What is your motivation to learn something? What is your motivation to become a Ph.D. student? No, I do not ask simply formal questions. I ask you to think about what is your deep true motivation. Why are you here? What do you want to take with you from this experience? What are your dreams? Whom do you imagine yourself becoming after you get the title Dr. <your name>?
There can be hundreds of different answers to these questions. And it is OK! And all of them can be the right ones because there is no "one-PhD-path-fits-all". Some students are here to become a researcher, some see themselves as future professors, some students just want a particular experience and skills, some students want to dive deep into the very particular context of their research, and others are rather interested in grasping the methodology and are quite neutral about the research topic. Some Ph.D. students are more practical, others are more theoretically inclined. Nothing wrong with any of this. It is all OK!
But one thing is not OK! It is not OK to be a Ph.D. student just because of your guide. It is not OK to become a scholar in an attempt to please your guide. It is not OK to worry too much if your actions will disappoint your guide. It is not OK to give all the responsibility for your Ph.D. journey to the hands of your guide. It is not OK to expect to rely on your guide's judgment to the extent that you do not need to make your own decisions. It is not OK to ask a guide to ask him/her to pick a Ph.D. topic for you.
Yes, I know, we all (or the majority of us, who are from the Eastern part of the world) grew up in the hierarchical system. We all remember feeling scared of failing the exam, getting bad grades, disappointing our favorite teacher, or even (in some sad cases) being punished by our parents for the bad marks in school. Unfortunately, we grew up observing and absorbing this obeying mentality when the teacher is right and we are wrong, when a teacher has power over us, when a teacher will tell us what to do, when a teacher has the power to make us feel happy or sad depending on their today's mood. And even double or triple unfortunately, we have learned to please our teachers, to rely on their judgments, to seek their protection even paying the price of compromising our feelings or interests.
But, let's look at things chronologically. Who has more potential to contribute to the future? Who has more dreams to make true? What is your answer? Of course, student! A student might have accumulated less knowledge and experience for now, but it is a student who will create the future. A student is full of unfulfilled desires, dreams, and ideas. Not all of them can be the best ones. But how do we know unless we try it out, unless we make mistakes, learn from mistakes, stand up, and go again? A teacher, instead, has the knowledge, wisdom, a wider perspective, and professional intuition. A teacher might support a student, provide more clarity on things, advise the simpler way to do things, and introduce a student to the terminology and previous lessons learned. A teacher is a foundation, ground, and scaffolding system. A teacher can allow a student to lean on him/her for a little bit when a student is confused or lost. But it is only possible if a student is clear about their goal beyond of the studying process, about the big WHY they started this Ph.D. journey, and about their personal dreams and aspirations. A teacher cannot help a student to reach a goal if a student does not have a goal. Just imagine, if a person on the street comes to you and asks you to show him a direction. Even if you know this city very well, you would probably expect this person first to clarify their destination point before you can start explaining the route. Right?
I humbly ask you now, please, do not place your teacher in the position of your guru! A teacher will guide you and advice you when you are clear about what you need from your life and what type of support you need from your teacher. Yes, in the beginning, your research guide sees more things and can help you to shape your growing research vision. He/she may or may not choose to protect you from your academic mistakes, however. It will depend on your end goal, which you have in your mind. And this goal should be clear for you, first, and you should share it with your guide so he/she will help you to find YOUR way to reach there.
If your goal becomes to please your guide, be aware that it is a dead end. Why? Because your guide stays behind you, supporting you in the ways he/she can so you would grow and outgrow them in the future. If you focus on pleasing your teacher ONLY, you will always keep looking backward, which means "to the past". No, dear student, your job is to always look to the future, to dare to experiment, make mistakes, ask hundreds of questions to your guide, constantly challenge your current thoughts and beliefs, and not be scared to challenge your teacher as well.
Yes, you shall be obedient and faithful to your teacher to be able to learn from him/her. At the beginning of your Ph.D. journey, your guide knows more than you, indeed. But the goal of this path is that by the end of your Ph.D. journey, you would know more than your guide in your particular narrow research area. So, you have to be inspired and dedicated NOT to be a good student or to make your guide be pleased for the sake of it, you have to be inspired and dedicated to your big goal and your vision so that your guide eventually will have a chance to proud of you and of the fact that he/she was you teacher!
Dear Ph.D. student, please remember that your guide will not solve your problems, will not do things for you, and will not tell you what to do. If you want to be told what to do, please reconsider your choices. Academia would be the wrong place for you, my friend. But if you chose this path, please remember that your Ph.D. guide is here for supporting you in becoming an independent researcher. What does it mean? A researcher is not about black and white, he/she will never say what is right and what is wrong. A researcher says: "it depends on the goal, it depends on the research question." A researcher does not reject your approach or an idea, but he/she asks you to convince them and the research community in why your approach is reasonable for that particular narrow research problem. And your guide's job is to challenge you in order to support your independent research growth.
These are my thoughts here for you not to follow, but to think about what is your true motivation. I will be happy to hear from you and discuss this topic with you further.
Comments