Episode 5 - 13 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting My PhD Program: Part 2 [Connection]
What are some things that you think an individual should know before they begin a PhD journey? On this episode, I share four more things (things 6 – 9 out of 13 things) that I wish I had known before starting my PhD program. This episode is part two of a three part segment, so please also check out the other parts/episodes.
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Here is a transcription of Episode 5:
0:17 : Hello, and welcome to the Broke PhD Podcast. I'm your host, Dr G.
0:23: This episode of Broke PhD Podcast will be part two of a three-part segment titled “13 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting My PhD Program.” If you have not done so already, please take a moment to check out and listen to part one of this three-part segment where I shared the first five things that I wish I'd known before starting my PhD program. Again, the theme of those first five things was that of challenges. All of the things that I shared in some way had reflected the challenges that I had encountered while navigating my PhD journey.
0:57: On this episode, I will share things six through nine out of the 13 things that I wish I had known before starting my PhD program. The theme that these four things collectively fall under is connection. All of these things in some way reflect the different points of connection that I encountered throughout my PhD program.
1:17: The sixth thing that I wish I had known about was just how much my passion for my field would be reignited through learning more about it and through conducting my own research study. This sixth thing reflects a strengthening of my connection with my field, that being special education. I would find through my coursework and through my research that the more I was able to learn about my field, the more my overall passion for the field would grow. I do wish I would have known this prior to starting my program, as it might have motivated me to want to do my program even earlier. I also wish I would have known that your program can hold the power to aid in deepening the passion you have for your field. Now, in looking at all perspectives, I'm sure that there are some listeners out there that might have had the opposite occur. Where going through your program actually made you realize that you did not have as deep of a passion for your field as you thought you did. Or where going through your program, aided you in discovering a passion for another interest area that you didn't know about prior. If that resonates with you, please feel free to reach out via the podcast website, brokephdpodcast.com, or via any of the social media platforms and share your story as I would love to hear about your experience. I guess one truly cannot predict the exact outcomes that can happen from embarking on a PhD or graduate school journey. Again, I wish I had known just how much my passion and my connection to my field was going to be strengthened through going through my program.
2:49: The seventh thing that I wish I had known is just how important advisors and mentors would be in making your experience that much more positive. The seventh thing reflected the connection one should make with their advisors or mentors during a PhD program. For my own journey, I had two advisors aiding me throughout. We were all individuals with very strong personalities, so we collectively had our fair share of disagreements. But through it all, they continued to encourage me and support me, even during those times that we didn't see eye to eye. Them being there and giving their support and encouragement and insight and sharing their knowledge, aided me with being more successful in my program. In addition to my advisors, I also made it a point to try to connect with others in my field, gaining unofficial mentors. These individuals would share their insights and knowledge and experiences with me. Through hearing their stories, it aided me with more quickly learning what to do and what not to do if I ever encountered a similar situation. I also had individuals outside of my advisors to turn to when I needed a spark of inspiration, or when I needed an extra ear to listen to me when I was looking to run some ideas by someone. In hindsight, I wish I would have known just how crucial the right advisors can be, along with how important additional mentors can be in aiding you along your journey, as I would have made it a point to try to connect with more mentors during my own program.
4:23: The eighth thing that I wish I had known is that you should not be afraid to reach out to someone in your field or to create your own opportunities. This eighth thing reflected the connection with experts in the field that can aid an individual along their own journey. For my coursework, several assignments called on me to create learning modules for my colleagues. Rather than just doing the bare minimum and putting up a lecture video, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to create more engaging experiences for myself and for my colleagues. So as such, I tried to incorporate live Zoom discussions into the learning materials that I would share with my peers. During these live Zoom discussions, I would ask an expert or a researcher to engage in a discussion with my peers, talking about the specific area that we were focused on for that learning module or allowing them just to ask open-ended questions to pick their brains in real time. The individuals I was able to get for these sessions I had to reach out to them and contact them on my own. Which initially was very scary, but I managed to build up enough courage and just go for it. Once I got the first yes and the first positive response, I realized that there were so many individuals in my field and probably in other fields that just want to share their expertise and share their experiences with others. I feel so much that me, personally, I would see a name in a research article or in a publication and I would think this person was unattainable and whether we realize we're doing it or not, we put these individuals on a pedestal and we make them seem untouchable or unattainable. But most of the time they wanna interact with those that are reading their publications or reading about their research. And wanna engage in conversation with those that are currently going through programs. So for you listeners out there, I really encourage you just to reach out to a professor or a researcher or an individual whose publication or works or research that you are currently reading about or that you have a passion and an interest for, because you never know where that conversation and that connection can go.
