Hi readers!
So, I know that I have taken quite a hiatus from my blog. The PhD deadlines have unfortunately been piling high and in turn, my patience has been wearing thin. My original blog post is still sitting in drafts and like the perfectionist that I am, I have not brought myself to finish it off for fear of not doing the topic justice. Kind of like my thesis chapter. Which got me thinking, perhaps I can use my experiences now to instil some wisdom amongst the masses. A lot of you have, are or will be considering doing some sort of postgraduate study. However, sometimes it's really hard to determine whether that path is right for you. I constantly get asked the tentative question, 'So...how's your PhD going?' to which I purse my lips, grunt and mumble something nonsensical before making the person that asked the question feel like a monster (to all of you, I am very, very sorry). Yes, I know a lot of you can empathise with my situation. However, I feel that I should try to draw some positives out of my journey. I have, after all, learnt many things from it.
Five years ago, when I asked my supervisor whether I should do a PhD, he said that the choice was really up to me and no-one would know whether I could do it besides myself. He did, however, offer up some advice. He firstly said to me (and this is somewhat paraphrased...give me a break, it was 5 years ago!) to make sure that I was doing a PhD for the right reasons. Not to add 'Dr.' to the front of my name or because I had nothing else to do. Which leads us to our first lesson.
Choosing to do a PhD should not be a spur of the moment thing. This is really important to remember. A PhD is hard work and takes a lot of patience, persistence and resilience. It is a commitment for at least 3 years. It is not something to take light-heartedly and it is not something one would usually do as a hobby. It is true when they say that there is a reason that not everybody has their PhD. However, a PhD can be extremely rewarding. I can honestly say that at the start of my PhD, I was not as tough as I am now. If an experiment was too hard, I would have cried, walked away and crumbled into a heap. Yes, I still do cry. However, I have taught myself to see through the tears just enough to continue doing my work and hopefully not contaminate my media with the stream of hysteria exploding from my tear ducts. Jokes, aside though, a PhD teaches you willpower, which will allow you to succeed in your future goals and aspirations. It is something that cannot be taught, only learnt from experience.
On the subject of jokes, a PhD will give you a sense of humour, even if it is a bad one. Without the ability to laugh about the bacteria that didn't grow that day or the fact that you didn't load anything onto a gel, you will struggle. Trust me though, when an experiment works or you have a 'Eureka!' moment, it is the best feeling in the world. It makes it all worth it. Laugh with your friends and make silly song mixes to bop along to in your lab. Keep that tiny ounce of sanity in your undeniably insane life.
A PhD teaches you resourcefulness. At home, I have managed to learn ways to make a pretty good meal by finding random things in the cupboard and I'm pretty sure that it is partly due to my new-found ability to find my way through uncharted waters. At work, I have learnt to find a way to deal with situations, even when things seem pretty darn difficult and terribly annoying. You learn to make the best of your situation, which will be useful no matter where life takes you.
A PhD will turn you into an excellent negotiator. In order to survive the lab life, you have to be able to negotiate resources with lab colleagues, barter for equipment bookings and haggle with your supervisor for the amount of figures you are going to include in a thesis chapter. By the time you finish your thesis, you will be able to sell ice to an Eskimo (so to speak).
Last but not least, a PhD teaches you who your true family and friends are. PhDs can kill your social life, and sometimes your poor family and friends may not see or hear from you for an extremely long period of time. I am truly lucky to have people in my life that have not held any of it against me. Instead they have reminded me throughout the entire journey that they are there for me no matter what. Without a support network, you will crash and burn, so do not turn away from these people and do not take them for granted. For when this crazy little thing called a PhD is over, you will want to have those people beside you while you are cracking that bottle of Bollinger and saying something along the lines of Mark Twain's words: 'I'm glad I did it, partly because it was worth it, but mostly because I shall never have to do it again'.
The last thing I will leave you with is a quote that is on my PhD desk from the student before me: 'PhD is impossible. Impossibility is nothing'. Fittingly, she also left me a stress ball.
~ Ness
