Some time ago, I was in a gathering of colleagues discussing the finer points of Marvel’s new blockbuster trailer Guardians of the Galaxy, (if you haven’t seen the trailer check it out here…who doesn’t like the idea of a talking racoon?) when a question arose that had significant impact among the gathered audience.
"What is a PhD?"
Seems simple enough, and in a room of PhD students one might imagine the question was easily answered…Not so much. Oh don’t get me wrong, we offered our suggestions and in typically long-winded academic fashion to boot, but through all our conversation we found ourselves unable to distil the essence of what a PhD actually represents…so we dropped it and moved onto Age of Ultron.
Since then I've found myself turning that question over in my mind, trying to drill at the core of the PhD dilemma. Naturally, I turned to google for the answer (first page search only, come-on I have actual work to do) and was met with a variety of responses, ranging from “a union card for an academic position,” to “a demonstration of research competence,” and of course “a complete waste of time.” The last comment notwithstanding, there seemed to be a consensus forming around the PhD as some combination of research education, academic rite-of-passage, and job requirement. So case closed right?...Not so much, because if you spoke to any current PhD student and told them those answers, they would most likely growl at you…and even after offering them a free lunch they would probably still say you were wrong. To me and my colleagues, those answers ring pretty hollow. Sure they may adequately describe the outputs of a PhD but they do not get at the heart of the PhD experience.
And there, in my mind, is where the answer lies. To understand the PhD is to understand the experience of obtaining it. Yes, a PhD is an education on research competence in a classical sense, but in practicality it’s an education on life; a life-lesson taught through research. In an environment where the subtleties of personal and professional relationships with our peers play a significant role, the PhD teaches how to deal with failure and turn that into opportunity; we learn how to handle disappointment and turn that into renewed vigour. Critically, we learn how to stand on our own two feet and prove the strength of our convictions by generating an idea developing that into reality.
So yes the PhD is a rite-of-passage, as any life-lesson is a rite of passage, and yes it is a job requirement, as the skills and coping mechanisms learned can be equipped for the trials and tribulations of a life-long career. In my opinion, the most successful PhDs are those that can look beyond their research and understand how the PhD impacts them as a person, those that can learn from their experience and use it to guide their development both personally and professionally. It is by no means perfect, nor is it the only way to learn these lessons, but it does present a unique environment to not only discover the secrets of the world but of yourself as well.
"What is a PhD?"
Seems simple enough, and in a room of PhD students one might imagine the question was easily answered…Not so much. Oh don’t get me wrong, we offered our suggestions and in typically long-winded academic fashion to boot, but through all our conversation we found ourselves unable to distil the essence of what a PhD actually represents…so we dropped it and moved onto Age of Ultron.
Since then I've found myself turning that question over in my mind, trying to drill at the core of the PhD dilemma. Naturally, I turned to google for the answer (first page search only, come-on I have actual work to do) and was met with a variety of responses, ranging from “a union card for an academic position,” to “a demonstration of research competence,” and of course “a complete waste of time.” The last comment notwithstanding, there seemed to be a consensus forming around the PhD as some combination of research education, academic rite-of-passage, and job requirement. So case closed right?...Not so much, because if you spoke to any current PhD student and told them those answers, they would most likely growl at you…and even after offering them a free lunch they would probably still say you were wrong. To me and my colleagues, those answers ring pretty hollow. Sure they may adequately describe the outputs of a PhD but they do not get at the heart of the PhD experience.
And there, in my mind, is where the answer lies. To understand the PhD is to understand the experience of obtaining it. Yes, a PhD is an education on research competence in a classical sense, but in practicality it’s an education on life; a life-lesson taught through research. In an environment where the subtleties of personal and professional relationships with our peers play a significant role, the PhD teaches how to deal with failure and turn that into opportunity; we learn how to handle disappointment and turn that into renewed vigour. Critically, we learn how to stand on our own two feet and prove the strength of our convictions by generating an idea developing that into reality.
So yes the PhD is a rite-of-passage, as any life-lesson is a rite of passage, and yes it is a job requirement, as the skills and coping mechanisms learned can be equipped for the trials and tribulations of a life-long career. In my opinion, the most successful PhDs are those that can look beyond their research and understand how the PhD impacts them as a person, those that can learn from their experience and use it to guide their development both personally and professionally. It is by no means perfect, nor is it the only way to learn these lessons, but it does present a unique environment to not only discover the secrets of the world but of yourself as well.
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