Dealing with rejection when applying for a PhD position

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming Iván Carrera as a guest author. Ivan is a professor at the Department of Informatics and Computer Science of Escuela Politécnica Nacional in Quito, Ecuador. His research interests are Performance Evaluation, Distributed Systems and Bioinformatics. Check out his webpage: http://fis.epn.edu.ec/sistemasdistribuidos/. You can follow him on Twitter.

I majored in engineering in Ecuador, my homeland. When I finished, I wanted to do grad-school in Brazil. I had studied Portuguese, and for me it was a dream to have the opportunity to do research. I applied to several universities, got a few yes's and a lot of no's. In engineering they say that you shouldn't worry about communication skills, but it was very difficult for me to write. I had to learn how to write formally. I got accepted in University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, and went to do a Master's in Computer Science.

During my Master's I felt that my research wouldn't have much impact in the market and the public. I graduated in 2014 and immediately got the offer to continue my research with a PhD position. I rejected the offer because I felt lost and I didn't want to continue to do research in a topic that doesn't have, in my opinion, much impact.

In 2014, I got a teaching position and began to do some research. Doing research by yourself without proper experience (which you can get in a PhD) and without a supervisor (because mine was in Brazil) was almost impossible. In my department there wasn't any colleagues with similar research interests. I started supervising a few graduation projects involving software development and bioinformatics applications to begin my research.

Working with Bioinformatics was the opportunity for me to make research with very visible impact. But again, I was alone in my department, I lacked a research group. I began to look for Bioinformatics research groups. In 2015, I contacted the Bio and Cheminformatics Research Group in Universidad de las Américas. They gave me the opportunity to work and join their research. Now I lacked a PhD.

I started looking for PhD programs. The most direct decision was to do it in Brazil. I already lived there, so the adaptation phase shouldn't be hard. The problem was they didn't want my research topic. I was working on a topic called 'drug discovery and repurposing'. My research was about how to discover new interactions of drugs using computers so we can understand undesired effects of drugs. Interesting, just not for everyone.

I contacted several universities and programs in Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. They always said something like "I like your research, but I couldn't supervise it". And they were right. No one should accept students who couldn't closely supervise. This was my biggest problem. I participated in several courses about Bioinformatics, because I had to learn the basics. In 2017, at University of São Paulo I spoke to almost 20 professors from research lines similar to mine, and every time they said they liked my project but couldn't supervise it. I felt alone, and felt that maybe I shouldn't have changed my research topic.

Then, my supervisor in Universidad de las Américas contacted some researchers from Universidad de la Coruña in Spain. They offered me a position in a PhD program in Information Technology. I made the paperwork, wrote a proposal and got accepted. I was very excited. I worked in Ecuador during my first semester of my PhD, setting up some databases and writing a lot of code.

In July, 3 months after I started my PhD, I received an email saying that I couldn't get accepted as a PhD student. Turns out that my Master's degree in Brazil was 'too short'. According to Spanish regulations (as far as I understand), Master's programs should have a duration of 60 ECTS, but my Master's in Brazil was just about 45 credits because they don't account for the dissertation. There was nothing to do. I got (sort of) expelled.

Once again, I had to knock on doors.

I knew some colleagues who went to do a PhD in Portugal. Maybe they could help me with my problem. I wrote them, and they presented me a different view: studying in Portugal.

Again, I had to write to several professors in Portugal. One of them, in University of Porto, accepted me, and wanted us to write a joint proposal. We wrote it, and last month I got accepted in the PhD program of Computer Science. After all these trial-error rejections, I finally got accepted in an excellent PhD program. Now I feel all this was worth the effort.

I acknowledge that changing research topics is hard and it makes you lose your credentials and expertise on your field; but it also makes you a richer researcher, since you can contribute with knowledge from your previous field. You have to learn from the basics, so it's like beginning from scratch. But if you want to do it, if you want your research to be better and to make an impact, you will have to work harder.

Being rejected is part of working in an academic environment, it's hard on your self esteem, but it's something you'll have to deal with. Science teaches us to doubt and overcome our biases, but rejection makes you doubt about your own abilities, your knowledge and your decisions about your career.

Having a support net that includes family, friends, and colleagues is important because sometimes you just want to give up. When you get rejected so many times, you start to think that everyone got it easier than you. You never know other people's struggles, you just know your own.

Pursuing a research position, in a master's or PhD, requires a set of skills that you don't know you'll need. Learning to communicate is key, and believing in yourself is crucial.

PhD Defenses around the world: a defense from the University of Charleston

Today, Dr. Philip Shields shares his experience of the PhD defense. Dr. Shields is a scholar-practitioner in the field of Executive Leadership. He currently works as a manager for a General Electric Company and as an Adjunct Professor at two universities. His undergraduate degree was in Chemistry and he holds a Master's degree in Management with a focus in Integrated Logistics. His passions include faith, family, flying, friends, and bridging the gap between public and private organizations so that both may benefit through strategic alliances.

May 16th is a day that I remember fondly and with pride, but like most highly anticipated events it was not quite what I expected. Three and 1/2 years of preparation and hundreds of hours of research/writing on my topic prepared me for the technical aspect of this day, but the psychological component of the day was a different story. Preparation quieted most of my fear of failure, but the prominent question in my mind that day was "am I good enough to be at this level...a Doctor?"

My program was designed for full-time professionals in leadership positions, so that they could also be full-time students. The Cohort model used was designed for the scholar-practitioner, and worked well for me. The University of Charleston, nestled in the hills of West Virginia, designed this program around the findings of a study by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Structure, learning outcomes, and course design were all developed to meet the changing environment of doctoral education. I truly enjoyed my doctorate studies more than any other academic venture in my past, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed instructing at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

After I completed my course work and my program's comps equivalent, I asked one of my mentors at the University to be my dissertation chair. This turned out to be an excellent decision that helped me to complete my dissertation according to my timeline. He and I communicated regularly and we did multiple edits prior to the remainder of the committee seeing each chapter. This relationship gave me confidence as I submitted my dissertation proposal and my final dissertation defense.

Three weeks prior to my formal defense my chair had me defend my dissertation to my committee (no guest were present for this session). It was more intense than the formal defense, lasted three hours, and lead to several small revisions that I made prior to my formal defense. I am very grateful for that exercise because it gave me confidence in my ability to defend my research, especially as the formal defense would be in front of a much larger audience.

I felt prepared and confident, but it is somewhat unsettling when your boss' boss is in the audience and mentors from your academic and professional life are grading your responses. According to my university's defense format, your committee asks the first rounds of questions, and then anyone in the audience is allowed to ask questions. The audience consisted of my immediate family (parents, brother, in-laws), boss' boss, a couple of friends in academia, half of the students in the doctorate program (some from my cohort and many from newer cohorts), and faculty and staff of my university. This large of a group was possible because the defense was broadcast live via WebEx.

