Is a PhD hard?

I've been asked this question a  couple of times of late. Probably because it's the end of the year and at the end of one year, and at the beginning of another, people like to stop and take stock of where they are at. In my experience what happens between October and February is that there are major relationship changes. Some people break up, but many, MANY, people get engaged or married. Last year, over a period of six days in December, I knew of eight couples who became engaged. That's right, more than one a day. And for reasons mostly to do with weather, there's many a wedding from November through February.

At the same time that people are considering their relationships, they also tend to think about their careers. And increasingly, postgraduate study is a thought within this. And this is where I end up being frequently asked about a PhD. These questions often come in a very cautious tone. To which I reply, 'it's not as hard as people would have you believe.'. Contentious, I know. So contentious that I have avoided writing about this as I am slightly scared of receiving the hate mail Jacinta Tynan was inundated with after she wrote an article declaring that motherhood was easy (see: here).

Here's some points that I make when asked about the PhD

If you don't enjoy it, something's not right

You should enjoy the PhD. Not every single day, but most days. With every good job, there's tedious stuff. For instance, when I was working in a youth alcohol and other drug clinical service, I LOVED most of my work. I can't imagine I'll ever experience job satisfaction to that degree again. But that's not to say that it was all a blast. Some days were sad, many days were trying and occasionally I left work feeling totally disillusioned. And writing case notes and other administrative tasks were akin to tearing off my toenails. But mostly, I loved my work. A doctorate should be similar. I think that this is especially so given that you pick your own topic, methods and theoretical framework. (Literature reviews are the toenail tearing part for me.)

It's a pretty privileged position

Four years, to research a topic of your choosing, at the end of which, you will have become the expert in that field? It's a pretty luxurious position. Many a single mum doesn't get four hours to indulge in researching something of their own choosing.

You'll never get job flexibility like this again

My personal life has fallen apart since I started my research. My brother has died, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and then my mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. All of these things took their toll. But as far as timing goes, it was rather fortuitous that they've happened while I have been PhDing. I have been able to work from home, or at night, or on the weekend. I can skip work on days I need to be at the hospital and make it up some other time. When I am sad I can throw myself into my work - or I can go for a run and come back to it later. When I need more money I can do extra paid work on top of my PhD. In fact, so long as I get some progress done each six months, and have a thesis after four years of candidature, nobody really cares when or where I am working. What other job is comparable to this?! (Admittedly, having nothing due for four years can make it very easy to get sidetracked with other things. You do need to remember that you can't do an all-nighter the day before it's due like you did with your undergrad essays.)

Hard work isn't a bad thing

Now I should qualify all of the above with the caveat that I am starting from the premise that working hard doesn't make something difficult. And I think that's where the confusion lies. People ask if a PhD is hard, when what they mean to ask is whether it is difficult. So when I answer that no, it's not, I am actually saying, it's not difficult. But it is hard work. And you need to be dedicated and committed. But with anything in life, you will only ever feel a sense of achievement when you have worked hard on something, And when I say it's not difficult, that's not to infer that it's easy; but simply that with hard work you can get a PhD  (perhaps not always a good one, but a PhD nonetheless).

At the beginning of my research, my second supervisor said to me: the big question isn't about if someone will pass their PhD, it's whether or not they will finish it. I think that's true. I haven't seen anyone fail their doctorate, but I have seen plenty fall by the wayside.

Keep your perspective

Getting caught up with stress and anxiety takes up energy which could be used for working. So try to keep on top of your work to prevent that overwhelming, and debilitating, anxiety that is frequently looming in the background just waiting to pounce.

There's other things you need to consider to ensure that you can stay on top of your work and prevent stress and distraction. I've written about them elsewhere and you can find them under the PhD and PhD Advice tabs respectively. But is a PhD hard difficult? No. Not really.