How hard is it to get a PhD?

Nature ’s survey of more than 6,000 graduate students reveals the turbulent nature of doctoral research. Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in Billings, Montana. Getting a PhD is never easy, but it’s fair to say that Marina Kovačević had it especially hard.

How can I find out more about my PhD program?

Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.

When is it okay to change research areas in a PhD?

The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas. If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa.

Does your Career Center send out information about PhD programs?

As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs.

Do PhD students get paid for their research?

Some will receive a stipend; others will pay their own way. Some PhDs involve only research, some require classes and examinations and some require the student to teach undergraduates. A thesis can be dozens of pages in mathematics, or many hundreds in history.

What are the pros and cons of having more PhD students?

With more PhD students they can do more research, and in some countries more teaching, with less money. A graduate assistant at Yale might earn $20,000 a year for nine months of teaching.

Is there a PhD shortage in developing countries?

Only a few fast-developing countries, such as Brazil and China, now seem short of PhDs. In research the story is similar. PhD students and contract staff known as “postdocs”, described by one student as “the ugly underbelly of academia”, do much of the research these days.