Is Ph.D. worth it?
21-year-old Sarisha is a smart intelligent girl pursuing B.Tech. in a renowned institute of her state. While most of her friends want to do MBA or go for an industrial job, she is interested to go for higher studies. She knows she is heading towards being a hyper educated poor with no big salary paychecks. Moreover, she might have to compromise on the personal fronts. Her marriage, kids, the shining car of her dreams, all might get delayed. Despite all these reasons for not doing a Ph.D., she is highly ambitious to do one. Like Sarisha, only a few people embark on this rare journey. In a big crowd of undergraduates or masters, only a small proportion gives a thought to be an academician. Out of this thinking minority, only a handful of people actually go for a doctorate. What makes these people go for a Ph.D. [3]? Are you one of these few strange people who is embarking on this rare journey?
The race of a Ph.D. starts with an ambitious soul like Sarisha but what happens thereafter?
Love of science led Gaurang to do a Ph.D. He is currently a second-year Ph.D. student. He was once a young and ambitious student who wanted to be a leader of science. Being the topper of his institute in the undergraduate exams, he had already envisioned a grand plan for his Ph.D. His dreams were crystal clear in his mind. He wanted to change the world with his research akin to Thomas Edison and Einstein-like big giants. But today, academia has started frustrating his ambitions. The academic life turned out to be very different from what he planned. The coursework felt so hard and now the research seems even harder. The unexpected failures have started bothering him. Jumped head-first into the Ph.D. program, Gaurang has started doubting himself and worrying if his decision was wrong and is he destined to fail? Some days, he just sits down on the floor and cry.
Sucheta is a third year Ph.D. student going through the mid Ph.D. crisis. The silent race of the graduate school is killing her. She is regularly attacked by the stomach-sinking feelings of fear and insecurity. She often thinks about quitting her Ph.D. and looking for an alternate career. She doubts if she is made for academia or is there something wrong with her.
I was once a Sarisha, then a Gaurang and then a Sucheta. During my academic journey, I came to a stage of giving up all the hopes of getting a degree. Not only me, every scholar at some point of her Ph.D. journey is a Sarisha, Gaurang or Sucheta. The first few years of a Ph.D. might be life taking but one who survives these three years is destined to win this marathon. You fall down, you stand up, you fall down, you stand up, you fall down, you stand up, that is how it is. Dear friend, you need to remember, all of us are in the same boat. That coursework, those seminars, the meetings with the supervisor, explanation to the relatives, expectations of the parents, complaints of the friends, they kill all of us. Sweat, blood, and tears- one day, you shall realize their worth. The best way to deal with the frustrations, irritations, and hurdles of Ph.D. is [5]
Talk about it
Write about it
Don't think about it
Be okay with it
Just keep swimming
Fortunately, while passing through the hell of Ph.D. crisis, there was no second option to me. Three years were gone, seemed too late to quit a Ph.D., so I kept working and communicating papers. I whispered to myself:
Talk about it
Write about it
Don't think about it
Be okay with it
Just keep swimming
Then a day came in my shattered academic life that my publications went through the tests and my lost confidence somehow revived back. Then I became Uttam. Thinking who Uttam is? Read on...
Uttam is a final year Ph.D. student. He is very satisfied with his choice of doing a Ph.D. He finds his life to be intellectually very rich. He now loves immersing in a process of constant learning. Often during summers, he delves into novels and short stories. After doing these many activities, he is still able to spend quality time with his family. He has learned to treat every result as a positive result. He sees Ph.D. as the most uniquely rewarding experiment of his life. He now exploits his free time not to worry but to do what interests him.
Today if I look at my Ph.D. degree as a curve, it looks like the following.
And finally, I am looking forward to getting my Ph.D. degree and go to a sweet visit to my bank and request the accountant: “Can you please change my name from Ms. Yayati to Dr. Yayati please‘
Ph.D. teaches us expanding our intellectual horizons, having a scholarly breadth and being independent. It instills a strong writer in us. It raises our standards and makes us ready to face uncertainty, fear, and rejection.
We need to be like Richard Feynman while pursuing research. The scientist was irritated of his sleep being disturbed when the committee called him to inform that he won a Nobel prize. We need to be Thomas Edisons. The scientist was not irritated even when 100 of his experiments fell flat on his face. He considered the 100 failed experiments to be 100 new learnings. Do not expect big, do not get upset when you do not get a result. Do it for a joy, live the pleasure of finding things out. No doubt, doing comes harder than talking, but 5 years of Ph.D., if you survive, you will learn it.
B. Berger, the author of "Reflections On Academic Success And Failure: Making It, Forsaking It, Reshaping It" says [9]:
I made my entrance on the Greyhound bus
I don't intend to cause a fuss
If you like my style, that's fine with me
But if you don't, just let me be
I got some kids,
I got a wife
I'm just trying to swing my way through life
That is how an academic life is…
References
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/the-phd-experience-this-far-and-no-further/2015113.article
Reimagining the PhD | Nadia Jaber
https://www.findaphd.com/advice/finding/why-do-phd.aspx Why do a Ph.D.?
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/ten-steps-to-phd-failure
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/mid-phd-crisis
http://www.cse.iitd.ac.in/~srsarangi/career_options.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSjZrIYUe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qugm1L7mZU
B. Berger, ed., Authors of Their Own Lives, Univ. of California Press, 1990, pp.260-284]
http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/10/10/choosing-between-academic-and-corporate-life-did-i-make-the-wrong-choice/