My chair and I rehearsed my dissertation's defense PowerPoint a couple of times and adjusted my slides so that my presentation would last forty to forty-five minutes. I practiced presenting my defense with my wife (a Doctor of Physical Therapy) and my older brother (a M.D. and PhD that practices medicine and conducts research), and several other times speaking out-loud by myself. Even with all of the practice and edits the nagging questions of "is my dissertation good enough?" and "am I scholarly enough to join the academic ranks as a Doctor?" remained.

On the evening of May 16th, 2017 I signed on to the WebEx meeting, briefly said hello to my committee, pulled up the slides for my presentation, and waited as more than fifty people joined the meeting. After my chair introduced himself, my committee, and me to the audience, I began. I would be lying if I said that I was not nervous, but just as some of my peers had said, once you get started you forget about your nerves because you are speaking about the topic that you have lived with for the last couple of years. Forty-two minutes passed like it was only five minutes and then the question began. To my surprise I enjoyed fielding each question and hearing reflection about my topic from the committee, and from the audience. An hour and forty-five minutes after I started my defense everything was concluded by my chair when he thanked everyone for supporting me through the journey and for joining in the defense process. He asked everyone to leave the meeting and told me that after the committee discussed the defense they would contact me. About thirty minutes later I received a call from my chair that opened with "Dr. Shields, good job on your defense..."

As with most dissertation defenses, thesis, etc., the committee wanted a few final tweaks to be made prior to signing their names to it. I took the remainder of May to make the corrections and have my editor take one last look at the document. The completed dissertation was submitted prior to June and then a slight depression came over me. I had been warned about this happening, but I did not think that it would actually happen to me. I am a generally happy person and know that I am very blessed, but the realization that a four-year relationship had ended hit me harder than I expected. "What do I do with all of the free time?" and "Why do I feel guilty about not researching, studying, or writing?"

It took me about a month to get over it as I began helping my peers complete their dissertations. I am the peer member on three committees and help several others from my program as they push forward to the finish line. After more than a year I am comfortable with "Dr. Shields" and remember the doctoral journey with fondness. As I continue to help grad students finish their dissertation/thesis my reflections lead me to the same conclusion, I would do it all over again.

PhD Defenses around the world: a defense at Ohio State

Cindy Lee studied linguistics and microbial biology at UC Berkeley, where she researched genetic engineering in sorghum. She then did her PhD at The Ohio State University, where she researched DNA repair in the context of breast cancer, but she would have graduated much sooner if her dissertation focused on cake. Now, she works as a science writer and editor. You can find her Tweeting @geneandtonic and blogging at Genes and Tonic.

The ball was in the red zone, and the crowd was chanting, "DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!" Well, not quite. These are some ways my PhD defense differed from an American football game:

• There was no whistle for time outs: When I wasn't in the lab, I was supposed to be thinking about my research. If I procrastinated by baking cheesecake or watching sports, then I probably wasn't trying hard enough to be a Real Scientist (hello, imposter syndrome). If I took a 20-minute nap, then I probably delayed my graduation by 20 years (there's always that fear). For the record, I took innumerous naps, ate copious amounts of baked goods, and cheered for my team when they won the national championship in the first college playoff. My PhD took six years.
• There were no commentators: Some of the people who attended my defense were colleagues who could understand the experiments I did, while others joined for moral support. One friend brought her nine-year-old daughter, who made a few notes. They weren't watching on TV, listening to commentators explain the technicalities. So, at the beginning of my talk, I followed my advisor's guidance and told the story "so that grandma can understand."
• There was no tackling: Most people in my program agreed that the candidacy exam (writing a project proposal, then presenting it to your faculty advisory committee) was harder than the defense. I would agree (though there is always that fear that something will go wrong). For my program, if your advisor and the committee agreed to let you schedule the defense, they had already heard about your project at yearly meetings and approved your dissertation, so they were most likely going to let you pass. The "hard hits" were more likely to happen during the candidacy exam than the dissertation defense.

Still, there were some similarities between my PhD defense and an American football game:

• Hefty rule book: There were so many guidelines and forms--for my program, the graduate school, and the university. We typically counted backwards from the deadline to file the paperwork to graduate for a particular semester. I wanted to walk in the May commencement ceremony, so the last day to file was in April, and before I filed, I had to pass my defense. Counting backward from the defense, I had to give myself enough time to send my dissertation to my committee, receive their comments, make revisions, and get final approval. That meant I submitted my dissertation in March. That meant I called a committee meeting about half a year before to make sure my advisor and committee agreed that my project was ready for that timeline. Some of the paperwork and policies included formatting everything correctly (making sure all the references are in the right place and right style takes a lot of time!) and getting your dissertation to an external committee member. To make sure that the advisor and three committee members fairly assessed your qualifications, the graduate school would assign someone from a different department to attend your defense. Because I defended toward the end of the semester, external committee members were in high demand, and I didn't know who mine would be until the day before.
• Coach and teammates: Ultimately, I was responsible for asking questions, designing experiments to answer those questions, analyzing my data, and telling the story. Throughout this process, it was immensely helpful to have guidance from my advisor, labmates, and classmates.
• The crowd: Ok, so I scheduled my defense for a room that holds about 40 people, not a stadium that holds 100,000 (but that IS where we have commencement). Still, I knew that everyone in that room was there to support me. So, I tried to put on a good show. This included explaining how my research helped us understand the causes of breast cancer, making a few jokes, and putting up a picture of the day my advisor and I wore the same outfit. He's 6'6". I'm 5'3".

It's been almost three years since my PhD defense, and I still feel really lucky all the pieces came together--lining up a job that fulfilled two of my goals (seeing the world outside the US, working in science communication), finishing up experiments for a journal article right before I left, and hosting my grandparents (who flew to Ohio from Taiwan) and parents and brother (who flew in from California) for graduation/commencement. The PhD journey isn't always fun, and the road isn't always clear, but my family and friends helped me find my way.

Stress levels in academia

I recently ran a poll on Twitter to see the stress levels of fellow academics. The results are not pretty, with the majority of the respondents reporting stress beyond what is acceptable.

Tell me about your stress levels in academia #highered #acwri #phdchat #profchat #ecrchat

— Dr Eva Lantsoght (@evalantsoght) March 5, 2018

You can find the wake of this poll here:

Book review: You Must Be Very Intelligent (The PhD Delusion) by Karin Bodewits

Some time ago, I was happy to receive a review copy of Karin Bodewits's first novel "You Must Be Very Intelligent" with as subtitle "the PhD Delusion". This book is a hybrid between memoir and work of fiction about Bodewits's years as a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.

The short summary of the book is as follows:
You Must be Very Intelligent is the author’s account of studying for a PhD in a modern, successful university. Part-memoir and part-exposé, this book is highly entertaining and unusually revealing about the dubious morality and desperate behaviour which underpins competition in twenty-first century academia.

