Solo Session: PhD and Society.

Students and Graduates!

Feeling “behind in life” while you’re deep in a PhD can hit hard, especially when friends seem to be racing through the traditional milestones: a car, a wedding, children, a house, a job title that looks neat on paper. If this resonates with you, then this late-night solo session is for you!

I share with you the following:

—> Why undertaking a PhD is personal rather than a fight against society
—> Rejecting checklists and fixed timelines as a measure of worth
—> Defining what “behind” means and normalising self-criticism
—> Reframing: rest, recharge, and remember a PhD is a marathon

Thank you all for tuning in, it has been a pleasure!

Transcript

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Hello students and graduates. Welcome to PhD Launch, the podcast of late-night talks in which PhDs have a drink and talk about their research topics. You're dedicated to researching and writing your best argument to become a PhD upon passing the Viva Voke. You might be in your late 20s or early 30s, starting or about to finish it. And then you are confident in communicating to the world your knowledge and skills in dealing with complex tasks that can change the course of society one day. However, do you feel that you are behind in life? Society standards such as getting a car, getting married, having children, and buying a house between your 20s and 30s are still in vogue more or less. You may have had chats with your friends who are reaching those milestones, thinking that you are behind in life and not having something structured. While the world is more competitive than ever, and having something solid is not a guarantee, one thing that is certain and belongs to each individual is this. You're not behind in life, and the decision of undertaking a PhD is personal rather than fighting against society. When you pursue a PhD, it becomes an extension of the knowledge and skills that you obtained during your previous degrees. And regardless of your age, you decided to take an arduous challenge that takes years to achieve and requires resilience and sacrifice. In my previous podcast talks, I stressed that having balance between your PhD and social life is essential, and sometimes you have to refrain from certain things to give space to your research, including what society tells us to do. Moreover, there's this assumption that everyone ought to have a checklist of goals and achievements to be completed in a specific time. The world shouldn't care about timelines and checklists, and you as a PhD should care less about that too. You're producing knowledge to be used by future students, and you're also working towards a goal that you want to achieve. Your personal milestones matter just as much as the societal ones. And besides, they can be completed after your PhD as well. Lastly, if you feel behind in life when pursuing your PhD, have you asked yourself what do you consider behind? Do you mean not making progress on your dissertation or seeing others prosper? Whatever thoughts you may have, it's normal to feel like that. As we are our biggest critics. Try turning the tables and say to yourself that you're not behind. You're just passing a phase where your brain might need some rest and recharging for the upcoming stages you must go through in your PhD. If you feel that you're behind in life, just remember that the PhD is a marathon with ups and downs. And a dream of yours that needs a bit more patience and perseverance to accomplish. Thank you all for tuning in. It has been a pleasure.