
Late 40s, no job offers. Could a PhD help? - afpx
My skills are current. I’ve been a practicing full stack developer &#x2F; data engineer for many years. I’ll admit I’m not as fast as I used to be (I blame it on being more risk adverse and taking more time to think things through). After 8 failed interviews, I’m starting to think my career may be over. So, would getting a PhD help at all?
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mhroth
IMO unless you have a very specific field in mind which you believe will be
extremely interested in your skills 3-5 years from now, I'd say "Hell no."

I say this as someone with a PhD (and as someone who's field quickly became
irrelevant only a few years after graduation).

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byoung2
What field was that that became irrelevant?

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ThrowawayR2
Unlikely. The assumption is that if you get a Ph.D, you're going to want to
use it and get paid commensurately for it. Very few businesses have problems
they need a Ph.D to solve.

Depending on where you get your Ph.D from, it may not even get you much
respect; academics are very status conscious people.

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EnterraAI
Enterra Solutions is looking for a Data Engineer. Apply.

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streetcat1
No.

First, it would take you 5 years to get one.

Second. The goal of a PhD is to learn the limit of scientific knowledge at a
very specific narrow area, and then make a novel contribution (which would be
very limited, due to time constraint). Hence, it would not contribute to your
general skill set.

Third. PhD research can be very frustrating and extremely risky since you are
venturing to the unknown and at the same time, must produce constant results
in order to get published.

So, overall, a Ph.D. mainly proves that you have the stamina and the
capability to do risky intellectual work.

What I suggest is that you follow the market demand and go into the hyped
area. Today I would recommend Kubernetes and microservices. Since the demand
is far greater than the supply you should be able to get a job (at least as a
consultant).

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this2shallPass
Since you're getting interviews, your best ROI will come from practicing
interview skills such as solving algorithm problems, practicing pair
programming, white boarding, doing system design problems, telling your story,
and talking about previous work. Target the right roles and the right
companies. Get referrals from friends, acquaintances, and people you meet
networking. The job search has a lot of randomness, and is ultimately a
numbers game. Keep grinding and you'll get offers.

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quaquaqua1
Are you failing on the algorithm part? My girlfriend failed 80 interviews
before landing a big offer.

There's also always project management with your experience :)

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afpx
I definitely didn't perform well on the first few algorithm tests. I was
rusty, and the questions took me by surprise. But, after doing more prep, I
believe I nailed most of the later ones.

80 Interviews! Wow, I am out of touch.

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taurath
8 interviews isn’t a ton. You did prep and nailed algos - so what was the
problem? 40 isn’t too old for sure at most places. It could be lack of
relevant “showables” in which case you can go for a mid level position
somewhere. Generally if you can pass algos you’ll get offers unless there’s
personality red flags. Still - interview more.

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quaquaqua1
Yeah, passing algos but still failing either means there's something deeply
wrong with the company or some other behavioral question is causing issues.

Or ageism, appearance-ism, etc, but generally this market can't afford to be
unfair like this right now in my opinion

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taurath
Correct - experienced full stack dev that passes algos and no experience or
personality red flags? You hire.

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jc01480
If you go for a PhD, do it because you want to expand your knowledge and
education for the enlightenment of others. I know a few PhD folks in
Cybersecurity and they’re one or two pay grades above me. Keep in mind they’re
at the high end of this pay band, though. And they’re awesome to work with.
The degree by itself will not garner you much more attention and could
possibly categorize you as over-qualified much more frequently. The true mark
of a person will always be their personality and ability to relate with a
team. I’m almost 50. I work with a bunch of young (20’s - 30’s) people. And
the influence they bring is refreshing. This is my second career, too. Your
skills are transferable to an entirely new field as well. If I could do what
you do I’d be significantly better at my job.

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WheelsAtLarge
No, unless you specialize in a very tight subject that companies are clamoring
to develop. Even then it's an iffy way to go unless you have the research that
empowers your position.

Your best bet is to continue and figure out where you are failing. Take the
time you have to create a portfolio that highlights your skills by taking on a
few contract jobs even if you think they pay too little but choose carefully.

It used to be that certificates had little value over experience but these
days they give you an edge over those that don't have them so I would start to
see what certificates are most sought and get them.

By the way, 8 interview is not that many. You are giving up way too soon.

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taurath
Even perfect interviewees have a 50% chance of passing any given interview.
Interview more.

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sjg007
It depends on what you want to do. Do you want to do machine learning, data
science, or say statistics? Do you want to research and develop new types of
databases? Do you enjoy math or at least applied math? .. then pursue a PhD. I
would personally go for statistics or engineering since that will give you a
bunch of skills that are lifetime skills.

An MBA would open up higher level management where you might be able to find
something there. Sometimes I think med school might be worth it; we always
need more doctors and you can work until you are 75 if you want. A lot of
state med schools these days will waive tuition provided you serve in a rural
community of that state after your residency for a few years. You definitely
will get job security and high pay. I know a lot of later in life doctors for
instance.

There's also entrepreneurship and starting your own company as well.
Government contracts can be a way to get started.

Life is risk, but if you keep interviewing I am sure you will land something.
The programming market is still expanding.

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nicholas73
> A lot of state med schools these days will waive tuition provided you serve
> in a rural community of that state after your residency for a few years. You
> definitely will get job security and high pay. I know a lot of later in life
> doctors for instance.

Any schools on the west coast? That sounds like a fair deal.

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sjg007
Kaisers new med school will be tuition free. NYU on the East coast. A bunch of
others in between. The military will also put you through med school with a
service commitment.

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manasvi_gupta
If possible, take sometime off and practice DS/Alog problems on leetcode. I
don't know your location, but, there are plenty of data engineering jobs
available (in general). But you need to practice DS/Algo for clearing most
interviews.

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rubinelli
Data Engineering is far from saturated, so I'd highlight my experience and
focus on that, instead. And don't forget you just need to succeed once.

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polski-g
Have you ever hired anyone? Did you even look at the educational background of
the candidate? Because I don't, I only look at the experience and skills.

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aazaa
What kinds of positions are you interviewing for, and what was the #1 thing
the companies you interviewed with wanted in a hire?

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afpx
Not sure - in all cases, I asked for feedback afterward, but all had policies
of not giving feedback.

I only interviewed at places where I believed that I met most of the criteria.
A couple were full-stack Angular / Node roles. The rest were Spark / Scala /
Warehouse related.

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hackermailman
Try applying here if you know Scala
[https://boards.greenhouse.io/algorithmia/jobs/4202846002?gh_...](https://boards.greenhouse.io/algorithmia/jobs/4202846002?gh_jid=4202846002)

Assuming you are American there's TripleByte but who knows what the offers
will be

