt at admission.

5: Apply for admission. You will need to have taken the GRE by this point, and probably a topic test, which your studies should have prepared you for. You'll need letters of admission, which your schmoozing, ass-kicking performance in class, and volunteering should make easy.

Like I said before, all of this stuff will consume your life. If you're the sort of guy whose life is consumed already, then this might be OK. If you expect to dick around for a little bit, and then somehow get everything you want, well, it's not going to work.

If you REALLY want it it can be done, but if you don't REALLY want it then you should find some way to get the satisfaction you're looking for from less drastic changes. I went back to school at 32, so I want to support the underdog. Good luck.

Work to be Exceptional

[fygment]

I entered grad studies (MSc) in computer science at age 39. As a mechanical & electrical engineer, my lack of background in math and computer science made it a huge challenge. But what got me an opportunity to take the program was bull-headed hard work in my work years before that. With that work ethic, plus the maturity fitting my age, I made top student beating out younger, and often brighter, students fresh out of their undergrad programmes. My point, and the lesson I took away, is that it's not really about your brain. It's mostly about how hard you're willing to work.