Wednesday, August 24, 2005

 

Fire Hose

The first day of classes was Tuesday. Things weren't bad on the first day I guess. It was mostly trying to find this, and work to get over here in time, trying to stay cool in the summer Atlanta heat, and figuring out bus schedules. I found out that one of my classes is actually two different classes (I thought I had a course and the lab for the course, but nope, two different classes coving the same subject from two different angles). I am also observing a course that I will have to teach next year. I don't have my books yet (!!@#$ Amazon resellers).

Then, today hit. It was like the people I had met decided they had been able to insert the fire hose far enough into my mouth without me noticing that they could now turn it on full blast. My reading stack just had inches added to it. One of my advisors already have me some work and the other advisor has decided that with his help I really can finish in 4 years. I can finish in 4 years if I start my literature review now, have my first draft for my first paper before Jan, and submitted by May, and then turn the outcome of that paper into my research for my 2nd paper. The 2nd paper, of course, will be done by May of the 2nd year (a full year early!).

Somehow I will figure out how to have a life of my own, if only a little bit of a life for a little bit of time. To top if all off, and I'm not sure how, I really enjoy this!

Comments:
You know, i think it's a bit ridiculous that you basically have to sell your soul to satan to finish off a PhD in four years - it wasn't that long ago that four years was the expected amount of time it took, but it seems to keep creeping higher and higher. I just don't get why these universities insist on this crazy, unrealistic amount of time when we all have to eat, find jobs, etc. Getting a doctorate shouldn't be to the exclusion of everything else in your life, but that's exactly what's expected. That's one of the reasons i finally decided against my PhD at Indy - I realised that I didn't want one thing to own me for that long amount of time, with no real escape. That, and Scotland's much nicer :-)
 
*ahem* IU. Which isn't in Indy at all.
 
Sorry. Was a bit caned.
 
All is forgiven.
 
I think there are a couple of things going on that have pushed the four year norm out a bit.

Ph.D. tracks, like the one I am in, are not deeply rooted in an undergrad field. If I had my M.S. in electrical engineering, used my paper from my M.S. to pursue my Ph.D., then I proabaly could finish in just a couple of years. As it stands, with those of us entering some of these areas with little previous background I think they feel like they have to start from scratch.

A second issue is outside pressure for better and more prepared students. In my case, for instance, I am in organizational behavior. In org. behavior a person just about must have a publication when they graduate. Without the publication it is hard to start where you want to start or place yourself at a school of your choosing. This drive toward greater and greater publication takes much more time. A dissertation simply isn't good enough anymore. And this kind of makes sense. Not only do you have approval of the school for your dissertation but you also have approval from the field in general, via the publication, that you actually know something.

But damn is it a long time.
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?