Common PhD Myths

There are many myths surrounding PhDs and the reasons and advantages of doing one – here we dispel those myths and give you some real insight into what doing a PhD really means!

PhD = Intelligence

Albert Einstein, Steven Hawking, Niels Bohr… many of the people whose names are synonymous with the word genius were also PhD graduates. This creates an impression that the majority of PhD students are at least highly intelligent if not geniuses. However, the reality is somewhat different.  The prime quality of a successful PhD student is Intelligence, not INTELLIGENCE! After all, if you have done well enough in your masters to get accepted to a PhD program, you are undoubtedly intelligent enough to succeed! The rest is hard work and inspiration.

A doctorate is a chance to invent GREAT IDEAS and reveal your brilliance

It is true that many people with a PhD title next to their name go on to invent world changing ideas. But how many of them actually came up with these ideas during their PhD studies? Probably none! The purpose of a PhD program is to enhance your research skills and turn you into a successful researcher. Even if you think that a PhD is all about greatness, working on an overambitious idea will in most cases not make you brilliant in the eyes of your supervisor and the examiners. Instead, it will make you look like a bad planner who is out of touch with reality. The opportunity to reveal your brilliance to the world will come! But you need to be patient and wait until you get a stable academic position.

 A masterpiece PhD dissertation is enough to ensure academic career

It is not an exaggeration to say that many PhDstudents who want to remain in academia regard their dissertation as a personal masterpiece that will open the door of the academic world for them. Indeed, having a high-quality dissertation that contains strong publication material is always an asset. However, this asset is just one piece of the jigsaw, and entering an academic career requires much more than a “masterpiece” dissertation. Making CONNECTIONS with other researchers in your field, attending academic conferences, and working hard to produce a few PUBLICATIONS during your PhD studies will complete the jigsaw and make you a “winner”! 

Grades do matter

In some countries, PhD students are graded for their work and these grades may be important for their future job prospects.  However, this is not the case in the UK. In the UK you can only PASS or FAIL, the rest is up to you.

Your PhD thesis should include “Something that no one has ever done before”

What does it mean to do “Something that no one has ever done before”? Does it mean to invent a new theory of relativity? To construct a flying saucer? If that was the case, then we would be much more developed as a civilization than we are now because each PhD student would bring some significant discovery to the world. However, to do “Something that no one has ever done before” means something else in the language of academics. It means to do a very small alteration to something that has previously been done and contribute a “small advancement” to an already established idea. Well, even if this sounds a bit disillusioning, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Research is, unlike art, a team effort, and small alterations to established ideas can be catalysts for huge discoveries in the future. This means that even your “small advancement” to an already established idea can later inspire someone else in making a groundbreaking discovery, or serve you as the basis for your own invention! Therefore, PhD students are important contributors to their research field, and without their passion the world of research they would lack the energy to achieve new heights.