As we spoke about in rule number one, you may sometimes feel that you’re about to panic. It may then be useful to take a deep breath, and gain some perspective on what a PhD actually is. Whether you’re new or old in this PhD game (because it is very much a game with rules and bosses and whatnot; we’ll get to those later) Matt Might’s illustrated guide to a PhD is always very enlightening and is here reproduced in full.
Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge:
By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little:
By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more:
With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty:
A master's degree deepens that specialty:
Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge:
Once you're at the boundary, you focus:
You push at the boundary for a few years:
Until one day, the boundary gives way:
And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D.:
Of course, the world looks different to you now:
So, don't forget the bigger picture:
Keep pushing.
That was nice, wasn't it?
If you feel very small and insignificant looking at that tiny tiny pimple on the huge circle, don't worry. Just keep swimming. I mean reading.
Go directly to Part 3 or use the top menu.