If I were to do my PhD again… (Part 1: The things I wish I’d done)

1. Get clearer on what I wanted to do earlier

 I had high hopes for a traditional career in academia. Such lovely linear career progression! Freedom to study interesting things! The opportunity to think big ideas with people that I like! But I always had an inkling that a traditional academic career wasn’t going to be the right fit for me: it wasn’t playing to my strengths, interests, or the ways I work best. 

My problem was that I was reluctant to make that call too early on. I completely understand where I was coming from. Still, I wish I could have been honest with myself at the outset because I effectively tried to build two CVs simultaneously: one for an academic career and one for a non-academic career. This would have been exhausting at the best of times, let alone while being a full-time doctoral candidate. Do not recommend.

If I had been more honest with myself about my future ambitions, it would have let me be far more strategic in the kinds of professional opportunities I pursued and those I just did to build an academic CV. Getting clearer on what I wanted to do earlier would have meant expending less time and energy on activities that probably wouldn’t serve me in the long run – and would have meant more time to focus on the things that would.

2. Think more consciously about developing as a writer

I became a writer by doing my PhD, even though I didn’t realise it at the time. Over the course of drafting my dissertation, my authorial voice changed significantly, which is why I say that the PhD is the thing that turned me into a writer, even though I’d been working with words before I started my doctorate. Granted, it has resulted in a decidedly unacademic writing voice which, though it serves me well now, has occasionally created challenges in publishing my academic research. But I wish I had explored the development of my writing voice a little more consciously at the time, whether by reading books on writing and editing, taking courses, or just experimenting a little more with my writing styles and rhythms and routines. (Our new the (academic) writer blog series will hopefully be useful for helping you do this too!)

3. Limit the scope of my project as quickly as possible

As someone who has supervised research and is now an academic editor, I’ve read my fair share of dissertations. The ones that tend to be executed most successfully are the ones that have a really clear problem or research question that can be realistically answered in 80,000 (or so) words. In other words, they don’t try to be too ambitious in scope.

The tricky thing is that the scope of a PhD tends to be narrower ­– much narrower – than people expect. Because of this, it is very normal to start with an overly ambitious plan in your research proposal. This makes sense because:

1)    80,000 words sounds like a lot of words to write; and

2)    Intuitively, lots of words to write = lots of ideas to include.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to envisage the scope before you begin, particularly if you, like most people, haven’t done a piece of research this size before.

But the aim of your PhD should be to provide a comprehensive answer to a very specific research question; you do yourself a disservice by making your research question too big or general. And the sooner your limit the scope of your project ­– your research question – the quicker you can get the right words on the page.

4. Recognise the dissertation as a piece of research as well as a demonstration of your research skills

A dissertation is an interesting kind of writing because it is actually doing two things at once: you’re reporting your research findings, yes, but you are also demonstrating to your examiner that you have developed the key research skills to a standard expected of your degree. In a sense, you aren’t just doing research, but you’re also showing that you know how to do research.

It’s a bit like sitting your driver’s test. It’s not only about knowing how to drive but about showing the person testing you that you know how to drive – that you have the requisite skills – by making a point of checking your mirrors often, for example, or indicating earlier than you might otherwise when changing lanes or making a turn. Same with your dissertation: by signposting, writing clearly, and having consistent, accurate references, you are demonstrating to your examiner that you know what a piece of rigorous research looks like (as well as doing a piece of research).

5. Keep a research journal

I wish I had kept a research journal during my PhD. I would love to have an overarching account of my PhD journey: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The further away I get from it, the more the highs and lows blur a bit. But I found the process quite transformational, and it’s a shame that I don’t have a record of that massive shift taking place. (Unlike my high school-era journals, which document everything in cringeworthy detail.)

Even if you’re not a ‘Dear Diary’ kind of person, having a dedicated notebook in which you reflect on your research reasonably frequently throughout your candidature can be useful. There’s something about writing with pen and paper that makes me think differently (it’s my go-to tip for writer’s block), and it makes sense to keep those musings together in one place (which I didn’t do). Having those reflections in writing might serve as inspiration for your next project, as you’ll have captured those fleeting thoughts or interesting-but-not-really-relevant-for-the-PhD questions.

6. Treat it like a job

As soon as I finished my PhD, I left academia (for the first time) and accepted the first job I was offered. I wouldn’t recommend it as a strategy. However, I got a lot of perspective very quickly – particularly around how delightful it was to turn up at 9 am, have a proper lunch break, and go home at 5 pm and not think about work for the rest of the evening. Yes, sometimes a deadline or something urgent would come up that needed out-of-hours attention, but that was not the norm. This is the energy I wish I’d taken into my PhD.

Doctoral research absolutely requires a lot of hard work… but working non-stop on it for years will do neither you nor your dissertation any favours. Taking evenings and weekends and holidays to rest and read things that aren’t related to your research and find the (other) things that bring you joy and build meaningful relationships – these are the things that will carry you through your dissertation and beyond.