What do you have to fear?
No one really cares about how old you are as long as you fit
in.
Compared to how your peers would laugh at you in the future with
their doctorate degrees and so forth.
nevermind lah, now he laugh at them, next time they laugh at
him, fair and equal, but to say they laugh at him can be an
understatement, I believe his peers who completed Doc or degree
will still be struggling, he might be more well off selling meepok
or currymee or be the 49th stall selling katong laksa at katong