Things No One Tells You About Getting a PhD

How to get a PhD is not common knowledge. What it entails can be especially elusive for non-traditional students, students from underrepresented and traditionally minoritized groups, international students studying abroad, as well as first-generation and low income students. In this article, Another Degree mentor Priyanka, PhD examines the things no one tells you about getting a PhD. She explores 14 myths and misunderstandings many students make about doctoral education by contrasting the undergraduate and PhD experiences. From research and advisor relationships to academic culture, career preparation, and resilience through rejection and uncertainty, she explores the realities that shape success and personal growth in doctoral programs. Understanding these dynamics can help applicants build stronger PhD applications, while offering current graduate students a framework for navigating the challenges of research, dissertation work, and professional development with intention. Dr. Priyanka is among the many mentors at Another Degree who support students from graduate school admissions through dissertation completion and beyond.

Applying to a PhD program can feel exciting, intimidating, and mysterious all at once. As an undergraduate, you may imagine a PhD as the next “level” of school: more advanced classes, harder exams, and eventually a degree that allows you to become an expert. But doctoral education is not simply advanced coursework; it is a process of research training, professional socialization, and identity development into an independent scholar or researcher [1-4].

Before you apply, here are some things no one tells you clearly enough about what a PhD is really like.

1. A PhD Is Not Like Undergrad

In college, your life is usually structured around classes, assignments, exams, deadlines, and grades. You know what is expected, and you often get regular feedback through scores or evaluations. A PhD is much less structured. After the initial coursework, there may be no clear syllabus telling you what to do next. Your dissertation project may take years, and progress will not always come with immediate feedback or visible rewards [1,3,5].

This is why self-discipline matters so much. In a PhD, you have to create your own structure, set your own deadlines, and keep yourself moving even when no one is checking in every week. Gardner’s work on doctoral independence describes this transition as a gradual shift from structured student work toward self-directed research judgment [3].

2. You Are Applying to Become a Researcher, Not Just a Student

One of the biggest shifts from undergrad to PhD is identity. You are no longer only a student learning what others have discovered. You are training to create new knowledge yourself [1-4].

That means your application should not only say, “I like this subject.” It should show that you are curious, research-oriented, persistent, and ready to ask questions that do not yet have clear answers. Doctoral education has repeatedly been described as a form of professional socialization into the values, practices, and expectations of a research community [2,4].

3. Your Research Topic Will Probably Change

Many undergraduates feel pressure to know their exact research question before applying. It is helpful to have clear interests, but you do not need to have your entire dissertation figured out. Doctoral research develops through uncertainty, feedback, changing evidence, and interaction with advisors, peers, and disciplinary norms [3,4,6].

In fact, most PhD projects evolve. You may begin with one idea and later discover that the methods do not work, the data do not support the original hypothesis, or a more interesting question emerges. A strong PhD student is not someone who has all the answers. It is someone who can keep thinking, adapting, and moving forward [3,6]

4. You Will Face Rejection Often

Rejection is built into academic life. During a PhD, students may face rejection from fellowships, grants, conference abstracts, journal submissions, proposals, awards, and jobs. Doctoral persistence depends not only on intellectual ability, but also on support, belonging, motivation, feedback, and resilience across a long training period [6-8].

But rejection in research is not a sign that you do not belong. It is part of the process. A PhD teaches you to revise, resubmit, rethink, take a break, and try again. Over time, you learn that one rejection does not define your ability or future [6,8].

5. Progress Often Looks Invisible

In undergrad, progress is easier to measure. You complete a paper, take an exam, finish a course, and receive a grade. In a PhD, progress can look like reading for weeks, troubleshooting code, rewriting the same paragraph ten times, running analyses that fail, or realizing that your original idea needs to change [3,6].

Generated by prompt using Google Gemini (2026)

This can feel discouraging because the work may not immediately produce visible outcomes. But invisible work is still work. Reading, thinking, revising, failing, and trying again are central parts of research training and doctoral development [3,6].

