The Meaning of the PhD

Upon entering my PhD, I was told many reasons why and why not to do it. Some told me that it was three-seven years of a compound interest loss in terms of financial savings from an industry paycheck. Some told me that I needed it so that people in either academia or industry would respect me - especially me being a woman. One of my Physics professors told me that a PhD is for people who really don’t know what they want to do next.

The advice above speaks to the diversity of thought in how people reason through career choices, but lacked to inform me of what carrying out a PhD would actually look like. Now having gone through a PhD program myself, I have a different understanding of what a PhD means based on what I learned and contributed in the process, that became much more important than the certificate or title awarded to me at the end.

So for those of you that might be considering a PhD, I want to share a point of view of what a quality PhD program looks like, so that you can more confidently evaluate if this process would make you feel happy - one of my most important success metrics.

So what does it mean to do a PhD?

1. You will get dedicated time to learn

Your PhD years are a training period, and as such, the main objective is for you to learn. And I don’t just mean learn more about a chosen knowledge domain or specific research question; it’s for you to learn how to be a more intentional critical thinker and free-feeling creator.

By the end of your PhD, the goal is that you are confident in your abilities to:

• Understand more complex (often abstract) ideas

• Communicate ideas to diverse audiences

• Create and frame your own ideas

• Evaluate your own ideas as well as the ideas of others

In an undergraduate degree, it is common that you cover a lot of material, are expected to pass an exam, and then move on. In industry, it is common that you will learn skills that are useful for a dedicated task that will further the company’s vision. A PhD is a very different process - one that provides a larger privilege: dedicated time to make sense of knowledge, challenge it, and create it. You will learn a vast amount about a specific topic, how that topic fits into the greater context of your scientific field, and how many of the various research fields connect.

I spent most of my PhD asking questions: What if? Why does? How can? Should we? I was able to combine my childlike curiosity and imagination with logical and strategic thinking. Overall, the PhD allowed me the freedom of valuing learning for the sake of learning.

2. You will have pathways to contribute meaningfully

Entering a PhD program is entering a “scientist/researcher in training” role that comes with responsibilities to contribute to society. So what does it mean to contribute meaningfully? I’ll give just a couple of examples below.

Research Group

As an incoming PhD student, you can contribute to other members of your research group by getting involved in their current projects in a way that adds value to both of you - perhaps a learning opportunity for you and some freed up time/capacity for them. Perhaps you also find a post-doc or a senior PhD student who becomes a powerful mentor to you. Once you’re a senior PhD student, you can become a mentor for younger students who are just starting out.

In addition, you can add value to your research group by listening to their project progress and providing feedback, giving a group presentation on a topic you’re knowledgable and/or excited about, and just generally being an open-minded, empathetic human.

University

If you want to contribute to your University, one of the most direct ways is by assisting in some kind of teaching practices for undergraduate students - perhaps being a graduate lecturer or teaching assistant for a course. If you prefer more one-on-one interactions, you can become a research mentor to undergraduate students during term time or the summer. The most meaningful experience of my PhD was mentoring undergraduate students on projects - teaching them concepts, learning about their interests, and guiding them in their research projects.

Research Field

Perhaps the most obvious form of contribution to a research community is publishing quality papers that communicate your research thoughtfully. Success is not found in maximizing the number of papers produced; it is in doing research that is important to you and your field, and then sharing it with others in a way that they can understand and build off of it.

You can also contribute to your field though conference presentations and summer school programs. If you want to find opportunities outside of your university to contribute, there are probably plenty from industry and government lab internships to university exchanges. It is common that PhD students will do a 4-6 month internship somewhere else to either extend or broaden their research.

General Public

Participating in scientific outreach activities is a win-win for everyone. You get the opportunity to practice framing your research to various audiences (K-12 students, undergraduate students, and people with no formal academic training), while also encouraging curiosity within these groups. In my PhD, I visited more than 15 high schools to give presentations on classical AI and quantum computing concepts - also introducing them to some current questions that scientists are thinking about (you can read more about these trips here). It’s important that we encourage young people to question the world around them and see that science has not been “solved”. Other approaches to engaging with the general public include diversity and inclusion programs, personal blogging or podcasting, and getting involved with nonprofit science organizations.

Conclusion

Doing a PhD is an opportunity to investigate a focus area that you’re genuinely passionate about - something that fascinates you, that you want to understand better. When a PhD is approached from this prospective, it feels more like play. It is a substantial period of time to follow your curiosity, wherever that might lead you.