In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt. This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts.
From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center.
The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in.
There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature.
When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements.
But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job. In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done.
And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away. As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start.
While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do.
No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work. While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on most of the time , so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected.
Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations — but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.
Learn more about Elsevier. Thanks Andy, this was really useful and have really given a direction to my thoughts. Regards Elvis A. Hi Elvis, Thank you for your reply. I'm glad you found it useful. I'm hoping that it will help those who are in the position I was in just a year or two ago. Mostly, as you said, I hope that it will give people's thoughts about a possible PhD some direction, and that they will be able to take some of this to heart.
Best, -Andy Greenspon. Hi Karin, Glad to have helped! Andy Greenspon. Research is still a different issue. I think more I read more experienced I would become. By being able to read and understand difficult texts, being able to solve difficult problems differently, by working on new ideas to conclusively arrive at results? What aspects do they cater? As you say many take a break of few years between their UG and Graduate Program. Then whom to ask that? Most of our previous lectures or professors in UG would have forgotten us.
From looking into different U. PhD programs, I've found that the formalities of the program are not nearly as important as the research aspect. Your courses will be secondary to your research - they may compliment it, but you will want to finish them so that you are able to focus primarily on your research. Comprehensive exams might be something to consider as well as teaching assistantship requirements and availability of funding.
I would say you should only join a PhD program where there is an understand that you will have funding as long as you are there, though it may come from many different sources. Some universities provide more of a guarantee than others. You should consider these factors but your research interests should be primary - if you aren't happy with what you do at least a lot of the time , then it won't matter how you are funded. I would say a crucial component is being able to think independently and in a group about a scientific problem and possible solutions to it.
This will involve synthesizing the ideas in a variety of journal articles with your own research and understanding of your topic of choice.
If you are able to read and understand difficult texts, but you cannot by the end of your PhD program come up with scientific problems to address and possible solutions, then research will be extremely difficult. The former would be the primary work of a masters program whereas the latter is the focus of the PhD.
I am not even close to mastering these research skills, and I think the point of the PhD program is to develop these skills how else will you learn them? You may find that near the end of your PhD that you are not the best at research. But if you get that PhD, then you will have many opportunities to do non-research jobs or jobs that involve a bit of research but primarily other skills you may find you are better at.
Alternatively, you can work for a while before embarking on a PhD, but your ability to get a position that allows you to think independently and practice these research skills in a scientific context may be limited without a PhD - it might come down to chance what opportunities are presented to you.
I have found that you apply to PhD programs with a general research area in mind and then talk to as many professors as possible about the details of their research and whether they have funding available for you.
Finding and applying for research grants is primarily the professor or principle investigators job and at least early on in your PhD, you will hopefully not have to worry about doing these things yourself. Again, there are exceptions if you accidentally find yourself in a program that lacks funds for you. Regardless of such communication as an undergraduate, keep in touch with the professors you are close to and would want to write you letters of recommendation.
If you have done research with these professors in the past, then they should remember you for at least a few years. One recommendation should come from your most recent scientific employer if you get a job after undergraduate. I had one letter from the researcher I worked for in my gap year, one from my undergraduate thesis advisor, and one from a professor who I know regarded me highly based on conversations with her.
I was also fortunate that I applied for a few fellowships in my final year of undergraduate before I chose to take the gap year, so my professors had already written me letters of recommendation from which to use as a reference to modify recommendation letters in the future for anything else I might apply for.
During the school year, it was a bit more difficult because I had to balance coursework, research, and free time. Now that it is summer, I only have research to worry about. The amount of time to spend with family and friends really depends on how much time you want to devote to your lab work.
It's very independent. You could spend 40 hours a week in the lab or 80 hours a week if you really want. This will depend on how quickly you want to graduate, whether there are any pressing deadlines involving your research, and where your priorities lie between school and social activities.
It's very personal and may also depend on what your advisor expects of you. Which is again, all the more reason to have a long talk with any potential advisor before committing. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I too believed that I can too do research. Wont anyone need command in that field? You said thinking, but its direction should be a valid one in order to prove it. Yes papers of others can be churned that may give an insight or say help us form hypothesis research is beyond that, I feel.
How is a research topic allocated or accepted? Does the committee or supervisor contemplate the validity of that topic? Does it not involve research? If so, when? Presumably, after that training part, after the quals? Being able to read a textbook and journal article and figure out the key points even if you have limited knowledge of the topic will be important.
Also, being able to communicate effectively with others who may know more about the topic and just being able to communicate your ideas with others. These are the upper level, more difficult skills to achieve, which take time and experience. Understanding how your experimental apparatus works is critical. Observing others operate your experimental equipment and then just practicing a lot on your own will let you master it quickly — sometimes you will have to fumble around with something for hours before operating it becomes second nature.
