Drifting In

The final factor is not as consciously driven as some of the above reasons for pursuing PhD
study. Several contributors described how they drifted into a PhD after undergraduate or postgraduate studies. This notion of drift is not necessarily something we would discourage, as, after all, none of us knows what opportunities are around the corner and we cannot all have clearly thought-out plans from the start.Yet we would add a cautionary tale to those scenarios that lead to individuals drifting into a PhD without giving very careful consideration to the entity that is being taken on. Martin Smith spent several years working towards his doctorate but in the end discontinued his studies as the need to earn cash took over. Martin remarks below on the dangers of drift:

I somewhat drifted into doing a PhD, in a subject area that was of interest to me, but was not my academic passion. I was unprepared for the challenge and commitmentI needed to make in the years to come, and feel now that I should have taken amasters course to see whether higher level research and study was for me.

The reality is that personal circumstances are a clear indicator as to whether a PhD is viable in terms of a drop in earnings, the prospects of the market place after completion and the opportunities that are available. Bill Armer, an older student whore turned to education late, describes how his options after his undergraduate degree were fairly limited, and hence the ‘drift’ into further study:

As a late returner to education, I had no clear motivation when I first undertook my BA degree. Finding myself unemployed and potentially unemployable, I really drifted into academia as an honourable alternative to the dole.

Ultimately the motivations for undertaking a PhD span the spectrum of the personal and the political, motivated by the subject or a specific project, influenced by a role model or attracted by the department, institution or even the student lifestyle! Often, career plans are somewhere in the complexities of motivations as students wrestle with the question ‘Where will having a PhD get me?’

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In

Research as politics

Closely tied to personal experiences, political principles and everyday politics that
influence policy and shape our lives, as well as world events, can also be triggers for
pursuing further studies.
Joseph Burridge describes how his wider interest in political controversies shaped his motivations and ideas for a PhD:

I had always been interested in controversy and argumentation since it seems to me that they are fairly fundamental to the way in which we relate to one another as human beings socially and politically. I had planned to undertake a more extensive and detailed analysis of the political debate over the repeal of Section 28 – a piece of legislation which has now been repealed but is usually described as having banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ – which had been the topic of my masters thesis. However, as I was finishing the thesis, the events of 11th September 2001
took place, and the aftermath seemed to be a location in which I could pursue some similar themes to those that had interested me about Section 28.

PhDs are not isolated events that exist between the individual, the supervisor and the research subjects. Real life events, political change and the localised and globalised setting of the topic have bearing on motivations as well as the trajectory of the content of the research.

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In

Personal agenda

Often it is personal motivations that inspire people to investigate a specific topic or gives them the desire to take on the job of giving voice to marginalised groups, or in some way they want to set the record straight against tides of stereotypes and misinformation that can spuriously inform our understanding of the world. Personal insights or close contact with certain groups, lifestyles or experiences are familiar reasons for pursuing further studies in the social sciences and humanities. Below, Sonali Shah reflects on how her own experiences as an Asian woman living with a physical
impairment led her to study for a PhD:

I applied for a journalism course, passed the entrance exam and was also given abursary. However, I was not given a place because the employers thought that my disability would prevent me from achieving and coping with the work required. This was seen as a significant turning point in my future professional orientation. It was this and previous experiences of disability discrimination, coupled with the Asian achievement-oriented culture within which I was brought up, that influenced my decision to pursue academic research to investigate what makes a disabled high-flyer.

No doubt you will meet people with interesting personal connections to their PhD
topic and fieldwork site. This can often be an inspirational motivation to take

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In

Lack of job satisfaction

While taking on board a PhD can be born out of developing a career path, at the same time a lack of job satisfaction in current employment can be a motivating factor to seek an alternative enterprise. Melanie Shearn describes how dissatisfaction in her employment, coupled with some wider life goals, naturally led her to consider a PhD:

I had worked in a number of different jobs in related industries and found that I lacked job satisfaction. I wanted to do something that made, in my view, a contribution to society. But so did other people and competition for these jobs was fierce. It seemed to me that the only way to make up for a lack of particular life experiences was to have substantive knowledge and expertise of a topic area. I also really enjoyed querying things and providing answers or direction. I thought that a PhD could combine my substantive interests with research skills.

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In

Career development

One of the central motivating factors in taking on a PhD is to enhance career progression and development in existing and new occupations. Career development can be enhanced in several ways. For instance, you can already be in a job and consider this higher qualification as the route to quicker promotion, or specialisation. Or you could have reached a natural point in your career where progression to the next level would be smoother with a higher qualification.

Sallyann Halliday describes howher desire to develop more critical skills through a concentrated period of research was identified as beneficial to her day job as a contract researcher:

I felt that I had hit a ‘turning point’ in the work I was currently involved in as a contract researcher. For me, the motivation for doing a PhD was about being able to explore a topic I was really interested in through in-depth study, to widen my knowledge and develop different skills. I wanted to gain skills in critical thought and writing. Doing a PhD was the path I felt I should take and more importantly one I felt that I needed to go down to develop and progress further in my career (or possibly lead to a change in career focus). I saw it as a form of both personal and professional development.

For others, the desire to ‘be an academic’ meant that the PhD was an inevitable step into becoming a lecturer. Joseph Burridge speaks of how his desire to work in the university setting was the motivation for continually pursuing funding for a PhD:

From the age of about fifteen I was sure that I wanted to pursue a career in academia,largely because of my love of reading and learning. A PhD was always going to be on the agenda, since it is no longer realistic to hope to begin such a career without one. I attempted to get funding immediately after finishing my first degree, but was unsuccessful and had to self-fund a masters degree as a means to demonstrate my seriousness for the next round of funding competitions.Fortunately it seemed to work and I was successful the second time around!

Self-funding a one-year postgraduate course is a popular method of finding out whether further study is the right route. Although this is a financial cost, part-time study is always an option before making a big life change by fully committing to a PhD. However, it is not always the case that a PhD ‘was on the cards’ in a person’s life pathway. Sometimes wider dissatisfaction or a desire for another challenge can prompt enrolment onto a PhD programme.

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In

Motivations for Doing a PhD

PhD.The reasons behind and pathways to considering and taking on board this endeavour are ultimately what will get you through the difficult patches. Here we explore some of the varied reasons why a PhD becomes a likely option and how subject topics are chosen.

First asked yourself the following questions, which we urge you to ask yourself:

• What were your motivations for doing a PhD?
• How and why did you choose your topic?

There are five core reasons that motivate a PhD:

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In