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Your chances of "rising to the highest ranks" of academia are small. But no different from anyone else, no matter their age at completion of a doctorate. The bar is the difficulty of doing good, publishable, recognized research. True research is delving into the unknown. And it is, well, ... unknown.
Additionally, at the moment, the job market is ...
10
Find research papers that do the sort of work you hope to do in grad school. Then check the departments of both the PhD students and faculty members in these papers. These are the departments you should be applying to. At some universities, these may be CS departments, while at others these may be math departments. Equally importantly, perhaps more ...
6
This may only be valid in US. And, without knowing more about your background it is hard to give good advice. So, it is a bit tentative.
But first, note that pure math, which you have been studying, is very different from both applied math and CS. Different in the questions asked and the methodology for answering them.
I think that an applied math program is ...
6
I don't normally ever answer here, as I am not an Academic, and in fact, hold no higher degrees at all. This answer has to do with non-academic employment.
A little background of myself, first.
I went to a community college and got an Associates. I was then in the military for 23 years as an electronics technician and ended up a senior non-commissioned ...
3
Is it practically possible to rise to the highest ranks of academia in STEM in the US system after finishing a PhD at 34?
Definitely!
If you mean ``highest rank'' as in Full Professor, it is definitely possible, and 34 for PhD is not late at all. I agree with Buffy's answer, only that I would add that in my experience there are many full professors who got ...
3
No.
It depends somewhat on what you hope to get out of it, but in general the answer is no.
You could decide that my answer is blunt, abrasive and horrible, but two, three decades down the line you will come to understand why the answer to your question is quite simply: no.
2
Where the dividing line is drawn is very likely to vary from institution to institution. I used to work in a "Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics", and there, "Theoretical Physics" was understood to consist of High-Energy Particle Physics, General Relativity, and Cosmology, while the physics-y bits of "Applied ...
2
I can only answer one of these questions, and that is that yes, USA medical school professors are paid mainly in grant money (soft cap) and a small base salary (hard cap). I don't have much expertise on this subject, so I would recommend looking at the other answers, but from what I know and have heard this is true.
2
My opinion is that teaching experience is beneficial for almost any profession and will almost always be seen favorably. My own teaching experience taught me a lot:
Public speaking/presenting
Thinking on the spot/critical thinking
You need to assess and evaluate your own knowledge
When your approach doesn't work as expected for some students, you need to be ...
1
(Personal experience inbound in 3... 2... 1...)
One thing you have to learn is that there are way more interesting things in the world than you could possibly pursue. To me, this was most likely the hardest thing to learn to live with. There are many layers to memento mori; some things you never have found time for will haunt you, but decisions about your ...
1
If you would like to take some additional courses (or re-take some you have already taken) then it is okay to delay graduation to do so. Just bear in mind that there is an opportunity cost to this decision, since the time spent on those courses is time not spent gaining experience in a graduate program or in the workforce. Since your goal (which you ...
1
If you want a job in industry, I suggest that you get in the market and see what options you have there. You can decide that you have good enough options to jump sooner or that, from what you learn, you should 'bulk up' your resume somewhat.
But, there is no reason that you can't "relearn" the stuff from older courses without retaking them. If you ...
1
I know nothing about your field, nor the general expectations there, but you've clearly been active. "Only 5" may be an overly pessimistic view.
The way to know whether you are employable either in academia or industry is to apply to a few places. Don't wait until your postdoc ends, though. And gather colleagues willing to support any applications.
...
1
Furthermore, when I look at my peers who got into top programs either in engineering or in physics, I see that they are much more productive than I am. Whether this is because they are smarter/more creative/more motivated/more hardworking than I am matters little. Honestly, I am suffering from a deep inferiority complex due to this coupled with a few more ...
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