Deciding if a PhD is the Road for You
As soon as senior year of college begins, students are expected to know the ins and outs of their post-graduation plans. The reality is that no one really knows what is going to happen after graduation (especially during a pandemic). Now, this post could turn into a piece about accepting the fact that we can’t really control anything in this life — We can only try our best and go with the flow. Instead, I will discuss how I came to the decision to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and therefore attend graduate school. I will share my personal experience in making the decision and some advice for the application process. Keep in mind that a PhD should not be everyone’s goal. You definitely shouldn’t apply to do your PhD because you don’t know what else to do, you want to prolong entering the job market, or you are scared to stop being a student. Perhaps the best decision for you is to go to graduate school, but to get a master’s degree. Albeit an awesome choice, I can’t write about something that has not been part of my journey.
Understand that there is no timeline you should feel obligated to follow in order to be successful or to get accepted into a PhD program. People decide to attend graduate school at different times (e.g. after working in industry or getting a master’s degree) and wherever you are in life, choosing to go to graduate school for your PhD is a big deal! In my piece, “Internships: Maximizing Summers During College,” I share many different summer internships that exposed me to the world of research. It was during my summer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) after sophomore year that I really started to ask myself, “What do I want to do after graduation?” Granted, that internship had workshops about graduate school and encouraged the interns to apply to SIO when they later apply for their PhDs, but it worked. Not only did I start thinking that getting a PhD could be a reality for me, but I also wanted to apply to that school.
That internship made me feel like I was getting an inside scoop on life as a graduate student, and I wanted that. Of course, I was a mere intern, but being able to work closely with a graduate student made me feel like a part of the research world. Later, as I volunteered in a research lab during my undergraduate degree, I was surrounded by graduate students and postdocs. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a series of wants: to be a part of their inner lab circle, to be done with classes so I could be in the lab, and to be engaged in stimulating scientific discussions. These feelings were huge indicators that I wanted to spend more time in the lab and that I should seriously consider going the PhD route. I also came to the conclusion that every type of job (e.g. senior scientists in the biotech industry) I would look into required a PhD. I figured that it would be a shame to be limited later in life when searching for a job because I lacked the expertise in a field I really liked.
As senior year approached, I knew I was going to be applying to graduate school and had spent the whole summer researching the best PhD programs for me. I now wanted to be a PhD student so I could take more classes while also conducting research! I felt like I hadn’t learned enough about biology at the molecular level I was interested in. However, I quickly learned that the application process was more intense than I had anticipated, partly because I was applying while still being a full-time student, volunteering in a lab, and applying for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) — something I want to talk about in a later post. I was determined to do it all nevertheless. As fall semester came to an end, and I submitted my PhD applications, I was honestly pretty exhausted. I had to sacrifice many outings and social activities because I had to spend most of my free time working on my applications. I didn’t really know if I stood a chance at getting accepted, so I hoped that everything I had done that semester hadn’t been for nothing.
The response time for each program can vary. Most applications are due around Thanksgiving, and you’re lucky if you hear back in early January (shoutout to UCSB for getting back to me then). Also, if you applied to the NSF’s GRFP, with a deadline in mid-late October, results don’t come back until APRIL! So, the waiting game was real, and I had to constantly remind myself that it was all out of my control. At that point, there was literally nothing else I could do, so I focused on my courses.
I want to write a whole post about the timeline for applying to PhD programs, but for now I want to give you some important questions to think about to help you decide if a PhD is right for you:
What type of job do you think you will want to do after graduation? Does it require a PhD?
Do you want to spend years in a lab working on experiments, learning how to write papers, and becoming a mentor?
Would you like to take classes that go further in depth about the field of science you are passionate about?
Of course, there are other questions specific to everyone’s situation, but those three questions are a good place to start. As you explore your options, do some Google searches and get a sense of different programs. For example, many PhD programs pay you a salary to get your degree and TA, but they do typically take five or more years to complete. Think about the life you want to live and if you would enjoy the lifestyle change, because deciding to get your PhD is a big deal — one I personally think will open many doors afterwards (but I am absolutely biased).