6. Your Research Is Only One Part of the PhD

Most applicants focus on research, and research is important. But a PhD also trains you in many other skills: project management, communication, writing, teaching, collaboration, mentoring, networking, self-advocacy, and professional decision-making. National reports on graduate STEM education emphasize that doctoral training should include both disciplinary research expertise and broader professional competencies [1,9].

This is part of the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school: the informal knowledge, expectations, norms, and survival skills that are rarely explained directly but are essential for succeeding [4,10].

7. Your Advisor Matters — A Lot

When applying to PhD programs, do not only look at the university name or ranking. Pay close attention to potential advisors and lab environments. Research on doctoral persistence consistently identifies advising, mentoring, departmental culture, and student–advisor relationships as major influences on doctoral success and well-being [5-8,11].

Your advisor is not just a professor. They may become your mentor, supervisor, collaborator, evaluator, and professional guide. A good mentor can help you grow, build confidence, publish, network, and navigate difficult moments. Effective mentorship is widely recognized as central to STEMM training.¹¹

Before choosing a program, ask current students about the lab culture, advising style, funding, expectations, and student well-being. These questions are not “extra”; they are central to assessing whether the environment will support your growth [5,7,11].

8. A PhD Is a Long-Term Commitment, But Not a Life Sentence

A PhD is a major commitment. You may spend five or more years working on a project, in a lab, with an advisor, and within a specific field. Doctoral completion and attrition research shows that the PhD is a long and demanding pathway shaped by academic, social, financial, mentoring, and institutional factors [5-8].

But a PhD is not a life sentence. Your interests can change. Your goals can evolve. Many students enter PhD programs thinking they must become professors, but doctoral graduates pursue a wide range of careers in academia, industry, government, policy, consulting, teaching, science communication, nonprofits, and other sectors [1,9,12,13].

9. Your Life Does Not Have to Stop

Many undergraduates worry that a PhD means putting life on hold. While graduate school can be intense, your personal life does not have to disappear. Research on graduate education and well-being increasingly emphasizes sustainability, work–life balance, belonging, social support, and healthy mentoring environments [6-8].

The key is learning how to build a sustainable life alongside your academic work. A healthy PhD experience is not one where you sacrifice everything. It is one where you learn how to protect your time, energy, relationships, and well-being [6-8].

10. The Emotional Labor Is Real

A PhD can be emotionally challenging. Students may experience isolation, comparison, imposter feelings, burnout, anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. Multiple studies have documented elevated mental-health concerns among doctoral and graduate students, with work organization, advisor relationships, and work–life conflict playing important roles [7,8].

This is especially important for undergraduates to understand because many applicants assume that getting into a PhD program will finally prove they are “good enough.” But graduate school can still bring self-doubt, even for very capable people. Having support systems matters: friends, mentors, peers, therapy, family, community, and hobbies outside the PhD can help you stay grounded [6-8,11].

11. You Become Independent Before You Feel Ready

A PhD is designed to make you independent. That means you will eventually be expected to make decisions, defend your ideas, interpret your results, and decide what direction your work should take. Gardner’s study of doctoral students describes independence as a developmental process that students often experience as ambiguous, uneven, and emotionally demanding [3].

At first, this can feel scary. You may wish someone would simply tell you the right answer. But the point of doctoral training is to help you develop your own judgment. You become independent by practicing independence, often before you feel fully ready [3,4].

12. You May Outgrow the Version of Yourself Who Applied

The person who applies to PhD programs may not be the same person who finishes one. Doctoral education is not only technical training; it is also a process of professional identity formation, socialization, and personal development [2-4,6].

Your research interests may change. Your career goals may change. Your definition of success may change. You may discover new strengths, new limits, and new priorities. That does not mean you chose wrong. It means you grew [3,6,12].

