There has been a lot of public debate about graduate studies, particularly in the humanities, lately.

Unsurprisingly, this is causing some anxiety for people either doing or contemplating grad school.

Here are a few things to think about when making this decision.

Why do you want to do the PhD?

• Are you excited about your research project and this seems like the best way to pursue it?
• Are you seriously considering an academic career?
• Are you considering other careers for which a PhD might be required?
• Are you unsure of what else you would do, daunted by the recession, and it seems easier to stay in school?
• Are your advisors and academic friends encouraging you to pursue one?

All of these are possible. In fact, I suspect the last two are very common reasons for people to do a PhD. Looking back, they probably weighed as heavily as number 1 for me.

The important thing is to have an idea of why you want to do it. That will enable you to figure out how much you might want to spend on it (or, how much you are willing to go into debt for it), whether there are particular things you need in a program, and whether there are other things you want to achieve simultaneously so that you are employable at the end.

How are you going to fund it?

• Will you have a full tuition scholarship and a full stipend? If so, for how many years?
• Will you have tuition plus TA and RA opportunities?
• Do you have another source of income compatible with being a full-time student?
• Will you have to borrow money? How much?

This can be very important. Clearly, if you have a full scholarship and stipend, you are less likely to feel like it was a waste if things don’t turn out as you planned in terms of career. You can treat it as a job in itself, fairly low paid but not that bad, in which you get to pursue your intellectual interests full time.

If you are planning to borrow, you probably want to have a clearer sense of what you might do afterwards and make sure you are getting all the knowledge, skills and experience you might need to successfully transition into that career. Also have a back-up. The academic hiring situation, especially in the humanities, is not rosy.

What else could you do?

I am increasingly aware of a cultural association between “intelligent” and “academic”.

Maybe it’s also associated with class, but if you are smart, people think you should stay in school.

And the longer you are in school, the more alienated you feel from the rest of the world. So by the time you are considering a PhD program, it seems like you are walking in a thick fog with this one clear patch (the university) and a lot of vague shapes. And you are pretty sure there are other things you can’t even see but …

Scary. That’s scary.

What if everyone is right and my book-learning is useless in the “real world”?

I suspect you have lots of options. To begin with I suggest going to the careers service at your current institution (or the one you most recently graduated from) and talking to a careers advisor about options.

Also, go to the alumni office and ask them whether they can connect you with alumni who have a similar degree to the one you have now so you could talk to them and explore some career options. You aren’t going to ask these people for jobs. You are just going to ask them about what they do, how they got into it, and how it relates to the degree you did.

You could also get a copy of What Color Is Your Parachute? out of the library and do some of the exercises.

That should at least begin to clear the fog.

Do you need to go NOW?

I also sense some kind of pressure not to take breaks from school.

I took a year out in the middle of my undergraduate studies. I was unhappy in my program and I got a summer job that could be extended into a full-time job. So I quit school temporarily and worked.

A lot of people advised me against it saying “You’ll never come back.”

Well, that was a pretty boring clerical job. I was desperate to come back. Hell, I even went on to do a PhD.

And if I hadn’t been, then I assume it would have been because I found something intellectually stimulating to do outside academe.

You have a degree. You probably have an MA. You can take a year or so to try other things and still go back and do a PhD.

And, if you don’t, it’ll be because you found a different but equally satisfying road to go down.

Your MA advisor should be only one source of advice

I’m going to assume your advisor has the best intentions not least because they usually do have good intentions.

But we’re talking about a human being here. Who stayed in school and went on to an academic career and may never have explored other options seriously.

They like their job. They see some of them in you and think (possibly correctly but possibly not) that you would like this job, too.

They are also very pleased to have had such a great student. Not all students are as exciting to work with as you are. And they can see the potential for you to do great academic work and contribute meaningfully to debates that are important to them.

Institutionally, the department looks good if their students go on to PhDs at prestigious institutions, particularly if they get nationally competitive scholarships.

But your advisor is just one person. A good person to talk to about what PhD programs are like, what an academic career is like, where to publish in your field, and related questions.

Your advisor is not making recommendations based on a full understanding of your situation nor a full understanding of all the options open to you in particular. Only you can do that.

