Coffee and a Conversation
As Told Over Brunch is a home for intelligent discourse from the twenty-something perspective - so the stuff you gossip about over mimosas on Sunday morning or over takeout on your friend's couch when happy hour ends too early. We love chatting about our lives, whether it be the relationships we’re building (or destroying), lessons we've learned at work, struggles at school, growing pains we've felt, or even the food we’re talking over.
In March, I became a doctor. No, not a medical doctor—but that doesn’t mean I’m less of a doctor. I spent nearly six tortured years in the Ivory Tower, thank you very much.
Becoming a doctor did not immediately feel very different other than when people called me “Doctor” as if a slip of the tongue. When my adviser congratulated me after my defense, he called me “Dr. Williams.”
That’s it? I’m just a doctor now?
Read MoreThe days are growing shorter again. Another winter is approaching. My comrades say each year only gets darker. They’ve begun to ration our coffee intake. Something about our pulses being too fast and causing too much anxiety. I’ve tried to steal some and hide it with my stash of dark chocolate, shot glasses, and dreams and despair.
I don’t know when I’ll make it home again. When I signed on for this, they told me it would be four years. In and out. It seemed so doable. Now, I’m not so sure. August marked the end of the fourth year. There was no celebration. I did take a week of personal time, but I felt judged for leaving my desk.
Read MoreDear everyone,
I know what you're about to ask. We saw each other last week, or we saw each other last year. You're going to ask how am I, or tell me happy Easter or say, "Give me a hug!" and then you're going to ask, "When do you graduate?"
You don't mean undergrad. You want to know when I'm going to finish my PhD. And maybe you'll even say it that way.
You'll ask this question before you even ask what I'm studying. You all know I'm in a PhD program via the family telephone tree, Facebook, and/or the Christmas newsletters from grandma. And maybe you know what I'm studying, but you're most interested in when will I be done.
Read MoreAs a PhD student in my third year, I am constantly challenged with inane questions that I really don't have time to answer on top of figuring out why numbers do crazy things and what does my adviser mean by that comment on my fourth draft. With the help of some fellow grad school friends, I compiled a Q&A for those not in grad school.
How long is your program? With a grain of salt, a master's degrees takes two years, and a PhD takes an additional three years. With that said, a degree typically culminates in this thing called a dissertation, which does not have a set timeline. It's like asking, "How long do you think my child will live?" five minutes after it has emerged from the womb. The answer: Indefinitely. Except, in the case of the PhD, you want that critter to die ASAP.
Read MoreWhen I got into my PhD program, I told myself I would be in and out in four years. No clowning around; I wanted to be in Africa by the end of 2017.
I soon learned that the average sentence for a PhD student in my program is five years. That wasn't going to do. I asked around: How can one escape sooner?
Image courtesy of zole4 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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