A DOCTOR of Philosophy, or best known as PhD, is an advanced postgraduate degree, dubbed the highest academic degree a student can achieve and is considered the de facto entrance qualification for a career in academia.
It is carried out within three or more years of independent research on an original topic, with the support of one or more expert academic supervisors. It results in a thesis that offers a significant contribution to knowledge.
But who would willingly submit to spending endless hours, over three or four years, in the laboratory or library, racked by self-doubt and money worries, in preparation for a future career?
And do doctoral students really feel prepared for life beyond academia? And how ready are they to embrace it?
Each PhD journey is unique. Some have a smooth-sailing journey, while others have mountains to climb and oceans to cross.
Although a PhD is a requirement for any academician at the university, they are some who opted for non-academic careers.
HIGHER ED speaks to four current and former doctoral students from a range of disciplines and universities on why they choose to pursue a PhD.
Giving back
When faced with a choice between keeping her leg and losing it, Dr Aizan Sofia Amin made the very difficult decision to have it amputated at the tender age of 16.
Ever since she became disabled as a result of bone cancer, Aizan has wanted to help others with disabilities.
Aizan said losing her leg affected her emotionally when people thought she could not do much as a person.
“I was so young at that time and learned that my life would never be the same. The whole world completely changed. I cried a lot, not because I had lost my leg, but because of the unbearable structural barriers and prejudices of the society around me.
“There was a time that I just wanted to quit my studies,” she said.
Aizan decided to pursue a career in counseling to empower those living with disabilities.
“During my counseling internship at a vocational centre for disabled people in Malaysia, I came across countless sad stories. Many of them shared awful experiences of being stigmatised and discriminated against in society.
“One wheelchair user revealed that she had to quit schooling at the age of 13 because the school failed to provide classrooms on the ground floor. As a result, she ended up at the vocational centre to do a tailoring course, despite her dream to become a teacher.
“I soon realised that counselling alone was not enough and decided to switch to a career in academia, joining the Department of Social Work at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.”
For her to give more to the disabled society, she has to teach at the university and PhD is a requirement.
“It was my belief that only through achieving expertise in Disability Studies would I be able to support disabled people on a larger scale — via research and advocacy. The department helped me to realise my vision and, in September 2010, I arrived at the University of Glasgow to undertake a PhD in Disability Studies at the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research.
“The prospect of pursuing a PhD in the United Kingdom was an eye-opener for me. I was amazed at how the Commission in the UK (CSC) and the Disability Service at my university provided incredible support to disabled students.
“This was a completely different experience from that which I had encountered in my home country. Had I not been given this opportunity, I would never have realised how disability support can be delivered to disabled students. I felt empowered and respected. I want this to be implemented in Malaysia, too,” she said.
The 33-year-old lecturer can now be proud of herself as she didn’t give up and is able to “stand” up high with the rest of her peers.
Recently, Aizan was named one of the 13 ambassadors of the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) initiative.
“It was completely unexpected. After doing more research, I decided to accept the offer as I felt compelled to raise awareness on disability.
“Your PhD journey might be exactly what you envisioned, might take you to places you never imagined, or might be a bit of both,” she added.
JUGGLING roles
Sushma Veera, 41, said she has always wanted to do her PhD because she always believed in staying current with the latest developments, skills, and new technologies. She kept putting it off until one day, a relative of hers gave her a push and encouraged her to do it.
She said it started then with the search on courses, potential supervisors and of course, the right university.
“I enrolled into the University of Malaya. For the first two semesters, I had to attend Research Methodology and Research Statistics classes. At the same time, we have to start working on our proposal.
“Being a mother of two school-going children, it was not an easy task. There were just too many hats I had to wear. Initially, it was frustrating but stressful. However, over time, I realised that I needed to work on my time management.
“At home, I would usually settle my children’s school work, and sit with them for their exam revisions. My time to work on my PhD would only start after 10pm or sometimes later when the children are off to bed. I would usually spend about two to three hours before I hit the bed,” said Sushma, as she recalled her journey.
While researching, she did a lot of reading on previous studies and got interested in school leadership especially following the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to Post-Secondary Education).
“I wanted to know more on how school principals practice their leadership and how school culture plays a role.
“I was thankful that my husband was very understanding. He allowed me to spend much of my time to do my readings and would help to send and fetch our children from school,” she said.
The most challenging part for her was mostly on the delay in data collection and data analysis on her research topic — “School Leadership practices and its relationship with teachers’ commitment to school culture as mediator”.
On how PhD students would ready themselves in career destinations other than academia, Sushma said it depends on the nature or scope of their studies.
For instance, she added, if a teacher did her or his PhD on teaching and school environment, it would be easier for them compared to a non-academician.
She said it is important to remember that being a PhD graduate does not mean that you would be employed immediately.
“I realised that not all companies are willing to employ PhD graduates, except for the educational institutions.”
“For example, I applied for a job in a corporate organisation recently. I have 17 years of experience for the position I applied and my PhD studies would be helpful for that particular department.
“However, I was shocked when I was informed that the company had concerns about my PhD and remuneration,” she said.
