Should You Get a PhD?

More students than you think actually aren’t 100% certain that they want to get a PhD. There are some people that desire positions that have a PhD as a prerequisite (e.g., being a tenure-track professor). If what you want to be requires a PhD, then it’s probably in a student’s best interest to be certain she wants the PhD.

So for the rest of us out there who don’t need a PhD for some job we desire, the question is "should we get PhDs?”

I believe you should obtain a PhD if you believe its attainment will add substantial value to your life. 

When some people see the word value, they sometimes immediately think of money, but value is obviously more than that. Take me for example. The number one reason I decided to complete my PhD was that, because I knew I wouldn’t enter into academia, my life had a greater probability of being “interesting”--I couldn’t predict how my life would be altered--I just knew it would be altered, and it would be positive.  Now, I'm not going to lie, I also figured monetarily, if I played my cards I could come out on top financially as well--but this thought wasn't the primary motivation.  Quitting the PhD program after my Master’s to enter the workforce just seemed too boring and predictable a life.

The perceived greater potential of a “interesting life” was enough to drive me to finish my PhD. The trick is to find out if such a drive--that is, something valuable that’s derived from obtaining a PhD--exists for you in your life. Good luck!

Life Lessons Learned From Running

I can honestly assert that my most meaningful achievement has nothing to do with computers or computer science. Nevertheless, it has taught me many practical life lessons and analogies that I apply to my field of study and has shaped my goal achievement. Specifically, I trained for and completed a half marathon last year. Due to the fact that I was never an active runner, this entire experience was very new and difficult, however the process taught me many important principles. 

Firstly, I learned that comparing my performance to the performance of others was completely unnecessary. To explain, I am an extremely slow runner and was frequently discouraged when I encountered much older runners that ran much faster than me. I found that oftentimes, we are preoccupied by the achievements of others and tend to compare our own performance to the performance of others. In reality, my own performance has no bearing on anyone else’s performance and vice versa. Generally speaking, I learned that the achievement of others does not negate my hard work and progress.

Secondly, I learned that preparation is the most important component of the journey. In other words, preparation is what equips an individual to win the race. In terms of training, proper preparation ensures that a runner will successfully cross the finish line on the day of the race. In pursuing a PhD, adequate preparation ensures that when your knowledge is challenged, and you must defend your ideas, there is a firm background on which to base your knowledge.

Finally, I learned the importance of discipline. To be successful, hard work must become a habit, regardless of your individual preferences. For example, during training, I ran at 6am on most mornings. Initially, I experienced extreme difficulty waking up at such an early hour. As I continued running, waking up early became a habit and as a result, easier. The same principle applies for achieving my goal of a PhD. Originally, when I began research, working long hours consistently was extremely difficult. Once, I put aside my own preferences and made this schedule a habit, it became a norm in my life.