6 Ph.D. Myths Explained
June 22nd, 2006 | By: Rise
I write this to explain in my capacity
some of the myths which most of the prospective Ph.D. aspirants, 1st
year Ph.D. candidates, and their friends and families hold. My
intention is not to encourage/discourage anyone to do Ph.D. but to
clear some myths and give a clear picture.
- “It is the ultimate goal of life”: In early years
of a Ph.D. program, to most of the students it seems like a goal in
itself. But it’s not. It is a beginning. It is a preparation for your
research/academic career. It is a stepping stone towards your long-term
goal (if you have any).
- “I’ll be chained to a narrow topic for a lifetime”:
Change is the spice of life. You can (will) not work only on your Ph.D.
topic for the rest of your life. In fact, many researchers work on a
number of different research projects that may not be directly related
to their Ph.D. topic.
- “After Ph.D., I’ll have better job prospects”: The
motivation behind doing a Ph.D. should not be just to get a better and
higher income job. In fact, very few companies spend on R&D. And
it’s not always possible to recover later the loss of income you incur
in 3-5 years of Ph.D.
- “It is a good way to impress others”: Definitely a
wrong reason to pursue a Ph.D. You cannot withstand the unrealistic
demands of research just to impress others. It feels good only for a
while to tell every one that you are doing a Ph.D. and look at their
admiring eyes. But sooner or later, you would be hiding from them for
not being able to cope up.
- “It is just another project, no big deal”: If you
think it is just another project which takes a little longer than M.S.
thesis then you are in for huge disappointment here. The demands of
this ‘project’ are difficult and sometimes unrealistic from the
projects that you might have been doing till now.
- “It is a test of my intelligence”: It is not a
test of intelligence only but more of persistence and patience. Success
comes after a number of failures. A doctoral degree just shows that you
are capable of doing research with limited resources.
Now my friends and family would know exactly what I am into.
Please feel free to comment and add more to the list.
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2 Comments
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Comment by qamar on August 14, 2006 2:01 pm
my email is this please reply here
qamarep@hotmail.com
my question is that if i do a phd what is the financial benefit of it….
Pingback by How to avoid frustration due to expectations in graduate school » Educated Being on September 28, 2006 9:29 pm
[…]
Are you in graduate school doing a Ph.D. or a Master’s thesis? If yes,
read ahead. Is it going well? Are you on schedule? If yes, then you
don’t need to read any further. Ok, now that you are still with me
means not everything is as you expect. Let me tell you a secret - you
are not alone. Ohh, you already knew that. Good. I bet you have already
read about the 6 Ph.D. myths, and who should do a Ph.D. and why. […]