Sushma has submitted her completed thesis which is her first step in the concluding stage of the PhD process. Attention now turns to the viva.
career break
For Dr Sabrina Amir, 41, the drive to do a PhD started when her Centre for Preparatory Studies (the then Institut Teknologi Mara) TESL programme head Professor Dr Habibah Ashari, let her try on her Doctoral robe on her commencement day when she completed her matriculation.
“There was this special feeling that I don’t know how to describe, the moment she put the robe on me and said ‘you know what, you look good in this and you can have your own one day’.”
Fast forward a few years later, after having completed her degree, Sabrina went to Australia and did her Master of Business Communication.
In 2002, she came back and joined Petronas.
“I loved my work. However, at one point in 2007, I just felt like I had hit a wall and I needed a break.
“That was when I said to myself, it’s time to pursue my PhD. So, I chose to go to the University of Queensland, Australia, to pursue a PhD in Business Management,” said Sabrina.
She said her father was the smartest student in school but her late grandfather couldn’t afford to pay his school fees that he had to stop schooling.
Her mother went to a night school.
“My dad always said that one day he hopes at least one of us could pursue our studies locally or overseas and he will do everything to get us there,” she said:
Unlike the majority of Malaysian PhD students at her university, who were funded by the Ministry of Education and their respective universities, Sabrina was a self-funded PhD student.
“To ease the financial burden carried by my parents, I did several part-time jobs such as babysitting.
“Throughout the course of my studies, I have worked at the International Student Services on campus, serving at food stalls over the weekend, house-sitting, cooking for small functions, selling cakes that I baked, as well as teaching at the university.
“This, of course, took some of my precious time away from my research but it also provided me with a good break to freshen up my mind for a more productive research. After all, you win some, you lose some,” she said.
Nonetheless, being single also meant she only has herself to deal with all the physical and emotional challenges throughout her PhD.
“I was blessed with sincere and supportive PhD colleagues, who understood and shared the same struggles that I had to endure, living away from my family and my comfort zone.”
Sabrina said where she did her PhD, securing a post-doc position or a lecturer position is very competitive.
“Publications help to increase the chances of being hired. Those who are determined to join the academia often have to get their work published in top-tier journals, while also making sure that they complete their thesis on time.
“Nonetheless, while most people who land jobs in the academia straight after PhD are those with publications, there are also some who were not as lucky.
“It is depressing and stressful as they have been preparing themselves, for the past four years at least, with the requirements and qualification needed to join academia,” she said.
But those who are looking for careers outside the traditional tenure track are rare, and most probably “has no choice”.
“For example, one of my colleagues has spent the last three years trying her best to secure a job in academia upon her graduation.
“Despite her publications in journals, presentations at international conferences and seminars, as well as her teaching and working experiences, she is still unable to secure a permanent position in academia.
“We did not see this coming. We thought with the qualities that she has, she should not have any problems being hired.
“After years of trying, she is now working her way towards setting up her own consultancy firm. This also means finding her way into the industry.
“I would say you don’t really know how prepared you are, until you are finally done with the PhD to face the world.”
Sabrina knew that she would always have the option to go back to the industry, or teach, should she decide not to help with the family business that is currently run by her sister.
“I decided to not continue my teaching contract at the university and repatriated back to Malaysia six months ago because of my mother‘s health condition so that I can look after her.
“Given the sacrifices that she has done for me to ensure I could complete my PhD successfully, I believe it’s worth all my sacrifices to put aside my plan to start working again and just focus on her.
“The plus point is I can replace the last 10 years in Brisbane I’ve lost for being far away from my family,” said Sabrina.
PUSH FACTOR
It took self-satisfaction and a series of challenges for Iffah Farhana Abu Talib to push herself moving forward after her postgraduate studies in Integrated Construction Project Management from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam.
Initially, the 30-year-old was nervous to continue studying because of the widely-held stigma surrounding PhD life.
“It all started when I was given a chance to be a part-time lecturer in 2014, in UiTM. It opened my eyes and to the opportunity to take the challenge to pursue my studies. Consequently, I applied for a scholarship and managed to get a spot.
“They offered me a chance to study at other countries with best Disaster Management like New Zealand, Japan or Indonesia. But I decided to study in Malaysia as we have a good education system.
“Once I embarked on a PhD, with the full support of my family and my sponsor (UiTM) in 2015, the negative stigma on how difficult PhD life was washed away, despite the roller coaster ride.
“Since then, I’ve learned a lot, especially on writing thesis, journal papers, and academic posters.”
Iffah Farhana believes that level of academic achievement is not the main factor, as it actually all depends on one’s attitude.
“A positive attitude is more important than having good grades. If you are stringent and narrow-minded, you won’t go far.”
“Doctoral students who are not in academia are usually capable professionals in any organisations at managerial positions.
“For me, I would be able to be in the industry as we could be consultants as well,” she said.
Iffah Farhana has also been involved in non-academic activities such as volunteering programmes Student Chapter Malaysia 2015, UiTM-MERCY Malaysia — School Preparedness Programme 2016 and Asean Youth Volunteer Programme-UKM 2017.
Entering into her second year of studies, Iffah Farhana hoped that her research on Disaster and Business Continuity Framework For Construction Organisation in Malaysia would be beneficial to others, especially the younger generation.
She added that her journey so far is worth it because it is one of her many personal milestones to accomplish before the age of 40.