Fulfilling a Dream: The Late-in-Life Ph.D.
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The trend of pursuing a Ph.D. later in life is real. But there are challenges for those students who decide to return to the classroom and pursue an advanced degree.
The trend of pursuing a Ph.D. later in life is yet another rejection of the often quoted but usually misrepresented F. Scott Fitzgerald line, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Just as The Great Gatsby author wasn’t saying we can’t reinvent ourselves—it was more a commentary on the banality of life—the increasing percentage of older Americans pursuing Ph.D.s proves that we can enjoy second, third, and even fourth acts.
A more appropriate quote from classical literature is by Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot): “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”
The trend of pursuing a Ph.D. later in life is yet another rejection of the often quoted but usually misrepresented F. Scott Fitzgerald line, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Just as The Great Gatsby author wasn’t saying we can’t reinvent ourselves—it was more a commentary on the banality of life—the increasing percentage of older Americans pursuing Ph.D.s proves that we can enjoy second, third, and even fourth acts.
A more appropriate quote from classical literature is by Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot): “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”