How to Determine if You’re Ready for your PhD
If you’ve ever considered seeking a higher level of education, you may have wondered whether the pursuit of a PhD. is right for you. The earning of a PhD can be a long, difficult, and sometimes frustrating process, but the personal, intellectual, and financial rewards of completing a doctoral degree can be great, especially for those looking to advance their careers or even change their current career path. Here are just a few ways to determine if you’re ready for your PhD and if a doctoral study is a right path for you!
1. You Can’t Imagine Doing Anything Else
When your passion in life is learning more about a particular field, sometimes there isn’t any other type of work that you’d rather be doing. If you would truly enjoy working full-time in a field for which you have genuine enthusiasm, and which gives you a sense of satisfaction, a PhD might be your best option for finding work that you’re truly happy with. Moreover, if you’re dissatisfied in your current field, a PhD can help you switch paths into a new career and daily work routine that is more suited to your interests. For many people, job satisfaction is a very high priority in life, and a PhD can often mean a life spent enjoying their work.
2. You’ve Narrowed Down a Field You Want to Study
Unlike other advanced professional degrees such as JDs, MDs, or MBAs, PhDs can come in an astonishingly wide variety of forms and can be held in a wide variety of fields and specializations. Depending on residency requirements, students can now either pursue campus-based degrees or online doctoral programs, and the expectations for dissertation work can differ between universities or even departments. To wit, the type of work that goes on behind the scenes during the completion of your PhD will likely be based on the subject that you’re studying: The degree requirements for completion of a PhD in English literature are very different from those required for a PhD in Chemical Engineering, for example, and knowing what it is you truly want out of a doctoral program (such as teaching experience, lab work, or research, for example) can help you make the decision as to which field and doctoral program is right for you.
3. A PhD Qualifies You for a Dream Job
When it comes to doctoral programs, job outlooks will also differ based on the field that a person studied while completing their doctorate: Someone with a PhD in English might pursue a career as a university lecturer or writer, for example, while a person with a PhD in Chemical Engineering might seek employment in the private sector. Understanding what you want to do with a doctorate and what jobs you will be qualified for upon completion of your degree can help make the decision to apply easier: If your goal is to teach at a university level or undertake research for a private company, you might find that a PhD helps you to achieve your ambitions in a way that other degrees simply don’t.
4. It Would Help You Break the Glass Ceiling
For some positions in the corporate world, a higher degree is necessary for advancement within a company. If your current degree isn’t carrying you to where you want to go with your current employer, you might want to consider a PhD as an option for advancing to a management position or other leadership role. Sometimes, a doctorate and a bit of ambition can take a person’s career to a new and more satisfying level. If moving is a concern, online doctoral programs can permit students to complete their doctorate while staying close to home; for potential doctoral students who would like to remain in their current company while they complete their degree, online classes can be a great option for pursuing career advancement without moving to a new city or state!
5. You Love to Learn
For many people, the completion of a PhD is a means to pursue a vocation that they simply couldn’t do without. As a labor of love, few activities in life will be as intellectually stimulating and satisfying as completing a PhD in a field that truly interests you, so if your day-to-day work routine feels empty without learning new things and studying new concepts, the completion of a PhD might just be right for you.
For these reasons, determining if you’re ready for a PhD doesn’t have to be a difficult process. With a bit of planning, some soul searching, and the right attitude, the choice to pursue a PhD can be one of the best decisions a person can make. Knowing what you want out of a career, understanding the type of work that the completion of a PhD would entail, and recognizing your passion or calling for a particular field can all be great steps towards preparing for future doctoral studies. And that is career planning done right!
Dhruval Patel