Welcome, I am Mohsin.
I created this blog to address the questions any PhD aspirer might face.
It is an effort to help students and graduates decide that either PhD is the right choice for them or not.
I hold a Master’s (by research) degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I live and work in Lahore, the cultural hub of Pakistan.
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn and ResearchGate.
Why I created this Blog
I started this blog with frustration. The frustration I had while deciding the appropriateness of PhD journey for me. At this blog, I am trying to document the answers to the subtle queries I had regarding my PhD.
So, this blog is here to answer the queries of those who are still in doubt that PhD is a path for them or not. Here, I intend to provide the best possible answers regarding PhD decisions.
Every person is different with a different set of circumstances. The decision to pursue a PhD may not be for everyone. Therefore, we all come across different kinds of questions in our decision-making to select a PhD or not.
Why I write about this
As I myself going through this PhD decision-making process. I think my perspective might be valuable for others who are also searching for answers regarding PhD persuasion.
Being a student of work psychology, I am always interested in employee well-being. In my opinion, the PhD students are academic workers, who are not only a cog in the scientific progress machine, but they are humans too. These brilliant employees also need a work-life balance, better compensation, and job satisfaction. If these attributes of supportive work settings are not provided, these academic workers get depressed, may run out of steam, or drop out.
Who I want to help
This blog is an effort to address queries of those who aspire to go for a PhD but still have questions and doubts regarding the best course of action.
Why I think this is important
Embarking on a PhD is an important decision with a far-reaching impact on a person’s life. Many golden years of every young aspirer are at stake in this decision.
There is a lot of guidance on the PhD process online. However, very few good sources of information deeply answer the intricacies involved in deciding whether to do a PhD or not.
Any information that eases the decision-making process is surely a breeze for those wandering around for answers to their queries. I hope that the material on this blog will help you decide the best course of action for yourself.
My Story
I fell in love with research during my BS final year project. Later, I pursued a Master’s, which is considered the next step for higher education in my country.
My research interests were more refined by my Master’s research training and project. I thought research is the thing that I should pursue my career in. Thus, I decided to prepare for a PhD.
I didn’t know much about the PhD and what it might be for. To me, it was the next obvious step after bachelor’s and master’s studies. However, the more I dig out details concerning PhD, the more I realized that it is a specific kind of training for specific goals. Therefore, it may not be for every other person who is good at studies or reading research papers.
I made every mistake under the sun, like leaving my internship (expected job) for PhD application preparation and applying to the schools with big names. I did not know that the PhD was nothing like a Master’s or an MBA.
I almost spent 2 years preparing for the graduate and language tests, publish my research, and figuring out the PhD application process.
Meanwhile, I applied to many universities, to which I am still applying. Every rejection made me feel that I have to give something more, make my application more elegant.
During this PhD application preparation struggle, I also searched for other career options and whether PhD is good for me or not. So, I googled and googled again n again.
Unfortunately, many of my questions as an aspirer of PhD were not answered that deeply to the level that I yearn for.
In addition to this, many answers were from PhD students and graduates, who surely have experienced this decision and doubts earlier. However, I suspect that they might be a little bias in their opinion due to the life choices justification phenomenon.
I needed a rude and raw opinion of someone who is actually going through this, who is actually preparing and applying. Who had his/her skin in the game and still not biased by the life-choices justification.
I started this blog to explain the reasons behind one course of action or another while going through this PhD or not decision. So, this blog is here because you should not start a PhD for the wrong reasons.
