Getting a PhD degree is a serious step. Just like starting a business, climbing the corporate ladder, or becoming a traveling poet, a decision to work towards a doctorate cannot be taken lightly, and it’s almost certainly guaranteed to come with its share of triumphs and disasters. However, going down that path because everybody else does, or because people you respect are telling you so, or simply because it seems like an easy way forward, all this guarantees the share of triumphs to be buried by the avalanche of tremendous, catastrophic disasters.
A PhD degree opens certain doors for those who take it with a pinch of salt. Some may pursue an academic career, and others prefer to enter the industry to work on commercial projects. Others still use their training as an asset in their own business. Crucially, these serious roads need planning, but the rewards are a timely dissertation defense and a fulfilling life. A dissertation proposal writer can help with this planning step.
Step 1: It’s About Money
If you seek a doctorate degree in humanities, you will need money to sustain yourself, and if your choice is STEM, then you will need five times more money to sustain your work. Money in academia seems to come as free money for nothing. However, it only appears this way to those who never applied for a paid position, scholarship, or research grant. Once any of these options are on the table, personal growth and fulfillment are not viable options. Instead, solving dangerous situations like COVID is what you need to talk about.
Step 2: The Where and the Who
Before you finish thinking about money, consider the available possibilities. In some countries, like the US, a doctorate program is treated primarily like a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. You obtain valuable training and knowledge, as well as a diploma with the name of some of the most prestigious universities in the world. The research work you performed is paid with recognition, and the funding for the whole program comes either from scholarships or from your own pocket. If you are lucky, you can get a position as an instructor, but it is far from guaranteed.
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On the other hand, Europe tends to treat PhD students as workers first and aspiring researchers second. For this reason, there are relatively fewer PhD scholarships available in countries like Germany, France, and the UK, than in the US. However, it doesn’t matter when you can choose out of thousands of available paid positions listed on the web, or often not listed at all. Many research groups have so much funding that paying another salary is not a problem when the right person comes into sight. Long story short, it’s Europe.
Step 3: The What
A doctorate degree is awarded not for time spent studying but for scientific results. The best advice here is to play to your strengths and not care about weaknesses since nobody else will. For example, if you studied bacteria for your master’s degree, deciding to pursue a doctorate in ornithology will not look very reasonable to your future employers. However, following your past research fields too narrowly will shut you off from many opportunities you would be exceptionally qualified for and could find inspiring.
Step 4: The How
In the modern work environment, it is the norm to send 100 proposals to receive a handful of invitations. The worst thing to do at this point is to despair because it is, at large, the only option that disqualifies you from pursuing a PhD degree. A dissertation proposal writer can help you pile through these problems by providing a fresh perspective on your strengths.
Most available PhD positions have a roughly defined research topic funded by a specific research grant. In other words, money can be paid only if you work in a certain direction for which the public has already paid. Your task is to play to your strengths and suggest a few twists to the proposed research plan. People tend to prefer someone with a spark to someone reliable but boring.
Step 6: The Final Run
Write, send, repeat. The most difficult part is to write and send the first couple of proposals. Once these are done, you have a template on your hands, and you have most certainly found several stupid mistakes you broadcasted to your potential future supervisor. A dissertation proposal writer could provide this template. At this point, it becomes much easier to focus on the content of your proposals. Make things easy for the reader by focusing on how you can help and not on why you think you are a good match. Taking yourself lightly seems to be the best advice to follow at this point.