Being exposed to new ways of looking at scientific problems and also how day-to-day scientific research operates. Regular feedback on your research and anything you write is also critical for improvement. In some groups, you may be given a very specific topic and task to do as a beginner project, and are expected to be able to branch out from that. In other groups, if you have your own idea, you may just be asked to do some background research about it and try some experiments. Sometimes, you just have to try different thinks out to see if they have potential.
Any work you do eventually must be approved by a committee, and you will have to justify the research. But if you are getting preliminary results that look promising, your advisor will probably let you continue to work on it. If you want to research a topic before applying, that might help you write a more targeted application essay or give you a more specific idea of what topic you want to work on before you start.
But it is not necessarily necessary as long as you have a general idea of the research area you want to work in and why. Literature review occurs throughout your graduate school career whenever you need more information on a topic. Though if you are a pure theorist or doing computer science or computer engineering, people often do studies on their own before getting a PhD — e. Me parece pertinente y apropiado para que los candidatos lo lean y refleccionen.
Hi Andy, I have 7 years of work experience but somehow i feel am not putting my efforts in the right direction. Presently am looking for Phd options in US but at the same time i am not sure about the payback period. I have decent salary but job satisfaction is not there. Scholorships and Funding — are they sufficent for surviving?
I have a family 2 year old kid , so need to evaluate all the points before taking the admission. The stipend may be paid through combined work as a research and teaching assistant — you should check the requirements of any given program.
This stipend will be based on the cost of living in the area where the university is. You should compare these as a smaller stipend in a cheaper location might actually end up being the better deal than a larger stipend in a much more expensive location. Since you have a family, I imagine you may be more limited in your ability to relocate. The stipend is plenty to live on if it is by yourself.
If you have a spouse and a kid, I think it would be extremely difficult to get by on only that stipend. If your spouse is also making an income, it would depend on what that income is. I am unmarried and without kids, so I suggest you ask someone who is getting or did their PhD work while raising a kid at the same time. I also suggest you ask people with PhDs in the field you want to study.
After initially getting a PhD, I know of two main tracks — you could do a post-doc, where you do more research in another lab in preparation to apply for jobs as a professor or you could go straight into the private sector. Post-docs pay a bit better than PhDs but still not that much — if you get a research position at a national lab, you will definitely make more.
If you go straight into the private sector, you can definitely make a very good salary from what I have researched and been told. The intellectual reward is definitely worth it in my opinion. Thank you so much for your valuable tips which again lightened the lamp in me to get in to the field of research,my passion. Best, Andy. Or is it that you simultaneously contacted the professor in addition to formal application?
More specifically how to know if a specific research project is funded OR if a specific professor has PhD positions open in a university?
The research areas shown in the University website may be both current and past work in the area. How will an applicant staying outside the US get these info? Thanks in advance. I essentially just looked at the websites for different research groups. These days, most of them are up to date and tell you what is current research and past research. You can try sending them emails but oftentimes, they will just refer you to their website or make reference to the application for the program.
It really depends on the school and the program. On the Harvard application for my program, for instance, you listed the top three Professors who you would want to work with.
In some programs, you might be more locked into a research advisor than others if admitted. I suggest trying to contact Professors if you are very very interested in their research and have some knowledge of it.
In your application essay, make sure you list 2 or 3 Professors whose research you would like to work on and make sure you have given some sort of explanation as to why you want to do that research.
In general, if you are admitted into a program, you will get funding to do research — but you may have to teach a good amount and have some limitations to your research project.
Even if you do not get much information from a professor, feel free to email them to ask if they will be accepting students in the upcoming year when you write to ask about their research. You can also ask what research is current, only if the website is not clear on this — if not, it will seem like you did not read the group website first. In general, they will reply to you — ask them at least a few weeks or more ahead of the application deadline though, so you know what to add or remove from your application essay.
Make sure you also email their administrative assistant or else they might not notice the email or think it is spam — these professors are very busy.
In such a case, it might be more important to email a professor working on the same specific research. Awesome article and Great advice. Hi Anup, That sounds really great. Make sure you know what a PhD in computer science will entail — I know very little in-depth about such research, but I think it is very different from just doing coding and programming for a company. Make sure you have done some sort of work previously that is at least of the same style to make sure you are ready for it.
And, I would echo all of his comments. If you can conduct literature researchers or pilot research projects in your prep courses towards what you want to do your dissertation on, DO IT! You may want to save the world, but do you want to spend 10 years on your PhD?? You have a research life after the PhD is done to save the world. I met with my Chair every 3 weeks during my dissertation and finished in 1.
