The Ultimate Guide to Doing a Phd

Have you ever considered doing a PhD, but have no idea where to start? Or are you doing a PhD and starting to feel like you're losing the plot?Each year the number of applicants to postgraduate research and PhD programs increases, yet the information on how to successfully navigate the journey remains obscure. This is where this book comes in: I explore every aspect of doing a PhD.Doing a PhD starts from the very the idea of wanting to do one itself. What motivations work well and which don't when making it through the PhD? The book also includes several chapters on applying to a PhD, university selection, supervisor selection and document preparation. We then move onto what goes on during the PhD, which is where the majority of questions often arise. Questions around workload, time management, mental health, social comparison, (peer) pressure, supervisor (mis)communications, all the way up to publishing, teaching, networking, conference attendance, presenting work and preparing for the next step are addressed. And yes, the next step matters: are you planning to continue to work in academia, or not? The book addresses both career pathways, staying in or leaving academia, equally. There has been increased pushback against the idea that those with a PhD should automatically remain in academia, especially as the academic job market has become increasingly saturated. There has been an increased interest in transitioning from academia to industry, but again, the information on how to properly approach this remains scattered. This book aims to take a (prospective) PhD student by the hand and outline the entire process, answering every question they could possibly have along the way.