Reflecting on 2017

What a year 2017 was.

I managed to finish a PhD (I am officially Dr Nic ;)) with a toddler kicking around at my heels.

I have been very lazy of late with my writing. Since submitting the PhD, I keep wondering what exactly I am going to write about.

I started ‘PhD Mum’ almost 2 years ago with the aim of sharing my PhD and parenting journey with others who might be interested in doing the same. I was so hopeful that these small little posts could potentially encourage other parents to return to education and perhaps even provide some sort of support for anyone who is doing the same and having a difficult time – we all need to know that we aren’t alone.

I find it is hard to write about my PhD journey without feeling like a 'know-it-all'. I think this is what has held me back from writing much about my PhD experience. Having submitted the thesis and the corrections, I know that each PhD candidate has a different journey and experience to get to the submission point and I wouldn’t want to add a “norm” or expectation to what the journey should be. We all have our own methods and our own stressors along the route to successful submission.

I recently saw a post on twitter that said “how to get your PhD done in 3 years” and it prescriptively stated what you should do and how long each section should take you to do. Is this a helpful method? I do like targets and deadlines and can appreciate that sometimes, a bit more structure and guidance can really help you to knuckle down, focus, and to be pragmatic about what you can achieve [“it’s only a PhD, not a Nobel peace prize”]. But on the flip side to that, by being so prescriptive about the PhD journey, does it not detract from the point of doing it? The point of the PhD is to become an independent researcher, a future leader. By following such a script, is that what you will become?

As it turns out, I was able to finish my PhD within the 3 years; but this was largely driven by my desire to just get it done and to return to work quickly. I think being in my 30s when I started the PhD also affected how I experienced the PhD. I didn’t feel that time was a luxury I had as most of my colleagues my age already had their PhDs and were progressing in their careers. I wanted to catch up as I wanted to stay in research and needed the PhD to progress.

I treated my PhD like it was a full time job. When returning to the PhD came about, the stresses that would be the same as any new mum returning to work after maternity: childcare costs, illnesses and lack of sleep, and working hours – particularly trying to find time to work at home.

So I suppose that your experience of your PhD or whatever academic qualification you are embarking (or considering embarking) upon will be influenced by your age, your reason for starting the course, and your personality. The next few posts I write (however long it might take me) will be a series of PhD support; particularly for parents.

Wish me luck!