10 Brutally Honest Lessons About Doing A PhD | Real PhD struggles and PhD Stress

Unlock the secret formula to thriving in your PhD: turn the toughest challenges into your biggest triumphs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tfEqh74BPY

1-year PhD student. lost my sleep due to anxiety and stress. Not able to produce my research proposal, still working on it. I was going crazy. But this video opened my eyes. It let me focus on things I can do and avoid things I can't. Thumbs up!

I'm 6 months in - honestly, this should be required viewing for every new PhD student at about the 6 month mark. Thanks Andy!

I was treated like crap by PhD candidates and professors. I was a nice person...and I was a naive person to boot. I saw how chronically exhausted PhD candidates always were, and it was always about kissing the butts, schmoozing the right people, cloistering themselves in their own little, self-centered worlds, stomping on and using other "lesser" people all in that holy quest of publishing and getting ahead, and spending years researching and working for a pittance of a stipend, only to get that PhD. Life is too short to slave away for a PhD for most people, at least it is for me anyway. I've got years of living and earning power over my former "colleagues" who had to pursue their PhDs.

This is great, and it is the same as my experience almost 50 years ago. The only thing I would add is to be open to the help that will come from an unexpected source. I was totally stuck on processing my data, due to the limited computing power available to me at the time, and then my advisor said “I am going to provide you with help from this guy who is an expert with minicomputers.” I provided the programs and the fellow recoded and ran them, and soon the data was analyzed, showing nearly all I expected, with some surprises of course. I had no reason to expect this help, as my advisor barely knew what I was doing, but it saved my four years of effort, and I dedicated my PhD to the programmer. It was a miracle, and I have learned to expect them, but mostly to be open to them.

I am in my second year of PhD, and only lately have I managed to learn and understand all these invaluable lessons. I am still stunned by the staggering difference between my experience as undergrad and master's, compared to that of a PhD student. I was convinced like many that the path before a PhD would serve as preparation to research, but my world was instead overthrown! Utterly flipped inside-out. Up was down, left was right. I am left now wondering why people are kept ignorant of such catastrophe, and are not educated and prepared accordingly (or at least, I wasn't). Secondly, although I am finally coming to terms with all these harsh truths, I can't but think that things could be better, and that a lot of all the struggle a PhD student has do endure could be alleviated. It really feels like it has to be this way and no other, and I fail to see the causal relations determining this conclusion.

What you are saying is in an actual fact the reality of life!! You are in control of your own destiny.

I am just applying for a PhD and this feels important to know

A PhD is something one has to do for themselves as a further road towards edification

Not a PhD student...but listened to this as the best life advice ever.

Many PhD students think their thesis is a magnum opus. It only has to be defensible. It does not have to be 800 pages long. More than 95% of theses in the social sciences and humanities will never be published as a book. So just get it done. Write 1-2 pages a day and take weekends off.

Being your own cheerleader is great life advice in general

I can't help but be so disappointed by my supervisor's lack of support and guidance and it is definitely affecting my mental health.

took me 5 years to get mine. To be frank, I could've done it in 1-2yrs if I was focussed and disciplined. Those 5 years were one of the worst periods of my life. By the time of my viva [UK system] I hated it so much that if the examiners had said change one word I wouldn't have done it!! Thankfully, there were no rewrites. I then ran away from academia as fast as I could ;) My sympathise to anyone going through this right now - make sure you have a life outside of your research - hang out with good, kind people who aren't in academia and have fun. Good luck

Andy, thank you! At the end of my doctoral journey but just lost my daughter, so diving back in has been excruciating. “I am doing all right.” Thanks for the push

I'm a big proponent of doing a PhD later in your career after you have some experience in your field and more financial ressources. You'll have a much clearer view of what you want to do.

I get very emotional when I get feedback from my supervisor. It is usually negative and very straightforward, making me come to tears. I am figuring out a way so it does not affect me so much because it is embarrassing to show vulnerability in public. Thanks for sharing your insights. It makes me see things from a different perspective! :)

You are # 1 Andy! Recently got my doctorate, yes you're telling the brutal truth. Keep it up!

going through my first month of PhD. Gonna binge your hold channel now Andy!

PhD's might also get you turned away from many jobs because you are deemed way overqualified, its better to leave it off your resume if you really need the job you applied for.