And you need to seek advice from several people with different experiences and different expertise.

In the end only you can make the decision. It’s a tough one. But you are an intelligent person. You can do it.

As you know, I help people with their grant proposals. I’m really really busy in August and September.

Last year, one of the researchers I helped sent this feedback.

While the bulk of your feedback was helpful and constructive … your comments do not assist in furthering the CV component of this particular SSHRC application. In much the same way as a short person is unlikely to grow taller over night, nor a large person to shed their girth by the end of the week, my “very weak” cv is not going to be made resplendent with additional publications in the next few days. So, the immediate question is not one of research productivity, but rather emphasizing what is there in the best possible light, given the impending submission deadline.

Competition is stiff

Every program at SSHRC is very competitive. I often compare it to the Olympics.

This government is not increasing funding to any of the research councils. In fact they cut funding last year.

More people are applying every year. Earlier in their careers. From a wider range of institutions.

The costs of doing research are going up, so the money doesn’t go as far as it used to.

There is no better light.

You are being judged by peers.

They know the journals.

They know the presses.

They know that the book reviews are not refereed, even in refereed journals.

They know whether that conference was really refereed or whether it just had a process for selecting abstracts.

All you can do with the CV part is list what you have done according to the instructions.

You are competing with your peers

In most SSHRC competitions, you are being compared to peers at a similar stage of career.

They are publishing in the same journals and with the same presses.

They deal with the same submission to decision to publication delays you do.

They also teach, go to meetings, and have any number of calls on their time.

Starting to think about it in January gives you more options

If you assess your record of achievement now, you can prioritize sending off those almost-finished papers on your desk. You might even have a decision before the grant deadline in October.

If you need to do some preliminary research, you can get some internal funding and plan to do it at the beginning of the summer so you have a stronger proposal by August.

If you think you are really not ready, you can make a plan for putting in a strong application in October 2011.

First step: Figure out how SSHRC grants work

I’m holding a free Q&A teleconference call on Tuesday, January 19th at 1 p.m. EST.

I’ve worked at SSHRC. I’ve helped people with applications since 2005.

I am happy to answer any questions you have and I won’t even hint to anyone that might put pressure on you that you are even contemplating thinking about applying.

As so often happens, reading someone’s blog inspired me to write about something.

Keri, the Dandelion Diva, is on sabbatical. And on her first day, she writes

I am already in a bit of a panic about not get everything done that I want to get done over the next 6 months. And, yet, as I sit here this morning — sipping my 2nd cup of tea in a now empty house — I feel unsure as to where to begin.

I’m sure you are familiar with this feeling.

Sometimes autonomy sucks

The freedom to spend your days researching the topic that inspires you, thinking big thoughts, writing about stuff you are passionate about is an academic’s dream come true.

And yet, faced with those days when you are totally in control of your workload…

We miss the structure of meetings, teaching, etc.

Well, not really, but the responsibility of having total control over your day can be somewhat overwhelming.

The Tyranny of Choice

Let’s face it, you have lots of things you could be doing. And most of them don’t have to be done in any particular order.

You  could do a bit of writing, a bit of reading, a bit of analysis.

You could work on one paper for a bit and then work on another one.

You could take a break at 11 a.m. and go to a yoga class. Or meet a friend for coffee.

You don’t have to work a 9-5 and probably don’t want to.

But you are worried that if you don’t impose some kind of rigid structure, with goals, a to-do list, and so on, you will get to the end of your sabbatical and have nothing to show for it.

The Washing Line of Possibilities

One of my online friends mentioned a technique she uses that I’ve recently started using.

I think you might find it helpful, too.

Yep, that's my to do list

Basically, you break down all the things you want to do into small tasks. Stuff that you could do in one work-segment.

Not “write a paper for x journal”. But “write the introduction for x paper”. Or “analyse those interviews”.

The small steps that add up to journal articles, book manuscripts, grant proposals, etc.

Write them on small pieces of paper. I cut up 8.5 x 11 sheets into 8 pieces.

And then peg them to a string strung across your office.

As you can see, I also used coloured paper to make it pretty. Because your office needs to be an inspiring place to work.

