25 - I worked for 2 1/2 years in the PR, arts management and IT industries between my Masters and my PhD and I'm really glad I did although that means that I'll be slightly older when I'm finish my PhD.

I'm 31 - but everytime I've bought alcohol this year I have been asked for ID so I'm not too worried about looking old! Age is just a number. Use sun screen, don't smoke, go easy on the booze, buy some hair dye and you have nothing to fear from your 30s. I totally agree with Paulasbrito (on every point! ;o)

Hello - newbie here, just turned 31yrs old yesterday!

Oh no i dont have anythign to look forward to in the next five years!!! i cant help it i love donuts i love chocolate, will a young looking boyfriend do the trick?
I think I looked my best when i was 19 ish then again i do look very baby-faced maybe i will get away with it in five years time.
Looks around :( x

hey chrisrolinsk where are u doing ur phd, im in london doing tourism nice to meet ya x

Happy birthday Yawny! Welcome, too.

So, I'm the postgradforum baby

I totally agree - 25 is the line for when things start to go wrong (and saggy, wrinkly and grey!

Took my 26th bithday REALLY badly

First grey hair at 30? Lucky you! I went to the barbers at the age of 27 and in the process of him using the clippers on my hair, I happened to notice some grey flecks in the hair that was falling on the floor. I was outraged, you'd have thought the barber would clean his equipment properly before using it on the next person. Then I realised that grey hair was mine. Some 6 years later, I have a little bit more, but I'm still 95% my own colour.

I'm fit and healthy, doing what I want to do in life, not stuck in a dead end job and loving everyday. 30's are seriously cool!

33!

All I can say is, a PhD does nothing for wrinkles - thank god for Botox! :)

ONe of the things that showed me I was getting older was when I hit 25 and had to start ticking the 25-35 age box on questionaires etc.

PLus this weekend, I was up at my folks and i went xmas shopping with my mum, and we were in next and she said rather loudly 'Ooo you have a really long grey hair there' then went and started trying to pull it out lol..

I'm in lovely rainy Manchester!

Hey Chris...I'm in lovely damp Manchester to! Yeah my mum did something similar to me to...its even worse if hairdressers take the p$*s tho! Think I actually got my first white hair when I was 22! Did wonders for my ego when mum pointed it out in the centre of town then pulled it out! Know mine get worse when I get stressed, therefore my PhD must be financing several hair dye brands!

I am 27 and feel old already! I see all the undergrad girls and boys in the Uni, all so lively, so fresh... I wish I was 20 (my peak) too. I am going through a crisis these days, thinking that I wanna do all the things I thought I would do in the future when i was younger, not to waste time doing nothing...not to let my last years of youth go.. (havent bought my first anti-aging creme yet though )

You guys talk a lot of nonsense ('peak' at 20 and all that).
If you would not be so boring already, you could have more fun than the undergrads are having now.

Let's be honest: PhD students belong to the most boring species on earth.

Problem is: most of them think that only because they are PhD students or PostDocs means that should be really boring and behave like other boring professors who have no purpose in life apart from a long publication list.

Wake up and enjoy your life! Even if you are 35 or older.

In the words of Miami Vice: 'Life is short, live now, time is luck'