13. Finishing May Not Feel Like a Movie Moment

Many students imagine that finishing a PhD will feel like one huge moment of victory. Sometimes it does. But sometimes it feels quiet, exhausting, surreal, or anticlimactic. Doctoral completion represents the end of a long, complex process involving intellectual work, identity development, institutional navigation, mentoring relationships, and personal persistence [3,5,6].

That does not make the achievement any less meaningful. It simply reflects how long and demanding the process can be. The reward of a PhD is not only the final title. It is the person you become along the way [3,6].

14. A PhD Teaches You How to Think

At its core, a PhD teaches you how to think through uncertainty. You learn how to ask better questions, evaluate evidence, tolerate complexity, revise your assumptions, communicate ideas clearly, and create knowledge where none existed before. National recommendations for graduate education emphasize deep disciplinary knowledge, research skills, communication, collaboration, leadership, professionalism, and preparation for diverse career paths [1,9,12].

These skills matter far beyond academia. Whether you become a professor, scientist, industry researcher, educator, consultant, policy expert, or something else entirely, a PhD trains you to approach difficult problems with depth, discipline, and creativity [1,9,12,13].

Final Advice for Undergraduates Applying to PhD Programs

Do not apply to a PhD only because you like school or because you are unsure what else to do next. Apply because you are curious about research, willing to sit with uncertainty, ready to grow through feedback, and interested in becoming an independent thinker [1-4].

A PhD is hard, but it can also be deeply meaningful. It will challenge you, stretch you, and change you. The goal is not just to get the degree. The goal is to become someone who can ask important questions and keep going until you find better answers [3,6].

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References

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2018). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/25038 / NAP page: https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/25038 (National Academies)

2. Austin, A. E. Preparing the next generation of faculty: graduate school as socialization to the academic career. J. Higher Educ. 73, 94–122 (2002). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2002.11777132 (Taylor & Francis Online)

3. Gardner, S. K. “What’s too much and what’s too little?”: the process of becoming an independent researcher in doctoral education. J. Higher Educ. 79, 326–350 (2008). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2008.11772101 (Taylor & Francis Online)

4. Weidman, J. C., Twale, D. J. & Stein, E. L. Socialization of Graduate and Professional Students in Higher Education: A Perilous Passage? ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report 28(3) (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2001). Library page: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3582428M/Socialization_of_graduate_and_professional_students_in_higher_education (Open Library)

5. Lovitts, B. E. Leaving the Ivory Tower: The Causes and Consequences of Departure from Doctoral Study (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2001). Publisher page: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/leaving-the-ivory-tower-9780585383644/ (Bloomsbury Publishing)

6. Sverdlik, A., Hall, N. C., McAlpine, L. & Hubbard, K. The PhD experience: a review of the factors influencing doctoral students’ completion, achievement, and well-being. Int. J. Dr. Stud. 13, 361–388 (2018). Article page: https://www.informingscience.org/Publications/4113 (Informing Science Institute)

7. Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J. & Gisle, L. Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Res. Policy 46, 868–879 (2017). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.02.008 (Almendron)

8. Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T. & Vanderford, N. L. Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat. Biotechnol. 36, 282–284 (2018). Article page: https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4089 / PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29509732/ (Nature)

9. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/25568 / NAP page: https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/25568 (National Academies)

10. Elliot, D. L., Bengtsen, S. S. E., Guccione, K. & Kobayashi, S. The Hidden Curriculum in Doctoral Education (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020). Publisher page: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-41497-9 (Springer)

11. Pfund, C., Byars-Winston, A., Branchaw, J., Hurtado, S. & Eagan, K. Defining attributes and metrics of effective research mentoring relationships. AIDS Behav. 20, 238–248 (2016). Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4995122/ / PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27062425/ (PMC)

12. Wendler, C. et al. Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers (Educational Testing Service, Princeton, 2012). ETS page: https://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/publications/report/2012/jeqt.html / ERIC page: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED531249 (ETS)

13. Meyers, F. J. et al. The origin and implementation of the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training programs: an NIH common fund initiative. FASEB J. 30, 507–514 (2016). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.15-276139 / Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6188226/ (faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)