Ph.D. - A road less traveled

I’m not an expert in all things PhD-related. However, perhaps a less popular take is that I feel it’s becoming more common to pursue a PhD, and for what it’s worth, that’s a good thing. The intellectual rigor, the hard work, and the connections it builds are all things that can be good for a person. I have a few thoughts that might help someone who has wondered if a PhD might benefit them.

I wanted to write this, despite it perhaps being a “dime a dozen” topic, because I’ve had a somewhat peculiar path towards the PhD – I was once a medical student but never finished medical school. This was for many reasons, and one of the most important reasons why was medical school was boring to me. Frequent professionalism-related rituals, and rare or empty memorizations of scientific facts made it incredibly difficult for me to stay motivated to learn. It was only after I left medical school that I realized that a PhD was an option. Even then, I wasn’t considering it until my mentor and current Principal Investigator (PI), a.k.a. my current boss, met me right where I was at and gave me a new lease on life by suggesting that I join the PhD program in bioinformatics at the same institution that I was already at. I think it would have helped me if I knew back then that a PhD could be so full of joy and life, because I was always under the impression that it was going to be constant grilling, grinding, and stress. I think it also might’ve helped if I had someone giving me a pros and cons list, because at the time most people were skipping the explanations and telling me not to do a PhD because “the pay is bad” or “there aren’t opportunities” (and both of those things can be untrue).

In any case, if you’re thinking about a PhD, whether that’s what you’ve always wanted or it’s something you’ve fallen upon (like me!), here’s 3 things that you might consider before you take the leap into a 4-6+ year intellectual campaign:

1. What is it specifically that you want to do, in terms of a job?

If you want to write grants, mentor and/or teach people, come up with new ideas, and take leadership positions, maybe academia is for you. If you want to enter academia, the best way (in my mind) to do that is to pursue a PhD, perhaps followed by a post-doc if you want to enter a professorship. This is common, and it’s a wonderful path – it can sometimes lead to a tenured position, which is great for job security. But it’s remarkably difficult. It takes several years, sometimes up to 10 years, to go through that kind of schooling and work even after undergrad. Post doctoral positions often don’t pay well (honestly, and unfortunately). Furthermore, there is another option. There’s always industry, where you work for an external company instead of an academic institution. This can be better if you envision yourself doing more of the technical work in your field.

2. What kind of pay do you require for your lifestyle?

This is an unfortunate question, because in my opinion, it really shouldn’t be a question at all. But if you want to increase your pay cap, industry tends to have more flexibility and vertical mobility. Then again, it’s riskier, too. If you’re interested in making money in academia, it’s difficult, but not impossible. Of course, however, these dynamics depend on what specific field your PhD is in. I would say that in my field, industry options tend to be much more lucrative (e.g. big pharma hires bioinformaticists, as more of the field is gaining traction in drug discovery). So this largely varies by field, but it’s an important question to start to answer, because entering academia without a PhD is remarkably hard, if not impossible. Industry may think that a PhD is a nice-to-have, but it is certainly less important than your actual demonstrated skills and experience. Hence, this question can help you get at whether a PhD is appropriate for you.

3. Are you willing to go through the extra schooling?

If you’re coming right out of undergrad, you’ve probably spent upwards of 16 years in school already. A PhD is another 4 to 6 years, depending on how quickly you finish a dissertation/thesis. If you’re willing to go through this extra difficulty and time, then it is an incredibly rewarding experience that will push you to become something that you didn’t think you could become. It will push your boundaries and barriers and prepare you to ask questions in ways that most people can’t. If you’re not willing to spend the time on a PhD, it might not be worth it for you, and that is not a bad thing at all. Having the bandwidth to do a PhD is not in everyone’s story. But if it’s in yours, I encourage you to take a risk and try it.

The decision of whether to do a PhD is incredibly personal. But if you are thinking about it, I would say, the world is big enough that another PhD would be a joy to have. If not, there are a million and one ways to improve yourself other than the PhD. Think of yourself as a blank slate. Today is as good a day to reinvent yourself as any. Best of luck, and never forget that you are worth the time you spend on yourself.