20 PhD students reveal what a PhD is REALLY like

I condensed twenty, 20-min interviews into a 10-min video that explains what a PhD is really like to do! I asked about workloads, social life, best parts vs worst, challenges and whether they might do it again.

Hopefully this video can be useful to anyone interested in doing a PhD, or just generally who's curious about what the heck a PhD really is!!

The guest (stars) do (or did) a big range of PhD subjects: Maths, Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology, English, and Classics (in no particular order) ;)

If you have any particular questions about doing a PhD, or how you get into one, feel free to drop me a message and I'll do my best to get back to you :)

IG: alexandersneyd
Twitter: @alexander_sneyd
LinkedIn: Alexander (Sasha) Sneyd

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:17 Typical day
01:06 Workload per day
01:53 Social life
02:20 What are the other people like?
03:38 What do you like the most?
05:29 What do you like the least?
08:01 Biggest challenge?
08:39 Was the PhD worth it?
10:32 Credits

Music cred:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
License code: VCICVH6SE3U1G3VR

[melodieknowsit]

As a PhD student + an international student where I am studying, it can be hard sometimes, especially when my one goal is to work and live here after my thesis. Sometimes it feels overwhelming but I tell myself that I am on the right path. For anyone reading who is in a similar situation as me, I wish us the best of luck and I hope you can also take care of yourself.

[ssergium.]

My own boss told me “Eight hours must be enough. If you can’t manage to achieve something in 8 hours, you are doing something wrong” and I agree with him.

[jvth]

Authentic and heartfelt responses to questions every potential PhD student should be asking. Love it !

[whatsinterrishead]

These lovely PhD students have a very different experience than I do in my PhD work. My work is mainly online and alone. I must extend myself to socialize and interact with others in the same situation. I would love the Cambridge experience, but I am also quite excited to continue my PhD journey. Best wishes to everyone embarking on this journey!

[kausthubhmanda]

Great Video!! As an undergraduate trying to pursue research and get into a postgrad program this video eradicated the self doubt I had. :)

[johnyrusoc]

Each day 8 hours of honest hard work including study, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of family, friends, health and wellbeing meaning 8+8+8=24 hours! Perfect!

[visumetvanitas]

Nice to see all these heartfelt and varying perspective on the PhD life. I'm about to start mine this year, hope I can be as chill as these folks 😄

[fcsolis]

The Chinese PhD and post-doctoral students are the only ones I've seen that work 20 hour days. I don't quite believe that guy. Thank you.

[HE-KevinH.]

4-16 hours on my doctoral work, depending on how long I work at my full time employer. Working full time and pursuing a doctorate level degree can be incredibly intense. My weekends are typically full of research and feeding.

[sagarchakraborty]

Dear god, I clicked this video being pessimistic, but it's one of the most positive videos about phd I have ever seen❤

[chloe_steward]

Super helpful! Nice to see a variety of academic disciplines represented. I'd love to see more from your channel!

[darkrebel]

I just defended 6 months ago. It was an incredible experience in so many ways.

[jamjagai]

"Some days none, other days 48".... same girl. Sometimes my "motor" keeps running, other days it just wouldn't start up.

[vencibushy]

I'm working full time in automotive engineering while doing my PhD. It's the loneliest road I've ever walked. I have no idea what these people mean by "social life".

[richiericht]

ahh.. procrastination. currently watching this instead of writing my PhD thesis that's due in less than 2 weeks 😅

[ShinySephiroth]

Depends on the PhD - I'm enrolled full-time in an in-person program at a school of medicine, but also work a full-time job in hospital management (WFH). We're all on a different pathway but ready to become researchers!

[ChatGPT]

After my MBA, I did a lot of vocational training followed by a whole bunch of certifications like the PMP, RMP, ACP and about 25 others, all while working full time. I switched majors multiple times so that I had 270 semester hours by the time I finished it. That gave me a Plan B, C, all the way through Z. It was one of my last certs that got me my last job.

[marianapereirae]

Great video but it DEFINITELY does not reflect all aspects of a PhD experience and is rather positively biased.

[shaimaakhandaker]

I'm just about to start my PhD and the content of this video was really good and relatable, so yeah, kudos and I hope you make more content like this soon! I just subscribed to your channel as well! :)

[lawstud]

So. This is my short story. I completed my PhD in Switzerland in April 2019 and I`m still unemployed. I applied for more than 2100 positions in academia, NGOs, private sector, institutions, adminsitration without any sucess or even in-person interview. I have four degrees and I`m fluent in four languages, a lot of certificates and connections and I`m still unemployed. I have enough resources to have pleasent life but I`m a little bit suprised that I can`t find any normal and adequate work.