On Friday, I graduated from Texas A&M University with my PhD in Education. The process from entry to end took me nine years. Nine years of driving from Fort Worth to College Station. Nine years of navigating through Higher Education politics. Nine years of balancing family, work, study, and writing.
My degree is already sitting, framed, in the living room; and I can’t stop tearing up everytime it catches my eye. This journey has been long and difficult, but incredibly rewarding. Since Christmas is this week, I thought I’d offer twelve gifts available by completing a PhD. If you’re considering enrolling in a PhD program, you can weigh the value of these gifts against the costs awaiting you. I offer twelve because I’m an Aggie, and well, twelve is what Aggies do.
1. Sense of Satisfaction
Completing a nine-year project–of which many days seemed insurmountable–ranks among the top ten most fulfilling emotions of my life. Graduation has an addicting feeling; there won’t be anymore school, but I’ll replicate that emotion in the future completion of books and blogs. The PhD gives the gift of satisfaction.
2. Confidence in Complications
The number of challenges faced by every doctoral candidate is difficult. My story involves facing (and overcoming) heart failure, four trips to the emergency room, a couple of legitimate life-threatening circumstances, and surgery. Each of these are obstacles that aim to thwart finding the finish line. A deep confidence comes when you face those challenges, defeat them, and find yourself breaking the finish tape. I know the source of strength and have seen it at work. The PhD gives the gift of confidence.
3. Clarity in Coherence
Doctoral candidates must give a reason for every decision they make. This is the juncture at which you realize you don’t have good reasons for most of the decisions you make. Learning to think rationally becomes a habit of graduate school, and I’m grateful for the balance it brought to my thinking. The PhD gives the gift of rational thought.
4. Ability to Answer
A dissertation aims to solve a problem. Without a problem, the student has no dissertation. It turns out defining and focusing the problem you wish to solve is not a simple task. I’ve discovered a new set of skills for finding solutions. The PhD gives the gift of focused problem-solving.
5. Drafting Dexterity
Doctoral candidates write. They write in the morning and at lunch. They write in the evening and deep into the night. They rewrite the same paragraph dozens of times, trying to find the proper order of words to convey simply the complexity of their solution. The PhD gives a person a writing prowess they never knew was available.
6. Relational Respect
While this may seem superficial, professors offer graduates a new level of admiration. The doctoral graduate has passed their test and entered the academic club; they’re no longer an outsider. The PhD provides the gift of respect.
7. Criticism Callouses
The doctoral candidate is not married to their words. The student’s committee oversees the words, and the candidate faces constant criticism. To complete my dissertation, I had to completely rewrite two chapters. Those changes amounted to over 200 pages of revision. But the gift given by a PhD is found in less sensitivity to outside criticism (don’t be tempted to test this in the comments).
8. Rapid Reading
The doctoral candidate will read in the neighborhood of one thousand articles, dissertations, journal entries, and textbooks during the course of their study. This level of reading is required to achieve expert status and dissertation depth. In order to consume the volume of material, graduate students must read quickly. The PhD provides the givt of improved reading speed.
9. Fresh Friendships
Dissertation writing is incredibly lonely and isolating. But community can be found in such isolation. I’ve been able to develop a new set of friends in the process of graduate school. The PhD provides the gift of deepend relationship.
10. Lengthened Lexicon
Doctoral students seem to have a large vocabulary set at their disposal. They can turn a simple sentence into an indecipherable cacophony of nonsensical meanderings running for seemingly endless lines whose subject/matter agreements are hyroglyphic and recondite even under the most suppositious of circumstances. Nevertheless, the PhD gives students an improved vocabulary–and shrewdness in using a thesaurus.
11. Sleepful Slumbering
The last few nights of sleep have been amazing. The pressure has lifted, the weight is gone, the sleep is deep. Thank You, PhD.
12. A really cool graduation tam
Have you seen the doctoral hat?? A plush, velvety, soft topper. Awesome is the only available word.
Do you have a PhD or doctoral degree? What gifts have you found as a result of your degree? If you haven’t yet earned your doctorate, what gifts would you hope to gain be completing one?