Success is about hard work and persistence…. Practice writing science for the public and scientists unfamiliar with your field — it will help you gain a better understanding of your own research and improve your ability to promote it.
Of course, you need to perfect your scientific skills but without communication skills, your research will mean nothing. Rohde about how to utilize courses. During my first year, I did not have a research direction, so it was hard to tie final course projects to my research interests, but for my upcoming year, I plan to do exactly that! This is easier for me to do because the equipment I use sometimes needs to be booked at least a week ahead, so this forces me to plan my experiments into the future and to lock in a time when I know I will do a procedure — if I booked it, I have to use it.
Do not schedule so much that it is not possible to do it all — you will just get in the habit of ignoring your schedule, and then you are left with no way to direct yourself.
You gave me some nice ideas for forming my plan for applying to PhD programs. I am keenly interested in getting my PhD in Physics, though from my research of American colleges and international ones, too, it seems like one needs at least a moderate amount of lab experience.
Unfortunately for me, my undergrad school did not do much regarding labs other than what I volunteered for on the side doing a little bit of optics research 6 years ago.
Basically, I have a bunch of book learning, but not much hands-on learning, and experimental physics is where I am leaning. I think more than anything else, professors want to know that you have done some lab work, 1 so you have a bit of background before you start, but more importantly, 2 that you are committed to long term lab research.
I know my year break definitely helped me. Networking is critical. Also, it is very useful to have a recommendation letter from someone who you have worked with in a lab environment. The research area I worked in at APL is very different from what I am doing now but there was a lot of skill overlap — e.
Thank you for that. Like I mentioned before, I did do some when I was in undergrad, but that was more than 6 years ago. I applied to several research jobs, including at APL, but have been unsuccessful so far, despite a couple of my professors helping with networking. Maybe one of them will work out, and I will test the waters in terms of labwork. In the meantime, I will keep looking into PhD programs. Continue networking - it will undoubtably pay off in the future if not at the moment. Doing one of those for a year would definitely help your odds for a PhD program.
But the Masters you have will also help a lot in your application for a PhD program. The best thing you can do is determine where your research interests lie. Then do some checking on the PhD programs that focus on your areas of interest and have professors whose research intersects with your interests.
Make sure you explain in your personal statement how your past experiences have led to your current interests and give at least a little bit of detail on what you might want to work on and how it aligns with the research in the department you are applying to. Recommendations are pretty important, so if you have anyone who can attest to your research skills, you should seek them out. Good luck! Thank you so much for all the informatinos! Surely it will help me to make a wise decision.
Best wishes. Dear Andy, the information is of great use for me. This is good. Andy, Thank you for a great article. I am older than my peers, but, I have found my passion in the Living Sciences. My focus is going to be Biochemistry, and I want to work in a lab environment. My question to you; while I will obtain my Bachelor's, is it plausible to go for my PhD I will be in my 50's by the time I get it? I am not concerned with the various things that have been mentioned, such as location, etc.
I am unattached, so I can focus where I need to. Again, just asking for general feedback. Thank you. I've enrolled as part time, self -funded international. And spent first year but still have not find a topic? Hi Nish, I'm sorry to hear that. If you are part of a research group, it does not mean you will already have your precise PhD topic.
Your specific area of research very likely will change over years. As long as you are working in your field of interest, then you should end up okay. Take all my advice in the article about choosing an advisor - that will be one of the most important factors in shaping your research and how quickly your research progresses. But as you have enrolled part time and self-funded, it is a very different and may be a difficult position. I do not think I know of very many part time PhD students - you really must be able to devote a large chunk of your time to your research if you want to make steady progress.
Please let me know more details of your situation if you have any specific questions. Thanks Andy for this very valuable and great article. In a week time, I will register for my PhD at my former university first degree. I felt very excited to embark on and learn new things. My field would be a little bit different from my first degree but it is still very related.
I like most of your points especially the 3rd one. I finished my first degree in , master degree , has joined current department and now I already 9 years in the same department I know the environment of my works, with a little bit of experience, I have decided to take on PhD.
All those experience in my current work hopefully can help me to finish and get better knowledge and ideas. Hi David, Thanks for sharing your experience. I bet your years of experience after your masters degree will help make your PhD a smooth experience. I don't know what you do in your current position, but the initial transition may be a bit of a shock if you aren't used to doing any coursework I don't know if you will have to do any coursework if you already have a masters.
Dear Will, I do not have any experience in this area, but I can probably point you in the direction of people who can help. Every school would be different, and I encourage you to talk to both professors and especially the administration for any given department to see what they would permit.
