How hard is a PhD really? I remember when I was a student and one of my professors told me that getting a doctorate was one of the hardest things she had ever done in her life. I thought that was an exaggeration, but after graduating and getting my doctorate ten years ago, I recognize that there is a lot of truth in this statement.
Earning a doctorate involves a multitude of things and varies widely by subject, institution, country and location of the general education system. your committee, your topic, if you have the funds, your ability to stay motivated, and many other factors.
Is a doctorate intellectually difficult?
You’ve probably heard the metaphor of standing on the shoulders of giants, and it’s true that as a PhD student, you rely on previous work in the field. One does not usually expect to make enormous intellectual progress. In reality, you are probably going to give a small boost to a small part of the field. For some people this can be a relief and make the original research idea much more accessible, while for others it can derail the whole research idea!
The reality is that graduate students can be seen as a profitable workforce for the advancement of science. Although we often work on projects with complex and extremely clear descriptions such as “nanoparticles filled with silver ions for the treatment of cancer” or “biphasic smearing mechanics for soft technical materials”, genetic intelligence is not required to be practical. Often, behind those big content titles, you’re doing some pretty abnormal stuff. These tasks require you to know what you are doing, but you have rarely developed it yourself.
Who should submit supplements?
Most students are not required to submit additional documents and most applications do not benefit from their inclusion. We have helped students create supplements when needed, but we have found that most students we work with do not need them for a successful application.
Universities do not need additional unnecessary material because admissions offices already have thousands of documents to review.
If your additional documents do not substantially complement your application, there is no need to attach them. We don’t want you to stress about extra subjects. However, let’s explore the different ways universities ask questions to find out what you want to consider.
Yes, the doctorate is difficult in many ways. Here is a complete list of the difficulties that arose during the thesis.
- Lack of support from the thesis supervisor.
- Mental stress during doctoral studies.
- There is no time for privacy.
- A very normal and homogeneous life.
- Depression makes you think too much.
- It is not possible to participate in outdoor activities.
- Difficulty reading books. (technology oriented generation)
- Lack of proper resources on your topic.
- Lack of friendship.
First of all, as you have been told, getting a PhD is no mean feat. If you dream of becoming a teacher, ask yourself the following question: what would you do if you didn’t succeed? What other options do you have besides being a professor?