According to the OECD's Education at a Glance 2022 report, 1.3% of adults (25-64 year-olds) held a PhD in 2021 across the thirty-eight OECD countries. There are of course country-specific differences. In Denmark and Germany, for instance, roughly 1% of the total population held a PhD in 2021.
Less than 2% of the world's population has a doctorate. According to the US Census Bureau, only 1.2% of the US population has a PhD. This makes having a PhD very rare. But does this rarity indicate value?
On average, only 1 per cent of the world's 25-64 year olds who have been to university, have a PhD. So it seems like a PhD is pretty rare – but how rare is it where you are?
It is also important to consider that a PhD can also help you develop specialized skills and knowledge that are highly valued in certain industries, such as data science and analytics. A PhD can open up doors to new opportunities that undergraduate and masters degrees do not.
The age at which most people receive their PhD varies from person to person, but typically falls between the mid-twenties and early thirties. The average age for a PhD recipient is approximately thirty-one and a half years old. Of course, there are some who complete their PhD much earlier or later than this.
Some of these people were even in their twenties, worried that working for two years after their undergraduate degree had inexorably barred them from the halls of academia. Others were past middle age, looking for a career change. In either case, the answer is ultimately no, it's not too late to get a PhD.
A rite of passage on Tuesday for a UC Davis student who may be the youngest ever PhD graduate. Tanishq Abraham just earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering and is only 19 years old. He was born and raised in Sacramento and graduated high school at age 10.
In 2021, the overall employment rate for postgraduate research students in Australia was 90%, with 80.1% of graduates in full-time employment. A comprehensive report from Ribit.net and the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute shows there is increasing demand for PhD graduates across many industries in Australia.
Karl Witte – Age 13
When he was still very young, he attended the University of Giessen in German and graduated with his doctorate at the age of 13. He still holds the Guinness Book of World Records' record for youngest doctorate and this distinction still stands.
For most who do it, completing the PhD is the hardest thing they've ever done. There is a tendency to think that life will only get easier afterwards. The truth is that while life may get better, it doesn't neces- sarily get easier.
The number of PhD completions has been steadily growing over the past two decades, from about 4,000 to about 10,000 per year. According to our calculations* based on the information available , the cumulative number of people in Australia with a PhD has increased from about 135,000 in 2016 to about 185,000 in 2021.
Australia
In Australia, 2% of the population holds a doctorate degree.
Dropping out of the PhD: the problem of attrition. If you ever faced this kind of thoughts, you are not alone. Not at all. In the research literature about students dropping out of doctoral programs (or “attrition”, as they call it), very often the ballpark of 40–60% attrition rate is mentioned 1.
1. Boarded Medical Doctor: After spending about eight years to earn your first degree, you are faced with between three and six years of residency. This is the most competitive field in education which means you must have passed through a very rigorous process to earn this certificate.
You may consider doing a PhD in your 30s as silly, but definitely, it is NOT. Though numerous people enroll in their PhD program before their 30s, or right after completing their undergraduate degree, it is quite normal to start a PhD in your 30s, and it is totally fine.
There are a plenty of people who are already in their late 20s when they start their PhD. It's completely normal. Is 27 so late for starting PhD? No, it's not too late, or at least that was my feeling when I started my studies: I started at the age of 27 (and 5 months).
To answer your question straight away: Yes, you can! Since there is no age limit for PhD admission, it's never too late to advance your professional career or your personal fulfillment with an online PhD degree.
On average, a Ph. D. may take up to eight years to complete. A doctorate degree typically takes four to six years to complete—however, this timing depends on the program design, the subject area you're studying, and the institution offering the program.
One of the main differences is that a PhD is typically an academic degree, while a doctorate can be either academic or professional. Additionally, a PhD is highly theoretical and research-focused, while a professional doctorate is practical and geared toward applying research to specific professional settings.
Qualifications required
A postgraduate qualification with a GPA of at least 5.0 (on a 7.0 point scale), or a bachelors degree with second-class honours (Division B).
The average annual fees for PHD in Australia is 40,000 AUD- 60,000 AUD (16- 33 Lakh INR). After completing a PhD in Australia one can work as a Research Scientist, R&D Manager, Research Officer and earn an average salary of 85,000 AUD (46 lakh INR).
In Australia, every full-time PhD candidate is entitled to apply for a federal government tax-free scholarship. It's currently sitting at $29,863, although it increases each year with inflation.
Reason #1: There are no age limits to PhD programs, nor is age a factor in selection. Many people believe that graduate programs have age limits or a bias against older applicants.
One year. Here are two examples. Alessio Figalli did his PhD in one year. He went on to win the Fields Medal in 2018.
D. scholar from the city has become the youngest person and also the first woman in India to be awarded a doctoral degree at the age of just 22 years. Hailing from Narayanaguda in the city Naina Jaiswal received her doctorate from Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajamahendravaram in the state of Andhra Pradesh.