This witty, warts-and-all account of Bodewits´ years as a PhD student in the august University of Edinburgh is full of success and failure, passion and pathos, insight, farce and warm-hearted disillusionment. She describes a world of collaboration and backstabbing; nefarious financing and wasted genius; cosmopolitan dreamers and discoveries that might just change the world… Is this a smart people’s world or a drip can of weird species? Modern academia is certainly darker and stranger than one might suspect…

This book will put a wry, knowing smile on the faces of former researchers. And it is a cautionary parable for innocents who still believe that lofty academia is erected upon moral high ground…

The book is structured along the three years of the PhD program in Edinburgh. While staying lighthearted, it touches upon all the facets of the PhD years, including the interview for a PhD position, getting started in a program, the drudgery of failed experiments, making friends on (and off) campus, struggles with the PhD supervisors, and trying to graduate and get out. As Bodewits describes it, in terms of research finances and possibilities for the PhD students, there are research groups that have a gilded robe as their group leader, and others that have a mere peasant frock. But to her demise, she learned that her research group was threadbare underpants - there was not even money or space for a desk and computer for her when she started her PhD!

While I was reading You Must Be Very Intelligent I smiled a lot, and at some point I laughed so hard that I woke up my baby daughter. There are smiles of recognition when seeing the sketches of the typical characters one encounters in academia. There are smiles in sympathy for the struggles and mishaps of the leading character, who goes through all the struggles that are part of the PhD trajectory. There are cheeky smiles when there is too much liquor and smokes involved, or during the quest for a decent and free cup of coffee.

You Must Be Very Intelligent is a quick and captivating read - I read large parts of it with my e-reader propped up on my breastfeeding infant's head, and I just couldn't put it down. If you are looking for an entertaining read for your summer holidays, don't look further and get yourself a print or digital copy of You Must Be Very Intelligent.

Thesis by dissertation or publication?

I recently ran a poll on Twitter to ask if respondents received their PhD by writing a big book style thesis or by publication, or what they currently are working towards. The result is that the majority is receiving their PhD by writing a dissertation, but a good 25% (or more, if we leave out the votes for "just show me the results") received their PhD by publication (or are working towards getting their degree in this format).

You can find the wake of the pol below:

How long does a PhD defense last?

I recently ran a poll on Twitter about the average length of the PhD defense or viva. Even though we all have heard the horror stories of defenses lasting 6 hours or more, the average defense seems to last between 1 and 2 hours.

Here are the results:

How long did your oral PhD defense / viva last?

— Dr Eva Lantsoght (@evalantsoght) January 31, 2018

You can find the wake of this poll here:

Q&A: How to find a PhD position in the Netherlands

I recently received this reader email, which can be interesting for other readers of PhD Talk as well (edited for anonymity):

Dear Eva Lantsoght,
I earned my Bachelors of Field and M.Sc. in Field Economics from the University of Somewhere and desiring to have my PhD in the same or related field from a university in Netherlands. Can you advise me on how to go about with my application especially on how to find supervisors?
Many thank in anticipation for your kind and prompt response.

Sincerely,
XX

Here's my reply:

Dear XX,

Thank you for reaching out to me through my blog.

If you want to apply for a PhD position in the Netherlands, there is no standard procedure through an application website. The hiring process depends on the university and on the full professor you would want to work for.

The best way to find a position is to be directly in contact with a possible promotor. I don't recommend that you cold email a possible promotor. I did this, and I was lucky to be invited for an interview, but in most cases such emails immediately go to the trash can or spam folder. If possible, I recommend you visit a university of your interest and talk to possible promotors. You can strengthen your profile as a candidate by applying for funding and bringing this advantage to the table.

I hope this helps,

Eva

Starting a PhD as a Single Parent

Today, I'm hosting Daniel Sherwin with a guest post. Daniel is a single dad raising two children. At DadSolo.com, he aims to provide other single dads with information and resources to help them better equip themselves on the journey that is parenthood.

Tell people you’re considering a PhD as a single parent and they’ll look at you like you’re crazy. A PhD is a grueling journey under the best of circumstances; add in a child or two and it looks near impossible. But when there’s something you’re passionate about, not doing it simply isn’t an option. So in true single parent fashion, you buckle down, set your eyes on the prize, and find a way to make it happen. If you’re a single parent considering a PhD, this advice will get you started.

Choosing It
Your experience in a PhD program depends heavily on where you work. As you search for the right graduate program for you, look for schools with family-friendly benefits. Depending on the institution, you might find:

• Paid health insurance
• Childcare subsidies
• On-campus family housing
• A family resource center
• Online courses

Also consider your advisor’s attitude toward student parents. Does the advisor appreciate that you won’t be able to say yes to every commitment, or does she expect you to be at her beck and call? You have to be selective with your time when juggling grad school and parenthood, and your journey will be a lot easier with an understanding advisor.

Affording It
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average tuition for a PhD program is just over $16,000 — a number that’s well out of reach for the typical single parent. Thankfully, there’s a good chance you won’t pay ticket price for your doctoral program, especially if you’re in the sciences or engineering.

Even if your PhD is fully-funded, you could still be living shockingly close to the poverty line: While some PhD stipends and assistantships hover around $30,000 per year, many barely break $10,000. For most people that’s not enough to cover living expenses, let alone childcare. So how can you make it work?

• Wait to start your degree until your kids are in school. Without full-time childcare your limited budget will stretch a lot further.
• Choose a program that offers a research or teaching assistantship that will cover tuition and pay a monthly stipend.
• If you’re considering a second job, make sure it won’t put your funding at risk.
• Make use of public assistance. Qualifying for SNAP or Medicaid is harder for students, but single parents with children under the age of 12 qualify if they meet income thresholds, according to the USDA.

Doing It
Once you’ve chosen a program and secured funding, it’s time to figure out how you’re actually going to do it. Pursuing a PhD is very different from working a nine-to-five job. On the plus side, PhD programs have more flexible schedules, which means it’s easier to pick the kids up from school or stay home when someone’s sick. However, it also means there’s no shutting off work at the end of the day, and universities tend to treat grad students like they have no other demands on their time.

As a single parent, you have to raise your kids while also finding time to commit to research. And unlike doing the dishes or folding laundry, you can’t exactly divide attention between studying and childrearing. That means you need to make use of the time your kids aren’t around. Squeeze in reading before the kids wake up, dig in deep during school hours, and schedule play dates when deadlines loom near. Avoid waiting until the kids are in bed to start the day’s work; both parenting and your PhD require your brain to be functioning at maximum capacity, and it can’t do that if you’re sleep-deprived.

Finally, when your kids are at home, commit yourself fully to parenting. No matter how important your PhD work is, you don’t want your children to feel second to it.

Pursuing a PhD as a single parent is by no means easy. There will be days you question your sanity, but there will be just as many where you’re overcome with inspiration and gratitude. Make time to take care of yourself, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and when things get rough, remind yourself of what it’s all for: A brighter future for you and your children.

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: How to develop soft skills during your PhD studies

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

Let me start today with some sobering news. PhD completion rates are low. Too low. There are numerous reasons why candidates leave their PhD programs. Personal problems, financial issues,... the (bad ) stuff of life. Lack of supervision and guidance can be a problem.

If we leave out all the external causes for leaving a PhD program, we are left with internal causes. In some cases, a candidate has the analytical skills to do the research, but lacks the soft skills to deliver a dissertation and defend. A good technical student can perhaps still need to do some effort to manage his/her project, or to write a sound conference paper.

