My problems are twofold. One is age. I don't think I'm too old to get into a PhD program, but by the time I would complete one, I'll be, best-case scenario, in my mid-40s. I don't think should matter at all, because what matters is how many productive years a person has left--a highly variable unknown, with a median low enough that my age is a complete non-issue--but, of course, I don't control perceptions. There is a possibility that getting a PhD will only make me more overqualified and unemployable than I already am.
The second issue is that I'm a politically exposed person. The less said about that, the better, but I've publicly associated myself with the antifascism ("antifa") movement, and I have exposed some truly bad actors in the tech industry. I have no regrets about this, but it turned out those bad actors had friends. Whoops. I'm sure my real name would mean absolutely nothing to the younger crowd, but I've made enemies in high places (and suffered death threats, rescinded job offers, rumor campaigns, you name it). At one point, I got a warning from a federal agency not to go to San Francisco for a talk I was going to give, because it would put my life in danger. I will never be able to get a job (or, in an academic context, a grant) from any of the FAANGs. (I'm mostly okay with, because I dislike those companies). I have no small number of permanent enemies who will never forgive me.
At some point, it became clear that the decent jobs in the tech industry were no longer (and would never be) available to me. Political exposure cools off over time; however, the issue of age goes the other way. My fear is that, research being more competitive, this political exposure might be a permanent blocker, or at least an issue for long enough that it would, say, complicate a job search five years from now in a competitive field.
Does anyone familiar with computer science research (inside or outside of academia) have enough experience to have an informed opinion on this? I have worked in (mostly private-sector) research before, so I know what I'm getting into in terms of the work itself. What I don't know is whether age and political exposure, given the hypercompetitive nature of the research job market, are insurmountable obstacles. I may have to change countries, which is of course another thing I am looking into.
Thanks in advance for your help.
1. It has a 16% acceptance rate compared to top schools ~2%. If you get the GRFP then you can get into many (but certainly not all) top schools regardless of what the official admission criteria says.
2. The NSF has different priorities than university admissions boards (long term potential as a scientist vs. grad school potential publishing papers.) This gives non-traditional candidates an edge since they can make a credible case that their background will support real world impact of their research.
3. The NSF specifically asks for "broader impact" in your past and future work. I think you've got this in spades. I related my political activities during George Floyd protests to the need for equitable, grassroots control of AI. I like to think the NSF does genuinely care about ethics. And if you're on their bad side then it's not like they can reject you twice, so it's a good gamble.
My contact is on my profile; let me help you write the NSF app and maybe even your school ones. Same offer for anyone else out there who's been fighting the good fight.
The bigger issue I think is whether you can make a case for your interest and skills in academic research. I'm not saying you can't, or that it's too difficult, because I know nothing about you really, but my guess is that will be a major thing at most places.
Age might also be an issue entering a doctoral program. It shouldn't be but it could be.
If you can contact people whose research you are genuinely interested in and get feelers it might help.
A lot of this is really unpredictable. I hope it works out for you.