Get a PhD in What?

So you read my blog for the past few years and now you are asking yourself” What should I get a PhD in?” This is totally normal after being convinced by me that getting a PhD is 100% worth it. But finding the right PhD and in what is quite a journey. So today I want to help you find out the right right PhD for you and answer the question “PhD in what?”

phd in what?

Ask yourself a few questions

Before you start the search of what you’re PhD will be in, ask yourself a few questions:

  1. Do I want to devote the next few years of my life to one very small research problem?
  2. Will I be willing to give up good paying jobs in order to devote this time to grad school?
  3. Do I even like school lol?
  4. What value will getting a PhD get me?
  5. Will I be ok with failure?
  6. Do I really want to do this?

If you answered yes to every one of these then congrats! You are officially insane lol. Just playing. I am very excited that you have come to the conclusion that grad school will help you in your life and bring value to whatever endeavors you have in the future. This is when the fun begins.

getting a Phd in what?

Get a PhD in what you are passionate about

After you answered all of those questions, it’s time to really sit down and see what you are passionate about. For me, I was passionate about water so I got my PhD in water systems, focused on Pb solubility in drinking water pipes. You might find yourself liking something like “Medieval jousting and it’s repercussions on the economy of Germany in the 16th century”. Heck, there is probably someone that will take you on just for that. Getting a PhD in what you are passionate about is the key to success because if you choose something that doesn’t interest you then you will find it very difficult to get through the program.

Get a PhD in what you want to find out

Another way to go about choosing what you want to get your PhD in is finding a subject that has very little knowledge about it and focusing on that. This is especially good to do if your intent is on going into academia afterwards as you’ll be an expert in a very niche field. I did Pb research, which has quite a few papers on the subject, so an academic tract wasn’t really going to happen, unless I brought some crazy innovative research to the field. For those wanting to get into academia, a good way to produce a ton of papers prior is getting into something that has an impact, but very few people focus on it.

An example of this was a few years ago when PFAS was showing up as a major contaminant (it still is), but people were just finding out about it and how it was affecting the environment. If you were to see that prior to grad school and jump on that research then you’d be getting offers all over the place as soon as you graduated. Everything written by you would be novel and that would really draw a ton of attention towards you.

Getting a phd in what you love

Get a PhD in what the world needs

Sometimes you need a PhD to get a position in a company that will change the world, or at least help it. Getting a PhD doesn’t just prepare you for research but also for upper level positions where you will be required to hold a high ranking among those in the industry. One reason that i started my PhD was to be open to these possibilities and have a say in the world. People will respect you much more if you have a PhD, trust me. Those three letters behind my name really carries weight and it will help you get to positions where you might be in charge of saving the world. Getting a PhD in what the world needs, whether that’s in science, politics, human rights, or everything in between. Go for it, be the change we desperately need.

getting a phd in what you want to do with your life

Lastly, get a PhD in what you just want to know more about.

Getting a PhD is about finding the answers to some very difficult questions that only a handful of people may ever ask. If you want to just know the most about something, go get a PhD in it. If you want to know everything about jousting in Germany, go for it. Make sure you answer those questions at the beginning of this post, then apply. Life is so short and if you are truly interested in something then who cares what the world says to do, go get a PhD in what you want to know more about.

Final Thoughts

Getting a PhD was the best thing that I ever had the courage to do. It was very difficult to make that decision and leave a stable career to go pursue something that 50% of people fail. But look at me now! I am a doctor. I am a research scientist, and I absolutely love it.

If you are having a hard time with what you want to do in a PhD program, send me an email at benswaringen@yahoo.com. I would be happy to help out. And no, I won’t charge you anything lol. I feel like people think that most bloggers are just trying to make money. I honestly just want to help out and knowing people read this and trust me is worth more than gold. This blog is for you guys, for those on the fence about grad school and those neck deep in the stress that is grad school living.

Anyway guys and gals, I hope that you found this article interesting. If you do, leave a comment or a like to show you enjoyed it. If you absolutely hated it, well, comment that you hated it lol. Feedback, no matter how rough it is, is always welcome. Anyway, I hope you guys have a great summer, and I will see you in the next one. Peace.

What to expect at the end of a PhD

My years as a doctorate student are coming to an end, and quickly. I am currently in the process of finishing up my research and writing papers for publication. I was told that I will be defending in October of this year, which means that I need to have my thesis written by the end of September!!! WOW. I have less than 6 months before I can (hopefully) call myself Dr. Ben. That is exciting, yet oddly terrifying. I don’t really know what to expect at the end of my PhD, but I have some idea I suppose.