The good news is: you can learn these soft skills. Universities are realizing more and more that actively encouraging doctoral students to learn soft skills is of mutual benefit. An added plus is that these soft skills are useful for any career path after the PhD, and can be desirable in the industry.

If your university does not provide courses to train your soft skills, you can teach yourself. Just like you can teach yourself to code in another language, you can teach yourself the soft skills you need to manage your research, and present and publish your results. Let's go step-by-step:

1. Analyze your workflow processes
Have an honest conversation with yourself. How are you currently working? What work do you get done, and what stays behind?

If you find it hard to reply these questions, use the monthly progress monitor, originally introduced by Gosling and Noordam. Set goals for a month, subdivide these into tasks per week, and then evaluate at the end of the month what you accomplished and what not, and identify why you deviated from your planning. Keep doing this exercise on monthly basis (even weekly in the beginning) to learn which type of tasks you struggle with, and to improve your planning. Use your research diary to write your observations.

2. Identify your weaknesses
Based on the previous exercise, you may know which tasks cause you difficulties. Now, go one step deeper: which precise skills are you lacking to carry out these tasks? Analyze this question in your research diary.

For example: say that you struggle to deliver reports or papers by a given deadline. There are many different possible causes for this problem: you can have difficulties with the writing of the text, you can lack the skills to draw the figures, your planning skills may be poor, or you may have a hard time asking your supervisor for help. Be honest with yourself and identify your weakness.

3. Find your learning method
Now that we have identified the problem, let's look for a solution. How are we going to solve this problem? In order to answer this question, you need to know your preferred learning method. How do you learn soft skills best: through a course (workshop, offline course, online course,...), with the help of a coach, by practicing with the support of your supervisor or peers, or by reading a book? The answer to this question also depends on the type of skill you need to improve - improving your networking skills will require you to practice in real-life situations, and you can only use learning with a book as a supporting method for this case.

Once you know your preferred learning method, see what is available. Carry out a targeted search, book your course, contact a coach, and get your materials ready for studying.

4. Plan your study time
You know what you need to study, and you know how you are going to study. Next step, is planning when you are going to study. Take your planning (even if planning is a skill you are struggling with), and identify when you will devote time to working on this skill. Treat learning this new skill in the same way as you would treat learning an analytical skill required for your research - in the long run, both are equally important!

5. Evaluate yourself
At the end of the time you have devoted to mastering your new soft skill, evaluate yourself. If you have worked on improving your presentation skills, plan to give a presentation to your research group, and ask your peers for feedback, If you worked on improving your networking skills, go to an industry event and try to make a contact with a previously determined number of people. Afterwards, write in your research diary to evaluate how you did and to identify what you can improve even further.

6. Repeat
There is more than one soft skill to learn during your PhD. Repeat the learning process for another skill that you need to improve. Additionally, keep improving the skill you worked on by practicing at every possible occasion. You are now your own teacher - you need to find how to learn a new skill, when to reserve time for learning, and how to take your own exams. Use your research diary to reflect on your progress, see how far you've come, and determine what you can improve further.

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Fifteen budgeting tips for graduate students

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

In graduate school, you typically need to get buy on a small budget. If you are hired as an employee for your PhD, you will be earning a small salary and have social security and other benefits. If you are on a scholarship, your finances may be very tight. In the past, I have shared some quick fixes that I used to save money while I was in graduate school and I discussed the importance of logging and analyzing your budget

Today, we are looking at changes you can make to cut your expenses and help you save money while you are in graduate school. I'm sharing my 15 best practices with you:

1. Track your expenses
Before you can develop budgets and save money, you need to know how much money you currently are spending. Start tracking all your expenses (every cent you are spending) in a spreadsheet. Log your expenses in different categories (groceries, bills, going out, sports, books, music, ...) to see how much you currently are spending and how your expenses are distributed across different categories.

2. Set budgets for different categories
Now that you know how much you are spending on each category, see what you can eliminate, and determine how much you want to spend maximum per category. For some people, having their budgets as cash money in different envelopes can help if you tend to overspend on your bank cards. Such an approach is a quick fix, and does not address the underlying problem (the overspending itself). Try to be conscious about what you really need to survive, and what is superfluous.

3. Shop on fixed days
I used to only spend money on Tuesdays and Saturdays. On Tuesdays I'd do my food groceries and on Saturdays other pending items. If I ran out of a certain item, it simply would have to wait until the next day of shopping. The less often you enter a store, the less tempted you are to spend on things that you feel like eating or that look good, but that you don't really need.

4. Save for a rainy day
Whenever you have an income, you should save part of it. Even if you can only save 25 or 50 USD a month, make sure you save something from your salary each month so that you have some buffer for a rainy day. You want to avoid to go in debt over car repairs, home maintenance, or your health. You may also need to live off your savings after your graduation, while you are applying for jobs.

5. Plan your meals around the weekly sales
I recommend you think about the meals you will be eating (and perhaps write them down on a planning) before you enter the store. Check what is on sale this week, and plan your meals around these discounted items. Some grocery stores have recurring discounts (i.e. 15% of all fruit and vegetables on Wednesdays). If that's the case where you shop, take advantage of these extra savings.

6. Buy bulk
Buy grains and beans in bulk - they last a long time. Buy discounted vegetables in bulk, cook them all, and then freeze portions. When the laundry detergent or the soap you use is on sale, take advantage of this offer and buy ahead for a few months.

7. Thrift
Furniture, household items, and clothing - you can find everything you need in the thrift store. Most of the clothes I wore during my PhD were hand-me-downs from my mom and sister or items bought in the thrift store. I still wear a lot of thrifted clothes. Alternatively, you can look online for second-hand items when you need to buy something (a bike, a fridge, ...).

8. Invest in quality items
When it comes down to items you use frequently, then go for quality instead of for the cheapest product. Don't try to save money on a laptop, but invest in a good machine. The items that you splurge on because they are important to you are of course highly personal. For me, a quality blender, a good mattress, and a good stereo are important. Find out which of your items get a lot of usage, and make a smart choice when you replace or acquire them.

9. Cancel subscriptions
Three euros here, twelve euros there,... and before you know it you are spending over 100 euros a month in subscriptions. When you analyze your expenses, list all your subscriptions as recurring bills. What do you really need? Should you cancel Netflix and watch YouTube videos instead? Do you really need a landline and a cell phone? Sometimes, temporary discounts automatically revert to a high cost subscription after a trial period. Always be aware of when trial periods end, and cancel or revise your subscription prior to the hike in price.

10. Protect and insure your valuables
If you spent a fair amount of money on a good laptop, then protect it with a lock, a surge protector, and a good cover. Insure your most valuable items, such as your laptop and your bike. Invest in the highest-grade lock for your bike.

11. Be minimalist
Don't buy lots of nick-knacks. Especially if you are doing your PhD abroad, you probably won't be able to drag all your belongings back to your home country after graduation. Focus on the essentials, a capsule wardrobe, a pocket kitchen, and don't buy things you won't be keeping later.