How it works

It’s pretty simple.

You just scan the washing line for something that you feel like doing right now. And then do it.

Then you find another thing.

And sometimes you come up with another idea for something to do and you add it to the line.

And definitely have the looking-after-yourself stuff on there.

You can’t think big thoughts if you are tired, not getting enough exercise, not eating well.

This is what walking down the road looks like

You aren’t looking at the destination.

Photo from wildxplorer

You are doing stuff that nourishes you. That gets you towards the destination.

You aren’t worrying about how fast you are going or how much you are doing. You are just doing it.

You can schedule time for reflection and adjustment if you need it. But not more than once a week.

This works even if you aren’t on sabbatical

Because some of your time is your own to do with what you want.

And it is really easy to default into doing the scheduled stuff: preparing teaching, grading, preparing for meetings.

But your research is important. To you and to your institution.

You are paid to do research at least some of the time.

So maybe try the washing line and see if you fit more in.

I know.

The deadline for Standard Research Grants isn’t until the middle of October. And it’s only January.

But January might be a good time to take the first tiny baby step towards getting ready for the possibility that you might someday apply for a grant.

Do you have questions?

I used to work for SSHRC. I was a program officer with the SRG program.

And, since 2005, I’ve been giving presentations about grants and helping researchers write better grant proposals.

I don’t work for your university.

I don’t work for SSHRC.

So I have no stake in whether you apply or not. And my opinion of you has no bearing on whether you get a grant, or a promotion or whatever.

And I can probably answer whatever questions you have.

Interested?

I’m answering questions by phone on January 19th @ 1 p.m. EST

It will only cost you the price of a long distance call, which might not be anything depending on your long distance plan or whether you call from work.

I’ll record the call. So if you can’t make the time or want to listen to it again later because you realized that that one question someone asked was really good but you forgot the answer, you’re covered.

And yes, if you are shy about asking on the call or can’t make it but have a question, you can send your question in advance.

Remember. There are no stupid questions.

Talk to you soon.

I hope you had a relaxing break with at least some good food, trashy TV/movies/novels, good company or whatever restores you.

It seems like everyone had some interesting weather. We had freezing rain on Boxing Day, and I keep seeing photos of England with lots of snow that stays for days. Very odd.

But whatever the weather, the show must go on.

Term has started. Students have returned. Meetings will happen.

And writing …

You haven’t just put that to one side have you?

Did you pick some up over the holidays? Did you try ignoring the grading and immersing yourself in the ideas that got you into this business in the first place for a while?

How did that work?

Is there any way I could help you keep doing a little of that even now? In the snow? Even with the students and the meetings?

I hate goals.

I don’t find them motivating at all.

If setting goals works for you, go ahead. You are in good company at this time of year.

But if goals just make you panic about not achieving them and being a failure, I give you permission not to set any.

I don’t care if you write an article this term. Or if anything you do in your 30-minutes a day can be shown to anyone.

Are you on the road you want to be on?

(Photo by wildxplorer)

Forget about the destination. You’ll notice you can’t even see the destination in that photo. But doesn’t it look like an inviting road?

Some things that might be on your road

• intellectual stimulation
• time to think big thoughts
• interesting books
• stuff you want to dig into in detail

That stuff might be historical documents, interviews with breadwinning moms, climate change politics, the writings of Plato, or any number of other things.

What are the things that define your road?

Write them down.

Be as detailed as you like.

Include things you aren’t getting right now but you want to be on your road. (Share your description of your road in the comments if you want.)

Now that you know what the road you want to be on looks like, you can think about things you can do that will keep you on that road.

You don’t have to be going anywhere.

You can just amble along slowly looking at the scenery. Really looking.

Can you find time to take a stroll down that road?

What would that look like?

Make more notes if you like. Share them, too, if you want.

If you’re worried about setting an intention to stroll down the road every day and then feeling like a failure because you can’t even take this tiny step, then step back.

What is the smallest step you can take?

Can you stand at the crossroads and look down the road?

Contemplate thinking about strolling down the road?

Take one small step on the road, knowing you could turn around and come right back?

Walk a little way down the road and then stop for a while?

And if you need help, let me know. I’m rooting for you.