I am a middle aged woman who returned to school to finish my bachelor's degree and get a teaching credential. Along the way one of my advisors challenged me to consider graduate school, and encouraged me to get some psychology lab experience to make that decision. I worked in a cognitive psychology lab and thought, "Do people really get paid to do this???" In other words, I was hooked.
I went back to that same advisor to discuss applying to doctoral programs. He said, "Do not apply for, consider going to, or attempt to go through a doctoral program unless the thought of *not* going causes you physical pain." I was hooked on research and data analysis, and the though of not going was, well, unthinkable.
Now I understand why he said what he did.