12. Look for online deals
If you are planning time away from your work or time to relax, look for deals online. If you want to go away for a weekend, look for discounted deals. If you feel like getting a massage, see if you can use a group coupon or other type of deal to get a lower price. Don't get the first thing you see, but explore different options.

13. Bike or walk your commute
Save on gas or your bus fare, and walk or bike your commute (provided that you can do so safely). If you start the day on the bike, you'll get to the office with a fresh head and you get some exercise every day. I always bike my commute in the Netherlands and walk my commute in Ecuador (unless it's too late at night), and I enjoy this a lot.

14. Shop for presents online and ahead of the season
Gather presents for birthdays and Christmas throughout the year. When a good deal comes up for something you want to buy for your loved ones, take advantage of the offer and buy ahead of the holiday period. You probably will get the item at a lower price, and you avoid the craziness of malls around the holidays, which may confuse you and tempt you to buy too many things.

15. Ask yourself what is really necessary
Are certain expenses (such as getting a haircut. something I hardly every spend money on) really necessary, or are you just doing this because that's what you've always spent money on. Do you need to buy new clothes every season, or can you use what you already have? Can you cook with what's in your pantry instead of shopping for new food items?

Choose your perfect dissertation topic

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Noelle Sterne with a guest post on dissertation writing. Dissertation coach and nurturer, editor, academic and mainstream writing consultant and soother, author, workshop leader, and spiritual counselor, Noelle Sterne, Ph.D. (Columbia University), has published over 400 pieces in print and online venues. Her monthly posts appear in theTextbook and Academic Authors blog Abstract and the literary blog Two Drops of Ink. In her academic consulting practice, Noelle helps doctoral candidates wrestle their dissertations to completion. Based on her practice, her handbook addresses students’ largely overlooked but equally important nonacademic difficulties: Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping with the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2015). In Trust Your Life: Forgive Yourself and Go After Your Dreams (Unity Books, 2011), with examples from her academic practice, writing, and life, Noelle shows readers how to release regrets, relabel their past, and reach lifelong yearnings. Noelle also shares her knowledge with ongoing community writing and meditation workshops and university academic presentations. Visit www.trustyourlifenow.com.

Dan sat in the library, his dissertation materials spread out before him. On the table, his laptop was open, ready to go, and papers, open books, and note cards were strewn across the table. He had promised himself that today he’d actually start writing. But all he could do was to stare at the wall clock. Dan had made the mistake of trying to leap into the dissertation without enough forethought or real passion for his topic.

It’s undeniable. The dissertation engenders a love-hate relationship, with all the exasperations, frustrations, teeth-clenching, and eye-rolling, and occasionally all the affection, elation, and fulfillment (eventually) of a primary human relationship. Therefore, your topic should be one that initially excites you, during the process sustains you throughout the inevitable peaks and gulleys, and eventually morphs into a satisfying career.

Topic Considerations
As a longtime coach of doctoral candidates, I’ve seen many, in the heat of first passion, bite off a topic that would take 40 monks without tablets 60 years to complete. I’ve seen other candidates take on topics because their professors suggest them or they think the topic is “hot” and they’ll have a better chance of publishing. None of these reasons are the right ones.

Right Topic Considerations
It’s almost axiomatic that many people choose concentrations and careers because of early personal experiences. A man becomes an oncologist because he couldn’t save his mother from Stage 4 cancer. A woman becomes a social worker specializing in cases of battered women because in childhood, every night from a crack in the closet door, terrified she watched her father beat her mother. A man raised in poverty becomes a financial counselor to help merchants in neighborhoods like his own succeed in their businesses.

Such motivations generally guarantee sustained interest in a dissertation topic. Whether or not your motives stem from earlier suffering, you don’t want to be like Dan. From my extensive experience, and the success of many graduate students I have counseled, I offer you ten suggestions, including questions and examples, to help you identify the perfect topic you’ll be living with for a long time.

1. Revisit your childhood dreams. How did you see yourself? What “professions” were your play favorites? Many kids like to play “doctor” (not that kind), and one of my clients loved to play “nurse.” She showed me photographs of herself at age 5 with an impressive collection of play bandages, ointments, even casts, and a doll house she’d made into a “clinic.” Today, with her doctorate, she’s director of a regional hospital.
2. Review your favorite undergraduate and graduate course papers. Which did you really like doing the work for? Which did you get As on? What about your master’s thesis? Would you feel excited expanding it? Lynn was an elementary school reading teacher who really cared about those struggling, stuttering readers. When she shuffled through her course papers and reviewed her master’s thesis, she saw that the comparisons of different reading programs were her best work. Her dissertation topic? A comprehensive comparison of two elementary school reading programs for their relative effectiveness. Now a Ph.D., Lyon is a professor teaching aspiring elementary reading and literacy teachers.
3. Think about troubling experiences you’ve had. Would you like to help remedy their causes? If, like the social worker, your pull toward the topic originates from an early traumatic experience, accept it. Negatives can be powerful motivators toward positive actions and activities. And think of all the people you’ll help.
4. What topic has fascinated you for a long time? What are you passionate about? What do you want to jump into and explore? A client in nursing and leadership and with many years experience at several hospitals, Jill observed how older nurses were discriminated against. Other than the obvious chronological reason (Jill was in her 40s), she burned to explore the assumptions and possible myths that administrators held in hiring and making assignments to these nurses. Jill’s dissertation and the article she developed from it became valuable additions to the literature—and helped change hospital policies.
5. What especially meaningful experiences have you had that you want to explore and know will make a difference? During surgery, Derrick had what he swore was a near-death (NDE) experience. He delved into the research, interviewed many people who had had similar experiences, and even scored an interview with a major author on the subject. Derrick’s dissertation dealt with NDE theories and testimonies. He is now revising his dissertation into a book and has a publisher interested.
6. What would you like to be known for? In the examples above, the students’ passion for their choices drove their ambitions. The answer to this question is likely inherent in your choice. Don’t be modest. Think about what you really know you can contribute. 
7. Don’t be deterred or discouraged if the topic has been “done.” Even if you discover that many scholarly articles have been published on your topic, your slant will be different. You can use those articles to show how your study is better, different, and worth not only the doctorate but publication.
8. Dream: Imagine how the topic can be used in your dream job and how you look forward to devoting your professional life to your interest. Sandra was a counselor in a geriatric care agency advising adults on the placement of their elderly parents in appropriate care facilities. She felt needed and fulfilled, knowing she was helping both generations to the best choices. Imagining her dissertation topic, Sandra saw how she could identify and discuss the many elements involved in placement. Exploration of this topic, she saw, would help her professionally to broaden her knowledge, enhance her abilities, and open her mind to new counseling techniques. After obtaining her degree, Sandra gave several presentations and published her findings in an elder care journal.
9. If you’re not in your dream job or career, paint mental pictures of the one you are aiming for. Observe and talk to others in this or a related career. What topic did they write on? How did it help their careers? What pointers can they give you about topic choice? Have they successfully transitioned from the dissertation results to real-world application? Do they seem happy and enthusiastic?
10. Finally (and maybe this should be first), listen inside for the topic that’s right for you. If you meditate, in your sessions, silently ask the question about topics. You may be “led” to certain people, scholarly literature, movies, or magazines that clarify or confirm your choices. If you don’t meditate, keep asking yourself the topic question and stay aware and open. If several possible topics occur to you, test them against the suggestions here and keep listening to your intuition.

