S. Worthen | Weblog

Other books I found helpful were:
How to get a PhD and Stop working and Start Thinking. The latter is specifically written for science graduate students, but the former is for doctoral students (and their supervisors) in general. Both are primarily geared towards the UK system, but I imagine the advice translates reasonably well to the US system.

Possibly the best analysis of the whole PhD experience can be found at phd.stanford.edu - this should be required reading for any postgraduate student.

Undergraduate friends often make some comment along the lines of ``I thought I might do a PhD - you know, doss around as a student for another few years...''

This, of course, is roughly analogous to saying ``I thought I might run a marathon - you know, to get out in the fresh air for a bit...''

After five and a half years as a (part-time) PhD student (I had my viva about three weeks ago, and am just doing my final thesis corrections at the moment), I'm more convinced than ever that you should only do it if you're genuinely interested in your subject. If you find yourself not caring about what you're studying (as opposed to just finding the work temporarily dull, stressful, or frustrating - which is perfectly normal, and everybody gets it at some point) then you should think seriously about going and doing something different (either working on a different topic, taking a break, or even quitting altogether). Really, life's too short :)

On the other hand, it's an amazing challenge, and a brilliant opportunity to learn lots of new stuff - both in terms of furthering your studies, and also by learning new ways to think.

But do it for the right reasons. I did it because I was (and still am) interested in my subject. One of the other graduate students in my department (who, as far as I can tell, started a PhD because he wanted to be called `Dr', and had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about `only' getting a 2i in his first degree) quit his PhD recently, after four stressful years which he could have spent progressing in a decent job.

Where he went wrong, I suspect, was by treating his PhD as a job - strictly monday-friday, 9am-5pm. This sort of approach doesn't always work with creative endeavours like research - you've got to be prepared to work late some nights if inspiration strikes (or if there's something that needs finishing) but also there will be days when you just have to go and do something else and let your subconscious get on with it, uninterrupted.

nicholas