What I learned from my PhD
Habemus PhD
Whew.. what a journey.
However, I don’t want to write about the successful completion of my PhD. There’s no lesson in success.
I want to dedicate this article to celebrating all the successful failures that a PhD involves and all my thoughts at the end of such a journey.
The PhD period was one of the most unsuccessful periods of my life. And I’m grateful for that.
Indeed, there’s a reason why a PhD is the ultimate educational level you can achieve.
You have to learn a lot.
Not only about the research topic.
You learn a lot about yourself.
Here are the key lessons I learned.
DONTS
Don’t take it personally.
Don’t be so harsh with yourself.
Don’t dismiss your feelings and needs.
Don’t confuse your achievements and failures with your value.
Don’t confuse normal with common.
Don't criticize.
DOS
Do ask yourself if your sense of guilt is helping you proceed.
Do treat yourself kindly and softly.
If it’s too much, DO consider quitting.
Do dedicate time to your hobbies (i.e., whatever lightnesses your mind).
Do reconsider your concept of efficiency. 10% is still efficient. (A combustion engine has an efficiency of maybe 40%. Why should you have 100%? And why you should have 100% every-single-day (weekend included)?).
Do be critical, but don't criticize.
Would I do it again?
But yes, I am done. It felt like an era had passed since I started.
Okay, now I’m ready to answer the €1 million question: Would you do it again?
The answer is…
roll of drums
…
Maybe.
Right now, I have contradictory feelings about it and are probably going to stay.
Why I Stayed
“Was it challenging?”
Oh boy. Yes.
“Have you thought about quitting?”
Yes. On a daily basis after the first year in the middle of pandemic/opening/no conferences, etc.
“Why did you stay?”
Because I wanted to finish it.
“Why did you start? And what kept you in?”
Because I had the opportunity to learn about the most existential commodity of our lives: water.
If you think that you are dead without water, and you care a little about yourself and your future, perhaps you want to secure your life.
Thus, you may want to learn about the only element that keeps you alive.
Eventually, explore further how you can develop treatment technology to keep it clean and ensure your future safety.
So, learning about water and how to remove contaminants was more of a survival reflex for me.
The concept was:
If I learn everything about water, I.e., I study for a doctorate in water treatment, then I know how to keep myself safe, and the rest can come by itself (primary VS secondary needs).
What I Disliked of my PhD
The thing that I liked the least - actually, I ate it - was that it’s YOUR doctorate, it’s YOUR research, but you don’t have the final word.
It doesn’t feel that you are in control. Especially in a double doctorate program where you may face to bridge two different mindsets of carrying out research. The burden of double administrations. The burden of double housing.
This does not mean that it should not be this way, but that was really the hardest part for me. Relying on the outside when, after already six months, you are more knowledgeable in that topic than anybody else in your circle.
It’s like if you own a company, where you put all your effort into it, all your enthusiasm, you create, you generate, you spend your weekends on it, you think about it when you go to sleep, when you are on holidays, you know all the little details, and then…the government arrives (usually late) and decides what you shall do and how much taxes you should pay.
What the hell…
However, there is a secret asset that a PhD degree can give you. This is what I like to call:
The Duality of a PhD
The duality of a PhD is that you both become very knowledgeable on a tiny, infinitesimal part of a particular topic and simultaneously face a multitude of different transversal issues. Ranging from leadership (student supervision), communication skills (writing, public speaking, new languages), financial planning, negotiation strategies, bureaucracy, etc.
You know a lot about a little AND
You know a little about a lot.
In our times of fast changes, having the possibility of choosing between these two paths is the best thing you could get from an education pathway.
A PhD can open many doors, so I recommend the open and creative road, where you apply transversal skills, which may not be mainly related to the specific topic you have researched for years.
This is because you have only one option if you choose the specialized job over a more open position.
Yes, your acumen will be sharpened, but no matter how much you want to do diverse things, you’ll be tied to that specialization, and your CV will funnel you only toward that specialization.
Of course, that’s a very personal and subjective decision. Still, I much prefer to have many options in front of me.
Even if you earned a doctorate, why should you continue to be an academic? (Breaking news: nobody stays in academia after their bachelor’s or master’s, so why should you stay after your PhD?)
What if you want to become a graphic designer? A writer? A policymaker? An entrepreneur? A science communicator?
Luckily, the PhD gives you a touch of everything.
In the end, choose your own path.