Tiptoe to Your Topic
Choose one or two of these recommendations to explore each day. Don’t push but relax and let your unconscious lead you. Remember how important the choice is and how it will influence and direct your career and life. You deserve the perfect dissertation topic.

© 2017 Noelle Sterne

Adapted from Noelle Sterne, Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping With the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2015).

For reprinting, please contact Noelle Sterne through her site: www.trustyourlifenow.com

PhD defenses around the world: a defense in Education in the USA

Today, I've invited Dr. Monica Killen to share her story of her PhD defense. Monica graduated with a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Culture and Curriculum Studies from Chapman University. Dr. Killen’s research interests include food justice advocacy, Latino/a community organizing and ethnic studies. A first-generation college graduate and the first in her family with a Ph.D. Dr. Killen’s most recent publication is titled “Why Ethnic Studies Matters” and appears in "White” Washing American Education: The New Culture Wars in Ethnic Studies (2016), Edited by Denise M. Sandoval, Anthony J. Ratcliff, Tracy Lachica Buenavista, and James R. Marin, published by Praeger. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, son, and two dogs.

The dissertation defense is the hallmark of any doctoral program. The defense symbolizes the end of a journey that began on the first day of class. However, I would argue that as a doctoral student, there is more than one defense that occurs within this academic journey. The defense begins with your research interests and convincing your advisor why it’s important to pursue. The defense continues with qualifying exams and convincing the committee that you have the knowledge and skills to continue in the program. A year or two later, the proposal defense marks your next step to the dissertation defense. By the time we arrive to the dissertation defense we have become experts in defending our work and what we stand for as an academic.

What I described above is my journey to the dissertation defense. By the time I arrived at the dissertation defense I was tired and quite honestly, terrified, perhaps because I was traumatized of what I had experienced before. On the day of the defense, I was nervous and shaking while driving to the campus. I was more nervous than my wedding day and I would think getting married presents a more uncertain scenario than a dissertation defense. So many things can happen in a marriage and a dissertation defense can only go one of three ways-pass with no revisions, pass with revisions or no pass.

Before my actual defense in December, my defense had been postponed once before. My co-chairs felt the draft I had given them was not defense ready and they returned it back to me with extensive comments and gave me a few months to make changes. This period between the original defense date and the actual defense was a period of uncertainty, stress, and a struggle. During that same period, I had to request an extension from the university for my program because I had reached the 7-year limit. Fortunately, I had endured other extenuating circumstances that are perfect for another guest post, but the graduate council approved my extension by one semester. When I submitted my revised draft, my co-chairs felt I was ready to defend and we scheduled the defense during finals week of the fall semester.

The doctoral defenses in my department are about 2 hours long. It entails a presentation, question and answer period, deliberation by the committee, and then a final discussion with the committee. My actual presentation was about 40 minutes long and in attendance was my friend from the doctoral cohort. My question and answer period felt like it took up as much time as the presentation. My committee had lots of comments and suggestions and my friend didn’t even have a chance to ask a question since the committee had taken up the entire time. Committee feedback at times was critical and for a moment I wondered if I had failed. After the q & a session, the committee deliberated for about 15 minutes but it felt like forever. I was called back into the room and the committee informed me that I had passed with revisions. Since I had taken copious notes during the q & a, I thanked the committee and made verbal promises that I would address all their comments. One suggestion made as part of passing with revisions, was the title of my dissertation. The change was brought up by the external committee member who believed the title of my dissertation did not reflect my research. My co-chairs went along with the suggestion and there I was recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of the defense to come up with a new title for my dissertation so that the committee can sign the paperwork since it was going to be the only time all four committee members would be together in the same room. I remember sitting in my co-chair’s office trying to access my email and reprint the document. Two hours had already passed and one of my co-chairs had to leave to teach class. It was a moment that I will never forget. I frantically retyped the document at least twice because I kept forgetting a word or incorrectly typing the name of one of the committee member’s name. When I finally had all the signatures and the committee was ready to depart, I could not believe it was over. The defense that I had worked so hard for, had come to an end and now it was time to move forward and finish my revisions. I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for what happened at the actual defense since committees are unique combinations of scholars.

Completing the doctoral journey is an experience that I will never forget. If anything, I left the program knowing that I have the tenacity to begin and finish a project and the courage to overcome big and sometimes messy obstacles. During my exit interview with the doctoral director we never discussed the personal milestones I achieved, rather the focus of the conversation was on the program itself. I do believe doctoral programs should examine the entire experience of the student, not just the perspective the student has of the program but a student’s own perspective of themselves as a newly minted public intellectual. A personal evaluation of newly acquired skills could help graduates transition to jobs inside and outside of academia.

How does PhD research get funded around the world?

I recently ran a poll on Twitter about how PhD students get their funding, and I was actually quite surprised by the results. In the Netherlands, most PhD students are hired as employees when funding for a project for 4 years is arranged. The student then receives a salary, social security, and other benefits for the period of four years for which the contract is signed. I thought that in other countries, funding for PhD students also came mostly from research funding, but according to the results of my poll, most actually have scholarships.

You can read about the results of the poll and the explanations of others here:

PhD Defenses around the world: The textbook pantomine villain? An external examiner's view

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Arnoud van Vliet in the "Defenses around the world" series to share the point of view of the examiner. Arnoud is a senior lecturer in microbiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, UK. He obtained his PhD in 1995 from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and has since then worked in the UK and the Netherlands. He has supervised or co-supervised >10 PhD students in the Netherlands and in the UK, and has been external examiner of PhD students in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. He has also been Postgraduate Research Director for 3 years, overseeing PhD student recruitment, examination and other procedures.


The background story
Some traditions are transnational: once the PhD defense (viva) of a PhD student is near, those "in the know" start scaring the candidate with horror stories about viva lasting 6 hours, external examiners with OCD discussing every comma, colon and semicolon, or the student being grilled about secondary school biology or chemistry that they have forgotten about long ago. Of course, once the candidate is sufficiently scared, they will get more soothing examples and insights, but it is good to make sure they are not complacent. Failure is rare with PhD viva (if a candidate isn't ready they should not reach that stage), but they still need to perform on the day.

The first time I was external examiner in the UK was in 2005, which was exciting and sort of scary; like the candidate, I hadn't done it before and so both of us were learning as we were going along. Having done quite a few since in different countries, I now feel much more confident doing these, and enjoy them, even though they can be hard work and not always fun.

It starts with the invite which normally comes from the primary or secondary supervisor, followed by the submission of a CV which is scrutinised to avoid any conflict of interest between the examiner and supervisor/institute/student. Once this is signed off (together with the internal examiner), then we wait for the thesis submission, agreement on a viva date etc.