6:41: I personally have been able to create my own opportunities and create my own connections just by simply sending an e-mail to an individual whose name I had read in a publication or research manuscript. One of the times that I reached out to an individual, it led for me to have an opportunity to volunteer in a lab for one of the scholars in my field whose research I was passionate about and who had shared similar research interests as my own. Additionally, another individual that I had reached out because I needed to do an interview for a course assignment, it led to me being able to use one of their assessments and adapt it in my own dissertation research. So again, I truly encourage all of you listeners out there just to reach out and give it a try. Because the worst that can happen is someone can say “no” or that you get no response. But on the flip side, you could be standing in your own way from an amazing opportunity just by not sending an e-mail or a message and not even trying in the first place.
7:45: The ninth thing that I wish I had known was just how important it was to network and build a community of colleagues. This ninth thing reflected my connection with my peers and colleagues. One avenue that I used to aid me in networking was attending conferences. In my program I was not required to attend any conferences, and so I made it my own point to find different ones to go to or I would take suggestions from individuals that I would encounter and try to attend them on my own. I would use it as an opportunity to present my research and to gain skills in public speaking so that I was better prepared when it came to my dissertation defense. At these conferences, I was able to make connections with other colleagues who were outside of my program and who had similar interest as my own, whether it be in my field or outside of my field. But we found that we had similar thoughts and similar ideas, and those initial connections at these conferences led to us teaming up and presenting at future conferences together. So for me going out and finding initial conferences to go to, it allowed me to develop connections with colleagues at other schools who were in other programs and opened itself up to allow me to have more presentation opportunities that I was able to add to my CV/resume.
9:07: Another avenue that I used for connecting with peers was through student groups or through professional groups or associations. I was a part of a student group that was specifically for students in my program, and this group put on events and Zoom sessions that allowed us to connect with others in our program outside of our coursework and outside of any assignment work that we might have been collaborating on. The student group provided us with opportunities to virtually connect so that we could vent and share about the ongoings of our programs or where we were and to have another outlet to engage in conversation with one another so that we could understand that we were not alone in our feelings and in our thoughts and in our experiences. In addition to the student group at my school, I was also a member of various professional groups, and I was able to connect with others who were at various points of their doctoral or graduate school journey, who shared similar research and similar interest areas as my own. These various professional groups would also put on virtual events that allowed individuals in programs to connect with one another, again providing an additional space to allow us all to either vent or just to chat about different ideas that we wanted to bounce off of another individual.
10:30: So in summary, things six through nine that I wish I would have known before starting my PhD journey were six, how much a program could reignite your passion for your field through learning more about it and through conducting your research study, seven, how important advisors and mentors would be in making your experience that much more positive, eight, that you should not be afraid to reach out to someone in your field or to create your own opportunities, and nine, how important networking is and how important it is to build a community of colleagues. After hearing these additional four things that I wish I would have known before starting my PhD journey, I call on you, the listeners, to pause and reflect about anything else that you would have added to this list of things. What additional things should an individual know before beginning a PhD journey? I asked you to please share your ideas via the podcast website, brokephdpodcast.com, or via any of the social media platforms.
11:35: Please also check out parts one and three of this three-part segment, and hopefully all of the things I share can aid you as you navigate along your doctoral or graduate school journey.
11:46: Again, I truly share about my experiences with the hopes that even one listener out there can feel less alone. I know embarking on a graduate school journey or any type of educational journey is not an easy feat. Personally, I felt alone when going through this process, but again, it helped when I was able to talk with peers and it allowed me to realize that others had similar thoughts and similar experiences as my own. So I call on you, the listeners, to please share this podcast with your peers and to engage in conversation with your colleagues so that you all can navigate this journey collectively. Rather than feeling like you were each braving storms on your own.
12:25: Well that concludes this episode but I am so excited to have you on this journey with me. So please hit that subscribe button or that follow button and please check out the website -brokephdpodcast.com - to continue to follow along. Thank you for listening and no matter where you are in your own journey, remember – YOU GOT THIS! Again, I'm your host, Dr. G, and I hope you have a wonderful day!