Today I want to talk about the end of your PhD and what to expect. There will be a ton of things that will occur in the final year of your doctorate and you’ll need to be ready. I assume that the final year is different for everyone. Grad school is much different than undergrad because you are finishing up your research instead of finishing coursework. Of course the end of a master’s might be very similar to an undergrad, so we won’t really talk about that today.

what to expect at the end of a phd 1 year out

What to expect in the final Year of a PhD?

Let us start off with the final year of a PhD. If you are in a doctoral program, getting to this is a heck of an accomplishment and I applaud you. It is not an easy task being able to continue all the way to the end. You have gone through some tough times to get to this stage of your doctorate. Don’t slack off yet, though.

The final year of your doctorate will be you finishing up your research and writing your thesis. If you are the few that are able to complete their research earlier than this, congrats, it’s time to write. For the rest of us slackers (lol), we need to start considering wrapping our research up so we can start the very long process of writing. At the one year mark, start planning out when you are going to be able to finish the research and when you are able to focus on writing your chapters. Many people often write while they go along. This is the smart thing to do but it is often difficult, because you know, writing! If you are in the last year, start to at least put your introductions together. Just starting now will help you so much later.

Start finishing up your experiments or at least planning out when to finish them. There might be a chapter where you still need to do those experiments. Start those as soon as you can. If you are not able to for a bit, at least write a bit of the chapter so you can put in the results later, after you finish doing the experiments.

One year out will be the time to plan the end game for your doctorate. Start laying out a timeline of when to finish, when to write, and when to start job hunting. Stick to the plan and I promise that your final year will be a lot less hectic than your mind is telling you, or what reddit is telling you lol.

what to expect at the end of a phd 6  months out

What To Expect in the Final 6 Months of a PhD

This is where I am currently at. It is April and I defend in October. That gives me 6 months to get ready for the final exam (aka my defense). There is a ton going on and it is keeping me really really busy. This is how it will be for you. You might spend countless hours in the lab, finalizing some experiments. The amount of writing that you will do will be insane. And on top of that, you will have to be considering jobs. All in the final 6 months of grad school.

You may have to give some things up to make sure you finish on time. Free time may be taken up with writing or editing your thesis. Weekends might be taken up by going to the lab or possibly creating graphs of your data so you can finish one of your chapters. The weeks are going to pass by so quickly and the amount of work is going to get a bit overwhelming at times. This is just at 6 months out. Imaging what 3 months out will be like lol.

In the last 6 months, expect to actually be finishing all of your research. By 4 months out, you should be completely done, minus a few small experiments to check your results from your larger experiments. I would say, give yourself at least 4 months to write your thesis, if you are just starting. If you have already started, 4 months is still a good time frame because you won’t be rushing too much towards the end.

what to expect at the end of a PhD 3 months out

What to expect the final 3 months of your PhD

When you get to about 3 months from defending, start looking for jobs. If you are like me, you’ll probably want to secure something by the time you graduate. Three months is a good time frame because companies will see that you are about to graduate so they can have you fill the more immediate positions. Of course, you can apply for companies or professorships even further out than 3 months. I just found that the closer to graduation, the more interviews you are likely going to get.

The final month to two months prior to defending will be late nights of writing and probably days of doing interviews for positions that you applied for. I haven’t gotten to this yet, so I am only speculating. I am expecting that the final two months prior to defending will be chaotic.

what to expect at the end of a phd after you defend

What to Expect after you Defend

So this is it, you’ve waiting your entire 3 to 8 years to get this point and you finally did it. You defended your research and have become a doctor! Congrats! Now what? What to expect at the end of a PhD, the very end? You will be told to do revisions on your thesis for sure. Everyone gets them and you are going to be somewhat busy doing those. The revisions are mostly to make sure the school accepts the thesis for publication and then you’re done. Celebrate, go on vacation, bake a cake, do something to celebrate your accomplishment. It is well deserved!

The final 2 months after you defend will mostly be you writing, going on trips, sleeping a ton, and finding your next career. Once all of that is settled, it is time to start the next chapter of your life, whatever that may be.

Final Thoughts

For those that have finished their PhDs, what were the last few months like? Were they similar to what I have posted in here or were they different. Let me know in the comments. I hope this blog about what to expect at the end of your PhD was enlightening or though provoking. What other posts would you like me to cover? Let me know in the comments or send me an email at benswaringen@yahoo.com. I would greatly appreciate either.

