Ask HN: Can a politically exposed person in middle age become a CS researcher?
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would mean absolutely nothing to the younger crowd, but I've made enemies in high places (and suffered death threats, rescinded job offers, rumor campaigns, you name it).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.