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[quote=Anonymous]You need to have the background and job experience that universities WANT in order to break in at 50+ years old.  They're not looking for someone to actually team.  What they ARE looking for is someone who has a high-profile professional reputation that will: (i) bring in more students; (ii) bring in more alumni donations; (iii) bring in more grant money; and (iv) dramatically boost the department's reputation.

There are thousands of candidates who have published, many extensively.  Likewise, there are just as many who have PhDs from top universities.

Think about the people who get tenured or tenure track positions in their 40s and 50s.  They are leaders in government, business, non-profits, diplomats, etc...

You're asking a university to pick you over someone who is willing to slave away in obscurity for 10 years, all the while doing the grunt work (teaching freshmen) that tenured professors don't want to do AND publishing lots of articles in peer-reviewed publications.

I'm in my mid-50s and had a dream of being in academia about 20 years ago.  Went through the interview process for a few years, then realized that it wasn't worth it.  Big business paid a heck of a lot better, and the name(s) of my various employers opened a lot more doors to conference panels, academic journals, and adjunct faculty roles than I could ever get if I went the traditional route.  A tenured professorship offered me nothing more than shackles to a specific university in a specific part of the country.  No thanks.[/quote]

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