If you haven’t’ already, go check out my blog about travelling while in grad school. Link here. It may give you some cool ideas after you finish writing your thesis. Ok, now go write a chapter and get to sleep early. I will catch you in the next one. Peace!

Does GPA Matter in Grad School?

I wrote a few months about the importance of your grad school GPA and whether it was important enough to be worried about it. If you want to read that blog, here’s a link to it. Anyway, I don’t really think that post did justice to this controversial topic. Does GPA really matter in grad school? Should you focus on GPA or other things while in grad school? I will answer these questions in this post and dive deeper into whether you should really care about your grad school GPA

Grades do matter in grad school. Unfortunately, grades will matter all throughout grad school and into your doctoral research. Once there, grades don’t matter, luckily. But, does it really matter what our GPA is when we are in grad school? In situations where a GPA is needed, such as applying to a PhD program, or applying for scholarships, then yes, GPA is important. Other than that, your GPA is just another number.

When GPA Matters

I have found in the 5 years that I have been in grad school that GPA only mattered in two fields. 1) While I was applying for a grad school program and 2) while I was looking at scholarships. And, to be honest, both of these things actually focused primarily on my research experience and goals. Of course, I am in a research based field. Grades may matter even more when you are in a grad program that doesn’t do research.

Your undergrad GPA seems to be way more important than your grad school GPA, unless you are going from a masters to a PhD program. Then the GPA will matter. When you apply to a Grad school as an undergrad, your GPA will be used to determine whether or not you get into the program. There are other factors such as a statement of purpose, test scores, and previous research. But GPA does matter in this case. As you go up the academic latter, your GPA will mean far less.

If you are in law school, your GPA does matter. In fact, law school ranks you amoung your peers based on your GPA. Apparently, the higher the GPA, the more likely you are to land a good paying law job. So, this grad school experience, GPA does matter. For the vast majority of other grad programs, GPA matters very little, and here is why.

When GPA Doesn’t Matter

I found that your GPA, while in a master’s, really doesn’t matter. Yes, you want to keep above a 3.0 GPA so you don’t get on academic probation, but this is extremely easy to get. Most classes in grad school will make sure you don’t even come close to getting that low of a GPA. I know many students that had mid 2.0s for their undergrad GPAs and managed to have close to 4.0s in grad school. Of course, they worked their butts off, so I have to give them some credit.

GPA is basically non existent once you get to a PhD. Some students finish their master’s first then head to do research on their PhD. Usually they will take maybe one or two more classes for their doctorate and then it’s all research. The GPA really doesn’t matter at this point, only you finishing and getting publications. Students that are in a PhD program immediately after undergrad will need to make sure their GPA stays above a 3.0, though.

Layers in an Office

Does GPA Matter for Jobs?

From my experience, though it may be different for everyone, GPA did not matter when it came to applying for jobs. I have started the process of looking for careers after I graduate and not a single application asked for my transcripts or my GPA. They did, however, ask about publications and research experience. I was also applying for research positions so they cared deeply about this specifically. GPAs don’t determine how well you will be as an employee. Your experience in grad school will be a determinant of how well you do later, not your grades.

Another reason why jobs don’t care about your GPA is because they are placing you in a position where you might be competing with individuals that didn’t go to grad school but have ample experience in the industry. You won’t really be focusing on entry level jobs after college. This means that an employer needs to use another metric, other than GPA, to determine the right individual. So, they focus on experience. This is why getting relevant experience is so important.

Several Handheld Tools on White Printer Paper

What To Focus On in Grad School

There are some programs that just need you to take tests, pay them, and get out. I don’t really like these programs because I am going to grad school to learn information, develop my research skills, and contribute to the wellbeing of humanity. I feel that developing these skills is the most important part about gong to grad school, not just taking tests and passing classes. Yes, undergrad was about that, but grad school is much more than passing classes.

Overall

Overall, GPA only matters in very specific circumstances. For the most part your GPA in grad school, as long as it is above the minimum, really doesn’t matter. Some may argue based on their experiences, and I would love to know about those. (put them in the comments). I just don’t feel that you need to focus on a GPA. Focus on learning skills that will help you get through grad school and make you a skilled researcher. Some of the best researchers in the world were average students, but they focused all their effort on getting better at research. Do this!

Final Thoughts

I am curious, for those that went to grad school, what was your GPA? Also, what was your undergrad GPA? Did GPA matter in your program or was it just something that you needed to keep above a certain requirement? I am always curious as to what everyone’s grad school experience was. Each one is different so it is nice to see how it was for multiple people and compare.