Pros and Cons for commencing a PhD

Date created: 23.10.23

Sometimes, I look back at myself during Highschool. I wonder what I would be if I had chosen subjects like business, or economics. Would I have enjoyed them? Would it have pushed me to pursue a degree in Finance? I wonder if I was stupid for getting into science.

Sometimes, I think back to my younger self and wonder whether the reason that I started a PhD was because I couldn't get a job, or because I didn't know what else to do... but all of these thoughts are not true. I pursued science because I was passionate about it, I loved solving problems and I wanted to make a contribution to science.

Back in 2019, I was working in a Pub and applying for jobs. I was stuck between wanting to study further but also wanting to work. So many people would tell me that "A PhD limits where you can work, because you become too experienced.." Yet whenever I looked for jobs, the only jobs that I could get with a bachelors degree were technical officers, or quality assurance chemists. It was so difficult to find a job as a researcher.

Therefore, I kept an open mind and applied for everything I could. I sent resumes/CVs out to academics in the hopes of finding a research job, but everyone only wanted to offer me a PhD. It wasn't until my PhD supervisor offered me a job, with hopes that I would start a PhD afterwards. It was my mum who said "you love it, so you should do it before you have more responsibility..." I was sold!

I loved most of the experiences of my PhD. I loved the freedom and stressfree environment. I loved that I could spend my time improving my skills and growing, without extra responsibility. I loved attending conferences and all the academic related meetings that came with a PhD. Towards the end, I loved teaching others of my skills and providing them with any information they needed.

The only thing that I regret is that I am now 28 years old and I have not yet started a career. I have spent 4 years pursuing this PhD when I could've been developing my career in industry. That is 4 years that I haven't saved for my future and 4 years that I have been struggling to save any money. While my PhD helped me grow and become the person that I am, could I have developed the same skills in industry as I worked? Could I have just taken the job as a quality assurance chemist and advanced myself/progressed to a management role? Would I have enjoyed that? Would it be more rewarding?

I thought about all these parameters at the time of starting my PhD, and I didn't care. I only wanted to do science. I also thought that I wanted to head down the academic route which meant that I needed a PhD. Now that I am leaning more towards industry, I don't think a PhD was crucial. Nevertheless, I learned a hell of a lot, grew my confidence and abilities to learn. The most important things that I got from my PhD were:

• Improving my presentation skills
• Aquiring my learning skills: I feel like I can learn anything and do anything.
• Improving my social skills; decreasing my "imposter syndrome" and feeling adequate.
• Learning how to better manage my emotions in a highly stressful period.

But best of all, I feel more confident in myself and who I am as a person. If I didn't pursue my PhD, I would have always wondered what life would've been like if I did. I would always question myself and wish that I did.

In summary, there are many reasons for commencing a PhD. It is an opportunity to immerse yourself in a topic, and to become an expert in that area. I am glad that I did a PhD, but there are many people who feel differently. I have seen people drop out in their fourth year, during the write up process. I will never understand why someone would drop-out after they've completed their lab-work. It seems like a waste of time to me.

If you're convinced that you want to do a PhD and you know what area you would like to research, check out my next post which highlights things to consider before starting.