Solo Session: PhD and Society

Hello students and graduates, welcome to PhD Launch, the podcast of Late Night Talks in which PhDs have a drink and talk about their research topics. You're dedicated to researching and writing your best arguments to become a PhD. Upon passing the view of OK, you might be in your late 20s or early 30s starting or about to finish it and then you are confident in communicating to the world your knowledge and skills in dealing complex tasks that can change the course of society one day. However, do you feel that you are behind in life? Society standards such as getting a car, getting married, having children and buying a house between your 20s and 30s are still in vogue more or less. You may have had chats with your friends who are reaching those milestones, thinking that you're behind in life and not having something structured. While the world is more competitive than ever and having something solid is not a guarantee, one thing that is certain and belongs to each individual is this. You're not behind in life and the decision of undertaking a PhD is personal. Rather than fighting against society, when you pursue a PhD, it becomes an extension of the knowledge and skills that you obtained during your previous degrees and regardless of your age, you decided to take an arduous challenge that takes years to achieve and requires resilience and sacrifice. In my previous podcast talks, I stressed that having balance between your PhD and social life is essential, and sometimes you have to refrain from certain things to give space to your research, including what society tells us to do. Moreover, there's this assumption that everyone ought to have a checklist of goals and achievements to be completed in a specific timeline. The world shouldn't care about timelines and checklists, and you as a PhD should care less about that too. You're producing knowledge to be used by future students, and you're also working towards a goal that you want to achieve. Your personal milestones matter just as much as the society wants because they can be completed after your PhD as well. Lastly, if you feel behind in life when pursuing your PhD, have you asked yourself what you can see the behind? Do you mean not making progress on your dissertation or seeing others prosper? Whatever thoughts you may have, it's normal to feel like that as we are our biggest critics. Try turning the tables and say to yourself that you're not behind, you're just passing a phase where your brain might need some rest and recharging for the upcoming stages you must go through in your PhD. If you feel that you're behind in life, just remember that the PhD is a marathon with ups and downs and the dream of yours that needs a bit more patience and perseverance to accomplish. Thank you all for tuning in. It has been a pleasure.