I’m approaching the second milestone for my PhD, and buried in interviews and bibliometric data. I thought it was a good point to pause and reflect.
Navigating many different spaces, it’s often needing to mask/camouflage that creates the most work. Thankfully, my PhD has been a space where showing up as myself has been completely welcomed.
Thinking about what’s sustained me, so far, balancing full-time work with a part-time PhD, six things stand out. So, in no particular order:
One: A research topic that keeps me engaged
On the surface, my topic feels quite big (open knowledge diplomacy) with many moving parts. While it creates challenges around scope, I feel like I could write and research on it endlessly. I’m curious about how my research fits in with the world around me, and feel challenged by it (in a good way). Additionally, it broadly sits alongside other interests, work, and things I care about, while also being a topic I don’t feel pigeon-holed or boxed in by (which, at least to me, feels important – though I’m assured it isn’t I need to worry about).
Two: Supportive supervisors
I’ve always had incredible supervisors for my research, and this was important when it came to my PhD. Alongside providing expertise and guidance, my supervisors have taken time to understand me as a person, advocate for and encourage me, and be a source of support with moving interstate. I couldn’t have asked for better support for my research and a space where I can truly show up as myself.
Three: Publishing & presenting while PhD-ing
This one might not be for everyone, and I’ve had to pull back at times. I was always taught to jump straight into writing and have things on paper in the early stages of research. For my PhD, this felt challenging when I was initially trying to get the scope of research questions and an introductory chapter right. Then it felt overwhelming later on as I returned to restructure my early writing. For me, at this point in the PhD journey, it’s been helpful to write articles and present while working on my thesis. It’s provided me with structure and achievements to celebrate along the way.
Four: Finding connections
I love being around people, though doing a PhD part-time while working full-time can present some challenges when it comes to this. People describe leadership as lonely, and I’ve seen the same conversations around PhDs. When doing a PhD, you’re not necessarily at the same stage in your research as your peers, and it can be more isolated than other professional spaces (especially as a part-timer). Having a supportive wife, solid professional network, opportunities to share my research, and meeting a peer at the same stage as me through my board work has made a difference.
Five: Finding ways around things that just don’t work
I initially tried to transcribe interview recordings myself. I’d done it before (on a much smaller scale) and didn’t anticipate it would be such a challenge. Unexpectedly, self-transcribing interviews became the thing that threatened to break me. Given an auditory disability, it was a struggle. Eventually, I had to outsource interview transcription. On a different note, with quantitative data recently, I’ve been persistent with debugging queries and learning to make things work that don’t immediately work. It’s been an enjoyable process!
Six: Looking ahead
Looking ahead and visualising the end goal, finishing my PhD, adds the final piece. I’m excited to be contributing to my field and curious about what might lie on the other side of completion research-wise, and what might not. And I want to make it to the other side to find out.