Having a part-time job as a PhD student can be a way to earn more money and live more comfortably but, it also has a downside. It can also be a huge distraction and stop you from focusing on your primary goal which should be working towards your PhD. The good news is that there … Read more

Throughout my 15 years in academia, I have seen several PhD student office configurations. There have been dedicated PhD rooms, private shared offices, and full open-plan offices to accommodate PhD students. Typically, the PhD students are located near their primary supervisor and head of the research group. However, this is not always the case. A … Read more

Many PhD students and graduates toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher in a high school. After getting to the end of the PhD many PhD graduates struggle to find a job in academia and many turn to education as a potential career path. However, can a PhD teach in a high school without … Read more

The final piece of the PhD journey is the PhD dissertation. It takes many years to accumulate enough original and new data to fill out a dissertation to the satisfaction of experts in your field. Interestingly, the PhD dissertation length and content vary significantly based on the field you are studying and the publishing conventions. … Read more

Getting a PhD is a long and difficult process. However, just because you have completed a PhD, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be revoked for a wide range of reasons. Although it is incredibly rare, a PhD can be revoked due to the publication of fraudulent data, chronic plagiarism, misrepresenting findings, as well as … Read more

Academia is an antiquated place with rules and etiquette around many aspects of terminology for students and candidates. There is a very strict definition which helps you decide whether or not to use master’s student vs candidate. Strictly speaking, it is best to use master’s student for most of the degree. A master’s candidate is … Read more

Email is the cornerstone of academic information exchange. Emails are used to reach out to potential collaborators, purchase equipment for your PhD, and communicate with other PhD students and academics. It is so important that your PhD student email signature contains all the important information in an easy-to-read layout. The best PhD student email signature … Read more

When referring to yourself, or someone else, what is the right way to say that someone is a PhD student or has a PhD? It can be pretty confusing and troublesome because there are a load of different conventions in academia that not all people are aware of. Luckily, deciding whether to say PhD student … Read more

The term “Dr” is very prestigious and projects expertise and respect in those who use it. There is a long and complicated history with the doctor title and who should (and shouldn’t) use it. Medical doctors, lecturers, and other medical professionals use it, but where did it come from and is a PhD a doctor? … Read more