The PhD thesis
So once I receive the thesis, I start reading it. I recommend supplying the examiners with a pdf version as well: especially in countries like the UK where the thesis is a phonebook size and weight, and I don't want to carry that around! It may be a courtesy but certainly appreciated. One of the things I look for in a thesis is accessibility: is it easy to understand, is the presentation aimed at making the work accessible, and is it easy to read? I once had a thesis where all figures were grouped, meaning I sometimes had to go back 50 pages to see a figure - very inconvenient. It is important to realise that the viva is confidential, but the thesis will become available. So the only thing that people can view to see what is required for a PhD degree at that university, is the PhD thesis. So the thesis should be of high quality, well presented, as proof that the degrees are earned and not given away easily. Hence comes the need to do a good job, and potential revisions! When I read a thesis, I check whether it gives a good insight in the subject matter, is up to date with the literature, does not look at the data in isolation but also adds context and understanding, and where possible contains a level of speculation/new hypotheses, i.e. takes some risks as well. It is not just a report, it needs to be much more than that. Examiners usually have to write a pre-viva report, which is the last chance to delay/stop the viva if there are significant issues detected. There needs to be sufficient content, it needs to be of publishable quality, and in the viva it needs to be checked whether the student did the work themselves, and if not, whether that is appropriately indicated.

The examination
Once the big day is there, usually the examiners and supervisor(s) have lunch or coffee, then the examiners have a pre-viva meeting, and then it is examination time. This is "freeform", i.e. the examiners have a lot of freedom to do it the way they want. As I understand that the candidate may be nervous, I usually like them to give me a 5 minute or so presentation (no powerpoint!) of the highlights of their work. This is to get the student talking, so they may get over the anxious feelings they may have. One of the things I try to do in the viva is to push them to give me their views, and get them to speculate. My view is that they can speculate as much as they want, I am more interested in the reasoning used to get to their viewpoint, less in the viewpoint itself. If they want to claim that the moon is made of cheese, that's fine as long as they can come up with a convincing rationale. I also ask them to be critical of their own work, for instance by asking them to reflect what they would do differently if they had to do it again. And what I want to know is why they would do things differently. Also, standard questions are things like "if we would give you 3 years of funding to continue this project, what would you do, what are the opportunities and why?", again pushing them out of the comfort zone and not just g=have them talk about what they have done. I want to see the academic capability and development, check their ability to take different viewpoints, show they have taken ownership of the work and were not just "workhorses", and in a way, show pride in their achievements! Naturally there will be questions about the work itself, things to clarify, questions about the interpretation of results, etc etc.

I always tell my own students to try and enjoy the discussion. The examiners are giving the candidate a chance to discuss their work with experts, who have taken the time and effort to study their work, and are at their availability for debate and hopefully learning. It would be great if the candidate comes out of the viva with new knowledge and insights, in addition to the blood, sweat and tears!

The aftermath
After the viva, the student leaves, examiners discuss and write a report and then usually student and supervisor(s) are asked to come back, and the outcome is reported. Often there will be revisions, which can be anything from typos, changes in presentation or the need to add sections. Usually these revisions will be checked by the internal examiner. And then the anticlimax, as officially the candidate is not yet a PhD (revisions), will not get the diploma yet, and there may be a up to a year between the viva and the final award ceremony. This is the part I dislike of the Anglosaxon system; the Dutch system where it is all done on one day has its advantages! Well, except for the dresscode...

Pantomime Villain or not?
Every external examiner does it differently, and every candidate experiences their viva differently. Some examiners are very thorough and are very detailed in their revisions, other focus more in the big picture, some are more friendly than others. Of course, sometimes examiner(s) and student don't get along, students may freeze or become really nervous, or sometimes don't know when to defend and when it is best to back down. But that is not different from other meetings, discussions etc. In the end, it is important to realise that these examiners sacrifice time and effort, to give the candidates the chance to earn their degree. Even if we are not nice, let's appreciate the effort and remember these things once you become an examiner yourself!

The hardest stage of the PhD

I recently ran a poll on Twitter, asking people for their experience on what they considered the hardest stage of the PhD. The results, and personal stories, are quite interesting. For 45%, the end of the PhD and the writing stage are the most difficult phase - I had expected this percentage to be higher (say 67%), based on my perception.

For myself, the hardest stage was at the end - not the actual writing, but the patience I needed until my promotor had time to read my draft. Patience is a virtue, but unfortunately not one that I possess...

Q&A: How hard is graduate school?

Let's bring some more Q&A to you! Today, I'm focusing on the following comment that came to my blog:

Not sure about the comment "what does not kill you". I have seen several candidates suffer mental breakdowns.


This comment came together with the question from another reader:

How tough is necessary grad school?

At that time, I replied as follows:

There's a big difference between building up some friction and being able to push through, and getting a mental illness. I'm not a psychologist, but I think a toxic environment, difficulties with an advisor etc. might be factors that can cause serious damage to a person's health (mental AND physical), instead of the actual research itself. But maybe I'm totally wrong?

So, how hard is graduate school really? How mentally challenging is it? How emotionally challenging is it? How psychologically challenging is it? As always, let's look at all different aspects - keeping in mind the comment I made previously: I am not a psychologist, so I'm not entirely qualified to even answer this question. Take my thoughts as an opinion, not as the book of law.

How mentally challenging is graduate school?

I must admit, I never really did a Bachelor's degree. I went to university after passing the entrance exam, and did a program after which I received my Master's degree (the "ir" title) after five years. I've been used to a high level of teaching from the beginning, so I can't really comment on the difference in difficulty level between your typical undergraduate and graduate course.

Throughout all my studies, in Belgium, the USA, and the Netherlands, I encountered different types of challenges. In Belgium, the volume of material you need to study prior to exams is significantly larger than in other countries. When you start your studies, it is vastly intimidating. You need to memorize a lot of material. It requires a lot of time and good planning. However, learning how to chew through a meter's worth of notes and course material has thought me how to be very efficient in my literature review, and how to study and memorize large amounts of material.

In the USA, the hardest part for me was adjusting to the new system and to the language. For some courses, I did not have the right background. Having to fill the gaps in my background on my own was challenging, and I felt lost and confused at times. Once I learned how to manage this problem, I could roll forward.

In the Netherlands, I only took one course, as the PhD program is research-only. I studied some topics on my own as well. The largest surprise and difficulty with the one course I took in the Netherlands was the way of examining: oral exam. I had taken oral exams frequently in Belgium before, but in Belgium you receive the question, get to prepare your answer, and then go into the professor's office. In the Netherlands, the professor asks the question while you are seated in front of him/her, and then expects an immediate answer. This different way of carrying out an oral exam took me by surprise!

In terms of research, we must say that research is an entirely different beast from studying. You may be good at reproducing material, but for research you need to take one step more and actually figure out the research question, the tools you need for answering the question, and then get to the answer. It involves different skills, and sometimes it can be lonely (but that's part of the other topics and challenges we'll discuss in a moment). Prior to every major breakthrough in your work, you can experience a time of friction. You're meddling in stuff, but it just can't seem to move forward. I call this "building up friction" - you build up this friction until finally the whole thing starts moving forward again.

How emotionally challenging is graduate school?

