When do younglings become padawans and padawans become knights?

Is there like a set age?

What would be an average age for younglings to become a padawan?

Do all padawans must have masters from the start?


Mav Edit: The question has been answered and some good resources given (Wookieepedia is a fanficers best friend!) so I'm going to go ahead and lock this thread.

 

In Old Republic times (Jedi Apprentice series) a ypungling must have been chosen by a master before he or she turned 13. Then he/she became a padawan. If no master chose the youngling before his/her thirteenth birthday, he or she would be sent to Agri-Corps, to help cultivate crops.
Obi-Wan was sent to Agri-Corps, as he was nearly 13, and it was first after some time that Qui-Gon eventually took him as his padawan, while Obi-Wan's predecessor, Qui-Gons earlier padawan, Xanatos, was chosen when he was only about 10.

A padawan became knighten when he/she completed the trials. It was the padawan's master or the Jedi council. who decided wheter he/she was ready for the trials or not yet. Sometimes a padawan got knighten for something he/she did during his/her service for the Order, if the Council decided it had been enough to prove him/her worthy of the Jedi Knight title. In such cases there were no further trials.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was declared a Jedi knight by Yoda after he had killed Darth Maul. He was 25 then.
Anakin was knighten after the campaign on Praesitlyn, when he was 19 I think, so the age could vary.

 

I always thought you achieved yourself as Padawan or even a Knight by your maturity. Although I do think younglings were made padawans around their younger, teenage years. Those who were not chosen were sent to places like the AgriCorps where their powers could still be used for the greater good of the galaxy.

 

What time period are you asking about? In the post-ROTJ era, the students attend the academy and have the option to become apprentices sometime during their teenage years. The age of Knighting depends on the person. For example, Tahiri Veila was about 16 when she became a Knight, but Jacen Solo was 19 (I think).

 

Wookieepedia is your chum for all matters Star Wars.

This is the article on Padawans.

This is the article on Jedi Knights.

This is the article on Jedi in general.

So they weren't always sent into agriculture.

It should also be noted that the age at which a Padawan becomes a Knight is also dependant on the species. There are various other pages concerning Jedi on Wookieepedia, so it's well worth having a look.