Picking a dissertation topic is often compared to picking a life partner, and well, I can see how this is true. It's recommended that you pick a topic you feel passionate and excited about because you're going to be spending an awful lot of time together.
But here's the catch: when picking a dissertation topic, you can't dawdle (some would say the same about picking a life partner). The reality is that it feels like picking a dissertation topic and then actually doing it is like the equivalent of telling someone that they have to get married by the time they are 30. It may be okay if you're 31 or 32, but above all, you don't want to be a 33 year old spinster.
In a similar vein, the message I get from my department is that finishing your Ph.D. in 5 years is ideal. Okay, you can take 6 or 7 years, but you don't want to be an 8th year dissertation spinster. I don't know what happens in your 9th+ years. Maybe you fall into dissertation purgatory. That is, if you haven't already.
Call me a late bloomer, but here I am nearing the end of my 5th year, still searching for a dissertation topic. I dated around a lot, trying out different topics. At the end of fall quarter, I thought I'd found the One, but it proved to be unruly and I just couldn't make it work. We parted ways (amicably of course), and I headed in a different direction. In winter quarter, I mistakenly thought I'd found the One again. This time, I tried really hard to make it work with topic #2, but to no avail. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It was a difficult break up, but I finally said good bye in the beginning of the spring quarter. In the end, we wanted different things, we were beginning to drift apart, and I was losing sight of what was really important to me. I found it difficult to move on, but I got back out there and started playing the field again.
I went back to an ex, a topic I'd toyed around with last fall. I think it's going to be different this time around. I'm not going to be so quick to throw in the towel, and I'll try not to be so controlling this time. I'll let my dissertation topic run its course and be who it wants to be. I'll be there to guide it along, but I'll let it take whatever shape it wants to take. But it had better move quickly. After all, the dissertation clock is ticking.
But here's the catch: when picking a dissertation topic, you can't dawdle (some would say the same about picking a life partner). The reality is that it feels like picking a dissertation topic and then actually doing it is like the equivalent of telling someone that they have to get married by the time they are 30. It may be okay if you're 31 or 32, but above all, you don't want to be a 33 year old spinster.
In a similar vein, the message I get from my department is that finishing your Ph.D. in 5 years is ideal. Okay, you can take 6 or 7 years, but you don't want to be an 8th year dissertation spinster. I don't know what happens in your 9th+ years. Maybe you fall into dissertation purgatory. That is, if you haven't already.
Call me a late bloomer, but here I am nearing the end of my 5th year, still searching for a dissertation topic. I dated around a lot, trying out different topics. At the end of fall quarter, I thought I'd found the One, but it proved to be unruly and I just couldn't make it work. We parted ways (amicably of course), and I headed in a different direction. In winter quarter, I mistakenly thought I'd found the One again. This time, I tried really hard to make it work with topic #2, but to no avail. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It was a difficult break up, but I finally said good bye in the beginning of the spring quarter. In the end, we wanted different things, we were beginning to drift apart, and I was losing sight of what was really important to me. I found it difficult to move on, but I got back out there and started playing the field again.
I went back to an ex, a topic I'd toyed around with last fall. I think it's going to be different this time around. I'm not going to be so quick to throw in the towel, and I'll try not to be so controlling this time. I'll let my dissertation topic run its course and be who it wants to be. I'll be there to guide it along, but I'll let it take whatever shape it wants to take. But it had better move quickly. After all, the dissertation clock is ticking.
No comments:
Post a Comment