The most important prerequisites for pursuing a successful PhD program are passion, inquisitiveness, creativity, discipline, persistence, perseverance and meticulousness. I did not mention intelligence not because it is not important, but because it is less important than the other attributes I mentioned.
Of those many attributes, I consider passion the most important. Some students start enthusiastically but lose steam halfway through or towards the end. Ever heard of the saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going?" Success in a PhD is simply that. The harder it becomes, the harder you will strive. Sometimes, you do not see the light at the end of the tunnel but you still keep looking for it because you know it is there. When you love what you do, failure is not an option.
Some people do PhD for the wrong reasons. Some do it because the jobs they have taken up require them to acquire a PhD. You cannot force yourself to do a PhD. You cannot force yourself to love something. you must love to force yourself to get it.
The PhD is an academic journey. There will be failures but mainly successes along the way. You may encounter some foes but mainly friends in the same boat as yourself. It always helps to be in a group of students to share both your setbacks and achievements. Working alone in a silo is the worst you can do to yourself. There are certain things you want to discuss with your colleagues that you cannot discuss with your supervisor; matters that are either academic or personal.
Your supervisor is your mentor, guide and consultant, not your teacher. He cannot teach you your PhD knowledge, you have to teach yourself through his guidance and wisdom. He is more your friend than he is your master. At the end of your PhD journey, you are supposed to be more knowledgeable on the subject of your research than your supervisor. Students not being able to complete their PhD because they could not get along. This is the worst scenario that can happen to you. If you do not have a supervisor you can work with, you will not get your PhD no matter how good you are or how hard you work. So, choose your supervisor well, not just the university you want to do your PhD in.
A PhD degree needs sacrifices, especially when you are a family person; a wife, mother, husband or dad. Family is always important and should always be your priority. However, you and your family members must be willing to make the necessary sacrifices. There can be no gain without pain. That is why when you finally get your PhD degree, your family members can even be happier and more proud of you than you because it is as much their accomplishment as it is yours. Their sacrifices must be duly appreciated.
So what does it mean when you have a Dr. before your name? Does it mean that you are an expert on a certain subject matter? Hardly so, I think. It means that you are both a seeker as well as a generator of knowledge. It means that you have enriched the world and added to the vast body of knowledge through your PhD contribution. The world has become a slightly better place from the knowledge that you have contributed through your PhD thesis and publications. The world now knows more about a subject than before you completed your PhD. Your work gets referred and cited by other researchers in your field, as they absorb your new knowledge to generate new knowledge of their work.
You must be logged in to post a comment.