Goods, you are rude
That has just added 4 years to my age

Very interesting blog.

I have NOT 'saved assiduously'

I say go for it. You are not old at all!! Once you hit your seventies you will look back to your thirties and see it as 'your youth' .... GO FOR IT!!

True enough!
I will do some research on the quota competitions...

How many 22 year olds have youcome accross in their first year?

Hi - not sure if you are male or female but I was recently told that as a female it would be easier to get a job in academia at 40 than at 30 - as at 30 they assume you will be off to have kids as soon as poss so dont want to take you on. I have had a lot of 'being 30, married and not had kids yet' sort of discrimination actually which has surprised me - I daresay this is equally a problem outside of academia.. (not that it is completely unfounded as I would like to have kids soon!)
I would say in your 40s you can really sell the fact that you are more settled than someone younger and ready to commit entirely to the academic community. Also I think people will respect your determination and commitment to go back to education later in life so it will probably be to your advantage.

I'm female - this is a very interesting thought, thanks!

If you do a PhD part-time (as most mature people have to do) and start it around 35, you will be 42 when you complete it. You will then have to spend a few years trying to get at least three articles you may have written published in order to be seen as employable by universities(presuming you want an academic job). By this time you will be around 45. Then you will have to spend a few more years trying to get a university job. You will be around 48 by this time. You will probably be considered too old for post doc jobs, and the completion for lecturing jobs is intense. Despite the new laws in the UK against age discrimination, most university departments still feel the need to favour younger canditates in order to be seen as "cutting-edge". So any job applicant approaching 50 would have the odds stacked against them.

I am also starting my PhD soon. Although I feel a lot happier being a 35-year old PhD student than a 34-year old undergraduate!

I am not pursuing a PhD for the sole purpose of getting a job in academia, so I am not worried about the problems that may present when I am older. I have enough experience and expertise to believe that I could give it up and get a 'proper' job if I ever needed to, so I am happy enough to do it just because it is what interests me, and the pay is just about enough!

Orian, you have just totally depressed me. I have just turned 40 and am about to embark on a fully funded 4 year studentship. I am now beginning to wonder why I am bothering.

Kollontai, don't let that depress you. In fact, your reaction, if it is indeed as you describe it, is very appropriate - DO think about why exactly you are "bothering". It helps very much to consciously know why you are doing it, and the financial renumeration/job prospects and such things are most certainly not your main reason, I'm willing to guess.
Really knowing your reasons will fortify you for those times when the going gets tough (and will make it easier to deal with such comments as above, too - this won't be the last time someone tells you that from their perspective what you are doing makes no sense. It's your perspective that matters)!

Hey how common is it to start at 22?

Kollantai, I am 41, just starting my 3 year full-time PhD. I don't feel 41, I don't look 41 and I don't act 41. These days you don't have to put down your age on anything, everyone is afraid of being in trouble for discrimination. It is only a matter of time when the academic world will catch up and no longer be allowed to discriminate on age. I am definitely not going to let it stop me, I don't put my age down anywhere and I let people meet me first. Of course you can do it, otherwise you might as well put your slippers on now, whilst I grab my running shoes

I started my PhD at age 38, part time ( I am 'mature' afterall), plus I work FT and have a family. Hopefully I'll finish by next summer. Theres a fair share of PhD comrades of my vintage in my program; the worst part has been having a teacher younger than myself, but typically there's at least one other person my age or older in my classes. Starting at my age gave me the time and experience to really know what I wanted to do, and the determination to do it, even if my energy is lacking. I could not have seen the big picture if I did things younger, and I wouldn't have been as driven either.

doc2008, are you hoping to go into a lecturing job?