Also, your previous experience would be a factor. Do you already have some research experience in the life sciences in whatever form it may be? Let me know if you have any more questions. I am currently doing a PHD program in project management, its a distance learning prohram and I realise that doing thing on my own terms feels really good to design my own study times and attend classes once in a while helps.
I am due to start my research in ! Thanks for the fantastic advice Andy! Hi Temba, I'm glad such a program is working out for you.
It definitely takes self-motivation to do a program where you are independently setting up your own schedule. Such organization and independence are invaluable skills in research though! Along with effective communication with co-workers. So it may seem, my friend, from the ivory tower of Harvard Hi Jute, I chose Harvard more for the location than the prestige.
I'm from the Boston area and wanted to be near close family and friends. If I had been from Chicago, for example, I would have probably tried to go to Northwestern if I were accepted. I did not say reputation isn't important - simply that the reputation of the graduate program and researchers trumps the overall reputation of the university.
For example, UMass Amherst, while as a state school not having the same name-recognition as Harvard, has one of the top Polymer Science programs in the nation. Had location not been one of a number of critical factors for me, I could have ended up in that program. A very interesting read and question-answers followed. I am going to read this frequently. Thank you Andy, you have been so patient in responding to all the queries in detail following your article. Hi Adithya, I'm glad to be able to help - it is no trouble at all.
It is true what they say - write about what you know. You will do the research project that your adviser wants you to do. There is leeway to insert a direction or an idea for your work, but don't get ahead of yourself captain PhD student, you are just a vessel for your advisers ideas. If you love science you should especially not do it.
The success rate of grants will show you are probably better off begging people at a traffic light for spare change Oh and if you are lucky enough to land a postd slave labor situation oc, if you dont have funding within a year Please see 6 above.
Entitled assholes at that You are not special, having a PhD doesn't make you special, it just makes you a dick with no funding that the other asshole PhD's can look down on. Thankfully, people like Dr. J can't get jobs. We need less people like this in academia and more people who can think creatively.
If you think like Dr. J, then yes, that is exactly what is going to happen to you. Do your homework. Find an advisor that you can work with - this is a two way interview. If you go into it blindly, then yes, you will end up as slave labor for someone else. Not everyone is that way. Just like finding a job, you interview them as much as they interview you.
It is a two-way street and you do have the option to say no thank you and look elsewhere. Andy's advice about working between undergrad and graduate school is spot on. Get some real life experience, develop skills and then decide if you want to do graduate school. Going from high school to undergrad to graduate school likely won't get you the high paying job and it will likely get you seriously in debt. So be smart and plan your route. Don't be Dr. I got my undergrad and then went and worked in industry and academia.
I paid off the undergrad loans and developed a skill set in a variety of areas related to science. I knew that at some point I would go to graduate school and that I would not take loans to do it.
Only when you're fully prepared and have a good idea of your research proposal should you search for PhD opportunities. For more information on these types of PhD and to consider all your options, see 5 routes to getting a Doctorate. However, you'll now need to have gained settled or pre-settled status to be eligible for student finance - see PhD loans.
Despite this, many PhD students are now part or fully funded - scholarships and bursaries are widely available, and particular attention should be paid to Research Council grants. PhD studentships and assistantships involving a mixture of research and teaching are also common, with scientific studentships usually paid at a higher rate.
Some students propose their own research area and apply for funding, while in some cases a supervisor may already have funding for a project and advertise it like a job. When making a PhD application, you'll typically be asked to submit:. Students from outside the EU studying certain courses in medicine, mathematics, engineering and material sciences are required to comply with the Academic Technology Approval Scheme ATAS.
International students may also have to prove their English proficiency. Your ability to critically analyse, display intellectual maturity, and research independently and honestly is highly valued within academia and the workplace. Many students who undertake a PhD get an academic job or become an industry researcher, possibly following the PhD with postdoctoral study, then a fellowship or lectureship.
Discover what a PhD degree can lead to at your PhD, what next? Jobs and work experience Search graduate jobs Job profiles Work experience and internships Employer profiles What job would suit me?
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University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university. Log in Register. Getting a job CVs and cover letters Applying for jobs Interview tips Open days and events Applying for university Choosing a course Getting into university Student loans and finance University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university Post a job. PhD study. On this page What is the meaning of PhD? How long is a PhD in the UK? Do I need a Masters to do a PhD?
What does a PhD involve? How do I find a PhD? What other types of Doctorate are there? How much does a PhD cost? How do I apply for a PhD? What can I do next? View all PhD opportunities. A PhD is the highest level of degree a student can attain - it demonstrates that you've made a meaningful new contribution to your chosen research field What is the meaning of PhD? A three-year PhD may follow the below pattern: First year - You'll meet with your supervisor to discuss your research proposal and agree an action plan with deadlines.
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