3 things every PhD student should know

Being a PhD student is an incredible learning opportunity, but it can also be tough. It can be hard to see out of the immediate environment of the specific program you’re in.

When I was nearing the end of my PhD program, I had a hard time figuring out exactly what I wanted to do afterwards. I knew that I didn’t want to pursue a tenure track career path, but figuring out what I wanted to do instead wasn’t as easy. I’ll admit, now being four years out of grad school I feel like I’m still in that phase of exploration. I’m someone who likes to learn and is interested in lots of things (or as Emilie Wapnick calls it, being a “multipotentialite”), and perhaps that means that exploration will continue throughout my career - and that’s something I’m okay with! But it’s something I’ve come to understand over the last few years, and not something I knew when I was a PhD student.

Which brings me to the 3 things I believe that every PhD student should know - alternatively titled, “3 things I wish someone had said to me when I was a PhD student.”

1) You are an expert in learning new things.

I’ve talked about this before, but the number one thing a PhD program teaches you is how to learn new things. As a PhD student, you do a good degree of independent work and problem solving, whether it’s figuring out how to do a particular type of data analysis, what course requirements you need to fulfill, or how to pay estimated taxes on your fellowship payments. PhDs are experts in learning new things, a skill that will serve you well no matter what career path you pursue.

2) You can create your own path.

When you’re in a PhD program, it can be easy to feel like there are only one or two paths that you can take - you might feel like you either have to pursue a post-doc and then tenure track job, or move into an industry position outside of academia. In reality, there are as many career paths for PhDs as there are people with PhDs! You don’t have to follow a prescribed path or do what others have done before you. Leaving the tenure track doesn’t have to mean leaving academia - there are so, so many career path options within and outside of academia (I’ve listed a few here). There are so many ways to create your own career path, whether through finding a job that aligns with your interests and values, or through pursuing multiple different career ventures that meet your needs.

3) You don’t have to figure out your whole life right now, just your next step.

When you’re in a time of transition, it’s really easy to feel like you need to have everything figured out before you can make your next move. You might feel like you had a path laid out for you, but now aren’t sure where you want to go. In reality, you don’t need to plan your entire career trajectory as you’re wrapping up a PhD program - you just need to figure out what your next step is, and sometimes that next step means engaging in more career exploration and trying new things. It can be helpful to think of the years post-PhD as a time of career exploration and introspection, devoting time to asking yourself questions about what lights you up and what you want to achieve in your life.

Want to learn more about how you can apply this in your own post-PhD journey? My course - Post-Grad Pathfinders - has several lessons dedicated to these concepts! Learn more about the course here!