We have now established that a PhD provides plenty of opportunity to develop mastery and (in many cases) autonomy. Yet, these properties alone do not always ensure a remarkable and satisfying research career. In this second part of the book extract from Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You, we look at an additional piece in the puzzle—having a “mission”—and summarize the book’s system of practices to develop both mastery and mission, which can be applied directly during the PhD. I conclude with some critiques of the book and a case study to test whether these ideas map to my own research career thus far.

A doctorate is typically the first step in a longer (academic or otherwise) research career. Many think of it as a grueling rite of passage one must endure to get the job they want later on. But are there ways we can do the PhD to set us up for a remarkable and satisfying career? Are there ways we can make the PhD journey itself feel like a “good job”? In the first part of this book extract, we draw lessons from Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You, about “passion traps”, we look at properties of a good PhD job, focusing on mastery, control, and how to develop them for a more satisfying PhD (and beyond).

If you are reading this, chances are that you have already decided to do a PhD. Yet, you may know someone who is considering a doctoral degree (or you may be offering such a position as a supervisor to prospective students). This post is for them. In this new type of post, we will look at big questions facing any PhD student. Today, we analyze the question that precedes all the other big PhD questions: “should I do a PhD?”. Below, I offer a couple of quick, simple ways to look at this important life decision, and a list of 10 factors to consider when offered (or seeking) a PhD position.

What can we do, when we have to take a hard decision about the PhD (like changing supervisors or leaving doctoral studies altogether) but we don’t really know which way to go? In the continuation to last week’s post, we see how to go about the actual decision-making, to choose the option that has the best chances to satisfy us in the long run.

In the PhD (and beyond), we sometimes face a difficult situation, and we have to take a hard decision: do I leave my PhD? do I take an unrelated job to earn more money while I try to finish the PhD? do I seek a new supervisor that better supports me? do I accept the change of direction that my supervisor is suggesting? In this two-part post series, I will not give the answer to those hard questions, but rather provide a decision process that can help us find the option that is right for us, in our particular circumstances.