Dedicating three, four, or more years of your life to your PhD is something. If your program is research-only, you can feel isolated and lonely at times. Make sure you have a strong support network of fellow PhD students, friends, and reach out within your field through conferences and other events. Your research is a long project you have to see through from the beginning of the end. It can feel like a large responsibility, which can be emotionally taxing.

Try to stay balanced: leave time for self-care, eat properly, exercise, and sleep enough. Get out of your PhD bubble from time to time. Don't neglect your friends and family. If you approach your PhD with this attitude, you'll be more resilient when the going gets tough.

How psychologically challenging is graduate school?

PhD students are vulnerable for mental illnesses. There is the crushing weight of all expectations on the students. There is the major taboo on mental health in academia. Combine this with the toxic environment of some universities where the egos of the different professors are constantly at battle with eachother, and perhaps the lack of time and support from a PhD supervisor, and you have a cauldron for difficulties. Many universities now acknowledge this issue, and have decided to make a positive change. If you feel you need to talk to somebody about these issues, look for possible options and support within your university. Don't carry the burden on your own.

How old are students when they get their PhD?

I recently ran a poll on Twitter to see at which age most students receive their PhD. I compiled the results in a Storify:

Q&A: Switching fields for your PhD

I recently received the following question from a reader that I wanted to reply in a Q&A post:

I want to ask question regarding phd subject.my question is that i have done mtech in computer science can i pursue phd with any other subject which is not part of my mtech?

If you want to switch fields for your PhD, you won't be able to change to a completely different field, for example history for you. However, you can work on interdisciplinary projects. If you are considering a switch, consider the following:

1. Talk to your possible future supervisor

If you want to change fields, it is never too late. Talk to your supervisor who guided you for your MTech thesis to see your options. He/she may have a colleague that would be willing to work with you. I can imagine that your strong skills in programming can make you a good candidate for a number of other fields in science and engineering.

If you've already identified which field you would like to work on for your PhD, talk to possible future supervisors about what you would need to do to enter the program in their field, what the expectation would be, and how you could contribute with your skill set of a computer scientist.

2. Be willing to learn new skills and take courses

If you change fields, you'll have to quickly learn a number of new skills and take a number of courses. You will need to let your possible future supervisor know that you are willing to work hard to close the gap between you and students who may have a more suitable background. Be willing to take on extra courses and/or work your way through books on your own.

3. Consider getting a minor

If you are still in your MTech program, you can consider getting a minor in the field that you would like to switch to. If you are considering moving to a field that is rather unrelated to computer science, you may want to take a few courses in the field first to see how you like this field. You may find that your expectations of this field are not met, and then it is better that you have taken these few courses and then decide that this field is not for you, than that you start a PhD and then find out you don't like your new field of study.

If a minor is not an option for you, consider taking a few professional courses, or even attending a few MOOCs in your field of interest to see if this field is a good fit for you. Enrolling in a PhD can be a big commitment.

4. Talk to more than one faculty member

If you are trying to figure out how your skills as a computer scientist can serve other fields, but you haven't fully figured out yet to which field you'd want to transition, look up faculty members from different disciplines and see if they are willing to have a talk with you. If it is difficult to get access to senior professors, see if you can talk to a post-doc or junior faculty member, to brainstorm on possible ways you could contribute to their research.

5. When applying to a position, review the prerequisites

If you apply to a PhD position through a standard application process, review the prerequisites. If it is clearly stated that you would need a M.Sc. degree in the same field as the PhD research, it will be unlikely that your file will even be reviewed. Look for projects that are more interdisciplinary and that actively look for hiring candidates of different backgrounds.

6. Consider moving abroad

It may be a little more complicated for you to find the right fit for your PhD program. But the world is a large place - somewhere, someone may be really looking for a student with your skill set who wants to transition to their field of research. Think globally if your situation allows you to move away from your current location. If moving abroad is not an option for you, see if you can find alternative ways of working: go for a short-term stay to another lab to involve more than one faculty member in your research, and follow up with video conferences - be proactive when you offer solutions to the faculty member(s) you would like to work with.

Q&A: PhD and pregnancy

Recently, I received the following question from a reader (edited for anonomity):

Dear Eva, I recently came across your Book and blog. I am finishing my master Somewhere and starting to apply to PhD positions in NL for directly after my graduation. My ambition is to become a Senior researcher in My Field.
However, there is a big dilemma of combining career and family. I have a wonderful Partner and want to build a family with him. I am 24 y.o. for now and I want to have my first child maximum by 26 yo (as I am afraid my health isn't so perfect to try when I'm older). Here comes my question: Can I be pregnant while doing a PhD? Can an employer fire me for that? Can I ask for 3 month vacation (July, August, September) for delivering a child? If I quit the program after first appointment (of 18 month), will I be able to continue later, and start from where I stopped but in another project?
Your advice would be very valuable for planning my life.

I replied her as follows:

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reaching out to me through my blog, and for sending me your question with regard to pregnancy and motherhood during your PhD. I’m glad to read that you have a good relationship with your partner, and that you are planning your future together.

Considering your situation, you should pay attention to the type of contract that your future promotor offers you together with a PhD position. In the Netherlands, there are two types of contracts. The first type is a contract with university, where you become an employee of the university. With this contract, you are protected by the “CAO Nederlands Universiteiten” (collective labor agreement of the Dutch universities), you pay taxes, you save for your retirement, and you have social security. The second type of contract would be based on a scholarship. This type of contract is more common for students who come from abroad with funding of their home university. Their funding includes a stipend for living expenses, but it is not consider a regular employment, so no social security and saving for retirement. In your case, make sure you inform with HR about the type of contract they would be offering you.

If you have an employee contract with a university, you will have 16 weeks of pregnancy and maternity leave to deliver your baby – whenever your baby is coming (not necessarily over the summer months). It’s absolutely illegal for an employer to fire you because you are pregnant. It is your choice and right to become a mother when the time is right for you. For many women, the right time is during their PhD. A former colleague of mine had both children during her PhD, and my best friend had her first child during her PhD.

Of course, it all depends on your personal situation to say when is the right time to have a child. For many women, having a child during the PhD years is a good option, and in all cases I know, the months of pregnancy and maternity leave where added to the length of the PhD contract, so you don’t lose time. For the tenure track years, things are a little less well-organized, I understood. That means that the second best option would be to wait until you have tenure – but say you start your PhD at 23, graduate at 27 (earliest possible), two years of post-doc (29), and four years of tenure track (33), then you see that you end up in your mid-thirties. For some women this is the right time, for others, it is not.

I’m not sure what you mean with your question about quitting after 18 months. You could always do this, and try to publish a journal article on the work you did during that time, but if you have to restart later in a different project, perhaps with a different supervisor, you will need to start from zero again. This situation happens when funding for a project does not come through, or when student and supervisor don’t get along, and the student decides to go elsewhere. I don’t see motherhood as a reason for having to start over new somewhere else.

Additionally, for some advice on combining a PhD with motherhood, you can check out this post

Wishing you all the best in finding a PhD position and with your personal life,
Eva