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).