The Importance of a PhD

I had no interest in going down the academic track when I left Oxford in 1986. Academia is not particularly well paid in the UK. Besides, I felt very comfortable in the world of academia and wanted to push myself about young age into a world of less comfort. By starting your PhD in your 40s, if you're academically curious, you've met a lot of interesting people. It's perhaps got a slightly less fearsome reputation, but if you're used to working at that kind of pace, then your approach to academia is very different.