At the end of one’s undergraduate journey, some will move on and use their degree in the workplace and others will choose to continue their education and embark on post-graduate studies in an endeavor to earn another degree. There are a number of options for a post-grad degree, like professional schools, non-thesis programs, and thesis programs including a Ph.D..
To quote a former professor of mine, a Ph.D. is a “shortcut to experience” as the amount of work you do during a Ph.D. is similar to that of working for a much longer period of time. That’s because your life revolves around research with the occasional class or teaching assistant position. Literally most of my weeks are about 40 hour work weeks, on top of classes as well. However, I’m working through it because I know the benefits of earning a Ph.D. will outweigh the cons right now in my current state.
It’s not always easy to commit to the idea of doing a Ph.D., especially when subjecting yourself to more school, but as I said before – the benefits can outweigh the cons. Based on my experiences and perspective, these are a couple of things you should consider as you decide to commit to a Ph.D.
- Consider whether or not you’re willing to take lower pay for an extended period of time
Ph.D. programs are expected to pay you a stipend because of the work you do for the institution, but they’re not as much as the salary you could receive if you were to go to the workforce instead. As an example, my gross (before tax and other deductions) stipend is about $2,250, but that’s for my department, and it can vary between departments. If I were to work as a full-time engineer, that number would surely go up. For me, it was fine because I never had a taste of that higher income due to the fact that I went directly into a Ph.D. program after graduating from undergrad. Some of my friends on the other hand who do have work experience took this pay deduction, but are relatively fine as they accrued savings during their employment stint.
- Will you be able to find an advisor in the field you like?
I’m lucky that I don’t have a strict advisor that grinds their students to the bone, but there are advisors out there that are like that. I’m also lucky for the fact that I found an advisor doing work in the field I’m interested in, which is energy materials, as that will be the field or tangentially related to the field I form a career in after graduation. Your advisor is key and will make or break your degree, so you have to give due diligence in finding one.
- Will you be able to have a healthy work-life balance?
This concept is one of my biggest challenges right now because I feel like I basically live at my laboratory. I’m an extroverted introvert so I love seeing people, but that gets hard if I don’t have ethe time. If you have difficulties with this, then this will come up often during your Ph.D. studies.
- Do you have good time management skills?
In a Ph.D. program, you typically are on a project with a funding source and therefore reporting deadlines to said source to make sure you’re on track with your research. This is also leading to determining whether or not you’re making sufficient progress. There’s a lot of cogs in the machine of a Ph.D. degree, and you have to make sure you balance all of it to get your work done. I wish I had stronger time management skills coming in as it kicks my butt now.
- Are you prepared for a potential toll on your mental health?
I’m by no means a psychologist or a behavioral healthcare expert, but I do know that pursuing a Ph.D. has taken a toll on my mental health. I have known some people that dropped out of their programs because of this toll, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else if they can’t handle it since it is a lot. Self-care and mental health is important, and while there are resources available for addressing these concerns, making sure you’re in a good mental health state will help in your studies.
While some of these sound cliché, these are common sentiments I hear from other Ph.D. students quite often. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to pursue a Ph.D., hopefully these sentiments help.