I often feel a high degree of anxiety among my PhD students, particularly when they think they are lagging behind in publishing scientific articles. Indeed, a common misapprehension among many doctoral candidates is that maintaining progress in their PhD journey equates to “releasing one research paper annually, beginning from year one.”
Flashback to my days as a PhD student, the scenario was very similar to what they thought. The first significant publication related to my PhD project took me a whopping 3.5 years! Considering the typical Swiss PhD trajectory of up to five years, this might sound like a considerable delay, especially given the added responsibilities of teaching and student supervision. Furthermore, the looming task of publishing three more articles in the remaining 1.5 years felt like a nerve-racking ticking time bomb. But should it have been?
The root cause of such dread lies in the misapprehension that a PhD trajectory should follow a linear trend. Most newcomers in the realm of doctoral studies envision a steady and straightforward path to their expected output. The reality, however, is far from this. Instead, a PhD trajectory often mimics an exponential curve, with the tangible output (read: scientific articles) majorly concentrated in the final couple of years.
One might wonder, why such skewed distribution? And is it ‘normal’?
Embarking on a PhD journey is akin to turning a blank page, where everything begins from zero. You find yourself in a new environment, grappling to understand your project, and familiarizing yourself with various tools, instruments, or programming languages. As you learn how to plan experiments, inevitably, some will fail, and you begin again. You analyze data, engage in discussions with your supervisors, conduct more experiments, and eventually, draft a paper. Navigating your way through feedback loops, revisions, resubmissions, you realize that academic writing is a whole new ball game. It’s a painstaking process, often marred by delays, until finally, your article sees the light of day, or sometimes not (like my very first article that was rejected on my birthday!)
The difference between expectations and reality – most of the output is delivered in the last months/years of the PhD trajectory. Copyright I. Kohler (2023). All rights reserved.
Such experiences, although disheartening, are entirely normal and incredibly common. They do not signify an inevitable failure in completing your PhD on time.
Doing research and publishing scientific articles demands a colossal investment of time and energy to build essential skills. The absence of immediate outcomes in the initial years should not be mistaken for stagnation. Instead, it’s a period of accumulating a wealth of knowledge that will be indispensable later on. The exponential nature of this process stems from the fact that as your expertise grows, you’ll be able to handle multiple tasks concurrently and more efficiently.
Drawing from my personal journey, despite the initial 3.5 years of seeming unproductivity, I successfully published two additional papers in the same year, submitted one more before presenting my thesis to the committee, and managed to graduate on time.
Every PhD journey is unique, being shaped by multiple factors that often lay beyond your control. Uncooperative equipment, slow feedback from supervisors, sheer luck (or lack thereof), or even an unexpected event like a pandemic, can influence your progress. Comparisons with peers can be disheartening, but contrasting your current self with past versions can reveal the significant learning and progress you’ve made.
Remember, your PhD journey isn’t a race against time or others, but a unique process of personal and professional growth. Acknowledge every little thing you learn, and embrace the exponential curve. Your PhD is much more about the journey than it is about the destination.
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