Is a PhD for Me Now?

Here are some reasons that PhD applicants give when asked why they are considering PhD studies:

I want to make a difference in my field.
Doing the degree will help me do a better job at my work.
I want to make X better for people.
I want to understand X.
I want to challenge myself to go deeply into X.
The study of X is exciting and arouses my passionate desire to learn about it.

These reasons demonstrate a very high level of internal motivation, rather than only external pressures or a desire for short-term gain. In terms of overall rates of success, having that interior drive is necessary to get you through the marathon of the PhD.

In addition to the academic stimulation and the thrill of carrying out research, many students report that they go through periods of intense loneliness and isolation with their topic. Research often doesn’t progress as foreseen – there may be delays, problems obtaining a research population, or unpredictable interruptions. There may be personality clashes or misunderstandings with colleagues. These challenges can be even more difficult to bear for students who are living away from their usual support systems, or for those who have had trouble managing stress in the past. The most successful PhD students are those who cultivate supportive relationships — with supervisors, peers, or counselors, with family and friends — to help get them through difficult periods.

See also FAQ "Funding for Doctoral Students"

PhD students remember what it was like when they were “starving students” as undergraduates and perhaps even during their Master’s degrees. However, many PhD students report that they feel financial hardships even more keenly during the PhD because they usually have more financial obligations than when they were younger. They may also have more established careers that are more difficult to put on hold, and they may have families to care for. It is realistic to be aware of the fact that while there is some financial support offered to PhD students, your financial resources may be reduced from previous levels.

Keep in mind that though you may have been very successful in getting grants and other academic awards in your previous studies, so has every other PhD student. You will now be in a much more concentrated pool of highly educated, talented, successful students – with fewer resources to compete for.

Getting and having a doctoral degree does not mean necessarily becoming an academic professor at a university. Indeed, given the tight academic market and current “PhD over-supply” in some areas, PhD students are encouraged to consider other possibilities for post-doctoral life in education than the traditional tenure-track university position. Those intent on a tenure-track position should realize that they need to be open to travelling to where the work is.

PhD graduates from DISE have gone on to tenure-track university positions, course lecturers in university or college, post-doctoral fellowships, into educational administrative or administrative/teaching positions for universities, schools and school boards,  into materials development/publishing, into consulting for non-profit organizations, work as specialists in government organizations, and into various other positions. Although the pathway to a career is not always a straightforward one, it is a good idea to have an idea of what kind of work you wish to pursue after the degree.

Doing a doctoral degree is a full-time job. You should plan to spend at least 30-40 hours a week directly on your studies. And you should plan to do this for four to six years. You should realistically ask yourself the following question: Am I willing to commit at least 8,000 to 12,000 hours to this project? The fact is that you cannot simply add a doctoral program to your existing schedule. Something must be subtracted.

There is increasing institutional pressure on PhD students to complete their degrees in a timely fashion, ideally within four years, although the limit is to PhD 7 (6 years for most). Successful PhD students are ones who set reasonable deadlines and then meet them; every missed deadline means a tighter timeline to completion.

At the core of PhD study is writing development. The fact that you already have an advanced degree means that you have been a successful writer, but all PhD students also should recognize that they are also writing students. Firstly, every discipline and sub-discipline has its own specific discourse conventions. Secondly, texts that are specific to academia, such as article reviews and grant proposals, are highly specialized genres that require practice and feedback to write well. For perhaps the first time in your academic career, you must prepare yourself to receive serious criticism of your writing skills, even at an advanced level. Criticism is part of the territory. Even the most esteemed academics regularly deal with rejection and criticism—their articles are rejected, they are refused funding—so a thick skin is essential.

The supervisory relationship is markedly different during a PhD than during a MA degree. A faculty member will not accept taking on a 4-6-year mentoring relationship with you lightly, as it is a huge responsibility and commitment. But this is not just the supervisor’s decision — you both need to be convinced that you will work well together and that your interests are closely aligned. This person initiates you into his or her community of practice and scholarship. Is this the same community that you are interested in belonging to? Do you have similar ideas about the support that you will be getting, and what both of your responsibilities are? The most successful supervisory experiences have started out with all of these issues considered and openly discussed. (See FAQ Finding a PhD Supervisor.) Additional information can be found here.