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answersareallyouneed t1_j2pkmmo wrote

Reply to comment by Comfortable_End5976 in [D] life advice to relatively late bloomer ML theory researcher. by notyourregularnerd

As someone who’s also 27 and been debating whether/not to start a PhD, this is reassuring to hear!

Most of the people I know started their PhD right after undergrad. The grad student I worked with during my undergrad was actually 26 when he graduated with his PhD.

That being said, CS and (& specifically ML) seems to have younger PhD students than other fields.

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NamerNotLiteral t1_j2pwcve wrote

As someone who's 25 in a month and applying to MS programs (and not expecting to get in, not for Fall 23), I expect I'll be 27 or 28 by time I start a PhD.

This's been a huge source of insecurity for me, especially considering so many people I see and interact with in the field are younger than me and yet already 1-2 years ahead of me in the same trajectory.

Empirically, late 20s is still young, but it never feels like that when you're the one in your 20s.

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DEADLYVENOMABUSER t1_j2qh212 wrote

Im 26 and starting my bachelor thesis in 2 weeks. Its all good, nothing positive will come out of worrying about it since you cant change where you at anyway. Try to be happy for the experiences you’ve had and make the best of your current position. We’re not even 30. Bless

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TaXxER t1_j2qsu9i wrote

> Most of the people I know started their PhD right after undergrad.

It depends also on the continent. US based PhD students tend to be younger on average when they start their PhD than PhD students in mainland Europe.

This because in Europe it is often legally required to have completed bachelors + masters before you can start a PhD.

I started my PhD in the Netherlands when I was 26. My experience comparing to other PhD students at the university and in the country this was pretty much an average age to start.

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mtocrat t1_j2rwnzt wrote

In my program, in the US, the majority had a masters degree and 27 would be a normal age to start, but there is a lot of variance.

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Saotik t1_j2rhlw9 wrote

I started an MSc program at 27 (Information Systems, not ML), and was far from the oldest there.

Never let preconceptions about the "right" way of doing things prevent you from finding your own path. You're never too late.

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