I’m writing a few posts here about finishing my PhD studies; it’s probably appropriate that I try to put down some thoughts after coming to the end of such a journey – and, in typically academic fashion, I think that writing is thinking. Something that I’ve been reflecting on lately is the notion of timing. When I started the PhD, I was offered a scholarship that would have provided me with a stipend if I worked full-time; it was not an offer I could take up, mostly because I had a mortgage and was working full time as a teacher, but there was some encouragement to think about doing the PhD as quickly as I could. I had also read some material that suggested that even part time PhDs, in Education, at least, were usually completed between 3.5 and 5 years.
To be fair, my plans were certainly to complete it in that time frame. Life, however, got in the way. We had two children, I changed jobs twice, we renovated the house all through the course of doing the PhD and, in hindsight, I’m kind of glad that this was the case. In the end, I took almost 8.5 years to finish the PhD, from enrolment to graduation ceremony – and that was pretty much the maximum allowed amount of time. In fact, I applied for a bit of an extension, and was knocked back – another decision that was good, in hindsight, although it causes a fair amount of panic at the time.
Why were the eight years so valuable? Well, I think that it allowed me to fully experience not just what it meant to be a PhD student, but to be a part of academia – which is no mean feat when you consider that I was working full time – and often much more than 40 hours per week, during the course of my studies. I was able to attend a great number of conferences, here in Australia and around the world. I was able to make contacts with politicians, policy-makers and most importantly academics who have either supported or affirmed my views, or challenged me to think more deeply about particular issues. I wrote – deeply, widely, and with a small degree of success. I wrote alone and collaboratively. I taught – at two different universities, in four different subjects, and with a range of academics.
None of this would have been possible without that most precious of commodities: time. I remember, early in the process of the PhD, another student talking about undertaking a ‘slow PhD’, akin to the slow food movement. I didn’t understand it then, but, with the benefit of hindsight, I think that’s exactly what I’ve done – and benefited from.