• clearedtoland@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Is it weird that I still want to go for my PhD despite all the feedback about the process? I don’t think I’ve ever met a PhD or candidate that’s enthusiastically said “do it!”

    • bluemellophone@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It’s a lot of fucking work. If you enjoy hard work, learning about the latest advancements in your field, and can handle disappointment / criticism well, then it’s something to look into.

    • Contramuffin@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      No, not weird at all. PhD’s are pain, but certain people like the pain. If you’re good with handling stress, and also OK with working in a fast-paced, high-impact environment (for real, not business talk BS), then it may be the right decision for you. The biggest thing that I would say is that you should really, really think about whether this is what you want, since once you start a PhD, you’ve locked the next 6 years of your life into it with no chance of getting out

      Edit: Also, you need to have a highly sensitive red-flag radar. As a graduate student, you are highly susceptible to abuse from your professor. There is no recourse for abuse. The only way to avoid abuse is by not picking an abusive professor from the get-go. Which is hard, since professors obviously would never talk badly about themselves. Train that red-flag radar, since you’ll need to really read between every word and line to figure out if a professor is right for you

    • VeganPizza69 Ⓥ@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It’s like being drafted to a war while you only receive vague orders and you slowly realize what the phrase “war is a racket” means. You suffer and learn things that you didn’t plan on learning.