In our October Office Hour, “Aiyah!! How do I finish my Ph.D. applications?!” we tackled some popular misperceptions around STEM and academia.
These misperceptions can make life more difficult for those inside these worlds as well as family, friends, and supporters unfamiliar with the environment.
Here, we’ll tackle three of them. One has to do with STEM, the other two with PhDs and the environment in research universities.
1) To study in STEM = You have to be really really really smart. You have to naturally be good at it.
Yes, aptitude certainly helps for these highly technical fields, but just like learning a language, playing an instrument, or becoming excellent at football - which all require learning the rules and techniques and training ourselves to respond in certain ways, we can increase our ability in STEM fields through practice and persistence.
Through experience, we will internalize what works well and learn from our mistakes such that the next time we see a problem of a similar type, we come up with effective solutions more quickly.
Finally, we can succeed in STEM if we are able to articulate situations with precision, enabling us to devise solutions most effective for the unique problem at hand.
Choosing a course of study in STEM can be challenging but with persistence and creativity, we can master what we need to, and in the process, develop skills and character qualities essential to myriad industries.
2) Ph.D. = School
What may come to mind immediately when we think of school is taking classes, studying, exams, assigned projects, and grades. This type of learning is considered "top-down".
We are learning a lot during the PhD, but the way of learning soon transforms from "top-down" to "bottom-up". Classes, exams, and assigned projects may be required, but the degree is earned through (usually) full-time research in a specialized area. Our future depends more on the latter than on the coursework.
The Ph.D. is a lifestyle and a transformation.
We begin much like an apprentice, learning new techniques and thinking skills. We then transform into a full-on project leader. As project leader, we strategize, execute, analyze, and make meaning in our projects, then present them to colleagues and experts who hold our work to the same standards and ethics as anyone else in the field.
By the time we graduate, we have transformed from student to teacher and the world's expert in our project. We are now colleagues of other Ph.D.'s - doctorates just like the professors who taught us.
To wrap up this point, Ph.D. work may officially be called "grad school", but it is a full-on transformation into a scholar and professional more so than any degree that comes before it.
Side note: In some countries, it's common that Ph.D. candidates are no longer students. For official purposes, they are working as researchers.
Another side note: This misperception can be especially strong in Chinese-speaking communities for language reasons. We often say that we are still studying, 讀書 (sounds like "Duk shu" in Cantonese) - which literally translates to "study books".
Yes, professors do help students learn, and many do teach in a classroom. For most research professors though, classroom teaching is not their primary activity or what keeps their minds awake at night. (Whether or not that should be the case is up for debate.)
The reality for research professors is that they are more like small-to-medium-size business owners.
Tthat's the case from the beginning. A new professor on the tenure track receives a 'start-up package'. This is an investment from the university, with which the new professor uses to build their group through obtaining equipment & supplies, paying for services and shared equipment time, and most importantly, funding manpower - research assistants, postdocs if they can afford one, and graduate students.
The 'returns on investment' expected of a professor are research outputs that allow them to publish research and to apply for grants to fund additional research, i.e. supplies, services, and manpower. Depending on the field, patents & commercialization could be a priority as well.
Professors are in this cycle until they stop being professors.
To keep this cycle going, professors must also increase awareness of their research, seek feedback, and collegial support, which happens by giving invited lectures at other research institutes and attending conferences, where they get to showcase their work and meet prospective collaborators, funders, and new people to hire.
If you run a business, that might sound familiar.
While running this small-to-medium business, professors generally do have teaching duties, albeit the load will vary depending on institution and career phase, and they will be expected to provide service to the university on multiple committees, especially for hiring new faculty and admitting new students.
Another language note: The idea that a professor's primary activity is teaching is also promoted by some languages, such as Chinese. The word for professor is 教授 (sounds like "gau sau" in Cantonese). The first character has multiple meanings, the most common one being "to teach" and the others pertaining to religion, instructing, and telling.
The second character also has multiple meanings - to confer, give, or teach. So with both characters in the word for professor evoking a one-sided transmission of knowledge, the perception is understandable.
Getting on the same page
It is common for those of us deeply involved in any specialty - whether STEM, academia, or something else - to encounter confusion about our work & priorities from those unfamiliar with the environment. It’s possible that we face discord while trying to balance this work with family and social circles.
It is also possible to reach understanding with ample patience and kindness, inquiring into what our counterpart envisions and gently describing what seems more true for us. We can point out differences between experience and perception, validate the logic behind the perceptions, critically, find common ground and realms for compromise.
Doing so can make our lives easier!
Over to you! Three free questions to coach yourself:
1) Are you a STEM Ph.D. or working towards this? Or is there someone like this in your life? Or if not, is there any possibility you might meet one soon?
2) What reactions do you have when you think of this career path now?
3) Keeping in mind someone important to you but on a different path from yours, what is a question you could discuss that might help you understand each other better?
Unclear about your STEM career goals or how to get there?