A lot of people say that you should plan on making your big career moves in your 20s and 30s. By your 40s you'll be too tired. In fact, a lot of them also say that they had less energy in their 30s as well.
These sorts of comments always irk me, for obvious reasons. What, you think I'm screwed because I started this second career as I was headed into my 30s? That my peak has come and gone (or is in the process of going)? That I'm always going to be hopelessly behind because I started too late?
I think back and try to remember: did I have more energy when I was in my 20s than I do now? I remember working full time and then going for 4:30 AM bike rides, and rock climbing trips over the weekends that left me with little sleep going into the week. But I also remember feeling tired all the time when I was at work. I guess it was easy to be up and awake while I was doing something fun, less so when I was at my desk.
I am really anal about my sleep now, and don't have the sleepiness at work problem that I used to have. I feel like I have more energy than ever. Granted, I'm only 32 and have a ways to go until 40, but I'm beginning to think this decline in energy thing is a whole bunch of BS.
Maybe I care a little bit less about becoming "successful" than I did in my 20s, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't know what that was then anyway. I wonder if it's that people get things in better perspective as they get older and can decide what's important to stress over and what isn't. Sometimes I wonder if I really care enough to make this work. Not the PhD part, I mean the whole launching my career part after. I mean, I'm pretty sure I can jump through the necessary hoops to get the degree and then to get a residency. But applying for that first K award? Getting my first faculty position? Realizing that I have to put out X number of papers in X years?
It seems a bit overwhelming to tell the truth. I hope that's because I have only a small idea of what these things take, and that I'll feel more confident when I get there.
Thoughts?
7 Pearls of Wisdom:
people say the same thing about having babies. yikes.
i have this great book "when i was your age" that points out how old various people were when they had major accomplishments e.g. Bette Midler was 43 before she got her first number one hit :)
Potential mentor #6 said to me, "Having a baby was NOTHING compared to Q4 call for 3 years and a critical care fellowship." Not sure that's a ringing endorsement for the ease of either.
Also, I wondered whether his wife felt the same way.....
Well whatever. Here on the east coast, people spawn well into their 40s and seem to do ok. Maybe that's because by then they're all hiring 20 year old au pairs to chase after the kids!
Why Amy, are you thinking about having a baby? ;-)
I'll be 30 next week and I sure hope that it isn't all downhill after the big 3-0. Since my 20s sucked, the next decade has to be better, right?
Going back to school to change careers is what scares me at the moment...oh, and seeing kids that I babysat having their own children!
I'm also 32, but just entering med school, and I have noticed that it takes me longer to recover from an all nighter, probably since I sleep more lightly now than I did in my 20s (plus there are more distractions, e.g. I have a dog now - and btw, you are right - they're alot of work. A cat would be much lower maintenance, and they have some good cleaning options for pet hair now, e.g. http://housewares.about.com/od/aroundthehousetips/gr/scotchfurfightr.htm). Of course, the older I get, the better able I am to manage my time & not put myself in situations I need to recover from. I think Dara Torres is a good example of adjusting work style with age to minimize decline in "success", however she has to spend more $$ to surround herself with experts to maintain this work style - always a trade off I guess :)
Believe it or not, I've never actually pulled an all nighter -- even in my 20s. Even on my sub-i, I did it at a site with a nightfloat system so it didn't even happen then. I'm sure I will become a little frontally disinhibited, but I know I won't be the only one. I don't take that long to recover from lack of sleep..... but that's probably because I go to bed at 9 most nights and get 9 hours every other night. :-) I've always been a big sleeper though. Maybe my problem was that I never had that much energy in my 20s.....
Bear in mind, Dara Torres may have tons of $$ to surround herself with trainers, etc. but she's still 42 and one of the fastest sprinters in the world. I.e. most *swimmers* couldn't do at 20 what she's doing at 42.
Thanks for the tips on cleaning up after the pets!
I think you CAN get bogged down as you get older with fatigue, but mostly because your level of responsibility has increased. I used to stay up all night and then go to a full-time, low-level job, go to community college classes, and then work-out before sleeping. That was in my early 20s...there's times I do the same when on-call, post-call with child obligations, etc and desire to stay somewhat physically active, but I definitely feel it more than I used to. However, the level of involvement, cerebral process, and other functions has increased dramatically compared to the former life I lead. You get used to it, but I think the transition can be a little harder in the beginning as we age.
"Maybe I care a little bit less about becoming "successful" than I did in my 20s, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't know what that was then anyway."
I feel the same way. As I grow toward my 30s, I feel like I have more energy now than I did in college as an undergrad. Maybe you feel (felt) this way because you're doing the things you want to do? Maybe you're enjoying your work more?
"what's important to stress over and what isn't."
I think it is all about efficiency. Stressing about unpredictable circumstances or events that are completely out of our control is not an efficient use of time. I remember as an undergraduate, I worried about so many different things: finding a job after graduation, night classes, loans, rent, etc. etc. etc. I realize now that most stressors are alleviated by the difficult task of maintaining balance in my life.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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