The Unruly PhD: Doubts, Detours, Departures, and Other Success Stories

185 Pages·2014·2.262 MB·English

by  Rebecca Peabody (auth.)

The Unruly PhD
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The Unruly PhD

Doubts, Detours, Departures, and
Other Success Stories
R P
EBECCA EABODY
THE UNRULY PHD
Copyright © Rebecca Peabody, 2014.
Reprint of the original edition 2014
All rights reserved.
First published in 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-137-37310-6 ISBN 978-1-137-31946-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137319463
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peabody, Rebecca.
The unruly PhD : doubts, detours, departures, and other success
stories / by Rebecca Peabody.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Doctor of philosophy degree. 2. Doctoral students—Interviews.
3. Doctoral students—Attitudes. I. Title.
LB2386.P43 2014
378.2—dc23 2014005089
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: August 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
Part I PhDs in Academia
1 Derek 3
2 Josephine 17
3 Jennifer 29
Interview: Kathlyn “Kara” Cooney 41
Sidebar 1: What It Took to Get It Done 55
Part II PhDs Beyond Academia
4 Anika 61
5 Gabriel 75
6 Kerry 89
Interview: Peter Weller 101
Interview: Karen Kelsky 113
Sidebar 2: What I Know Now That I Wish I
Knew Then 123
vi Contents
Part III PhDs Redirected
7 Rodrigo 127
8 Jason 139
9 Tony 153
Interview: Lauren Willig 167
Join the Conversation 177
Index 179
Acknowledgments

To everyone who shared their stories with me, and to Sam, who
always listens to mine.
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Introduction

This is not a book about whether you should, or should not, go

to graduate school; neither is it a how-to guide for surviving the
experience—at least not in the traditional sense. It is, instead,
a collection of first-person stories from real people—all with
unique, unpredictable, sometimes messy lives—who are hap-
pily and successfully on the other side of a PhD, and willing
to speak frankly about the challenges and decisions they faced
along the way. It presumes a readership that is already con-
vinced of the value of a PhD, and is interested in learning how
others have navigated this complicated, rewarding experience,
and to what uses—academic and otherwise—graduate educa-
tion is being put.
An unruly PhD is one that defies expectations, but not nec-
essarily on purpose. It diverges—sometimes wildly—from the
orderly progression of academic accomplishments presupposed
by programs and funding agencies. Life gets in the way. Earning
a living doesn’t leave enough time for research, or maybe other
opportunities beckon. Partners and children take priority. The
dissertation topic goes stale, or is scooped, or vetoed by advi-
sors. A short break turns into months or years—or becomes
permanent. Things feel out of control, and the challenge of fin-
ishing takes on mythological proportions, while the pressure
to make it all count for something mounts. It’s impossible—it
can’t be done! But it can’t go on—it’s got to end! And then it’s
over, one way or another, and looking back, you can’t imagine