Sean, These days there is sometimes a preconception that older graduate students are the exception. But recent statistics from University of Washington and Oregon State University show that older (or 'non-traditional') graduate students form a true silent majority in ecology programs. As someone who quit a job in another field to pursue graduate studies in ecology after the age of forty, and who seems to be making a go of it, I would advise you to persevere. It is certainly no picnic taking classes with all those intellectually hot 20-somethings. But you can make it work. And there are a lot of non-traditional graduate students out there. Just don't expect it to be as easy for you as it may appear to be for the more traditional graduate students.
Lutz, J. A., J. A. Freund, R. K. Hagmann, V. R. Kane, A. J. Larson, and J. F. Franklin. 2008. Mid-career graduate students in ecology. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6(7): 392-393. -Jim James A Lutz, PhD University of Washington College of the Environment http://faculty.washington.edu/jlutz Ph:(206)616-3827
