Am about to qualify as a solicitor, having taken the cpe. am finishing for personal/financial reasons but am not loving work. will qualify at 29 and considering returning to academia. had been considering doing an llm in international law then a phd in international relations. i know an american phd is longer than a british one, but in terms of job prospects, does anyone know if there is any substantive difference (especially in my field)? also - at my age (29) am i too old to sensibly start a doctorate with the aim of developing an academic career?

As you are in a professional discipline I imagine that 29 is not too late. In terms of your academic career study in the UK or the US should make little difference more important will be the quality of the department you choose to study at and the supervisor you study under.

Well the PhD would be in International Relations / Political Science rather than Law... Does the above advice still hold?

We're not experts in every field (or any for that matter), but the same should be true when it comes to considering where to study. As for age, it shouldn't make too much difference to your career prospects, you'll should rise up the ladder at the same rate as someone who starts a PhD at 21 - but obviously it'll be difficult to catch somebody up with an 8 year head start.

Keep in mind, however, that most PhD programs are around 5-6 years in the US and so they can end up being more expensive and time consuming. They often require (at least in Lit. programs and in addition to the GRE) that you sit for a comprehensive examination after your second year. The first two years often involve coursework and language acquisition (this is, again in the Lit. programs). The rest of the time is divided between research and teaching.

PhDs in the US have a minimum requirement of residence that books you for at least four years anywhere. Many students, however, spend many more years at the institution, and many not out of choice. Some spent 10 and 11 years just in a PhD program; they did not become star professors, if you suspect that, some fared well, others not so well thereafter. After these 10 years, they did not get a tenure job right away, but all of them had to spend exactly three years teaching very low-level courses full-time at very, very small colleges. Of those few who made it into a good university thereafter, not all became professors, some where terminated and ended up working in business.

In the UK the process seems to be more streamlined and time-conscious. The minimum requirement - often two years - just underlines this formally.

You can always change continents after graduation. There are many UK PhD graduates in the US working in academics.

A lot depends on where you want to work eventually. US PhDs are accepted in the UK, but UK PhDs are sometimes seen as 'inferior' in the states because there are no comprehensive examinations involved in the UK PhD, whereas in the US you will have to complete a set of relatively diverse exams within the discipline; UK candidates can be seen as too narrow in their specialism. My husband has a UK PhD in political science and he found it easier to get a job in he UK despite being an American citizen.

The US PhD takes longer due to these exams. However, in the UK a Masters degree is necessary for an international relations/political science degree and you would have to complete this first - it isn't like the sciences where you can go straight from undergrad. Professional/vocational postgrad qualifications are unlikely to count - mine didn't.

cont...29 is not too old at all - I know several people in my depart at the moment (I'm an IR PhD student) who started in their late 20s/early 30s.

well the OP is now 32......

Didn't even see the date on the post H - they've probably had their viva by now LOL