What is an 'average' age for finishing a PhD? How old are all of you?

Dont bother about others' age. Go for a PhD if you really like it.

People from 22 to 50 or even older do PhDs. It doesn't really matters.

Whilst it is true that age makes little difference when doing a PhD age is a sensitive factor when trying to find employment afterward.

Doesn't that depend on what type of employment you are looking for?

So if you were older, say 30 when completing a phd, would this put you at a real disadvantage to a fresh faced 24 year old? Would you be at a disadvantage to pursuing an academic career?

Some supervisors actually prefer older and more mature students as they are more committed and focused than a younger student just out of uni! As for starting on an academic career you still have a lot of years before you hit 65 so that shouldn't be a problem if you are prepared to go where the work is!

I never thought of 30 years old as being "older" for finishing PhD. As far as I know, many student start their PhDs when they are at least 27-30, and they finish around 30-34. I would say it's an average rather then an older age. I suppose anybody who is younger than 35 y.o. is of absolutely fine age for starting PhD programme.

I'm 27 1/2 starting, and most students in my dept are 26-32. Most of us worked for a few yrs after BSc - pretty usual in Science field.