Speaker 1: I have seen fresh-faced undergraduates become a shell of themselves throughout their PhD and that's because a PhD in the academic system just brainwashes you into thinking a load of weird things. The first thing and probably the most important thing that you need to realise when you're doing a PhD is that there is constant criticism. You start to internalise that constant criticism because it just happens from every direction all the time. You're not doing the right writing, you're not presenting the right way, your experiments are failing. And this does happen to be, I think, an issue with older academics. Younger, newer academics are much more supportive in my experience. But here we have a system that relies on criticism. It's not just the level of PhDs that get criticised. The thing is that the academic system is built up on criticism. The university that you work under is always saying, do more, it's not enough, do this better, there should be more things that you're doing, try this, there's admin stuff, get more money, get more papers and that just filters down to PhD students. So you end up with these really enthusiastic early stage PhD students becoming a shell of themselves because they start internalising that criticism. They start thinking that it is a true reflection on them rather than that just being a mirror to academia and just being like, well that is what the university is like. The system does not allow you to thrive in a really sort of like positive way. Another thing that's the cherry on top, blink, is there tends to be a lack of recognition of hard work and achievements in academia. Now don't get me wrong. The university puts on these kind of like large like award ceremonies and everyone's clapping but it's just so hollow. There's no soul to it. What people really need in academia is just someone to say, you know what, you've done a great job. You know, you've worked so hard on the last few papers. Let's just celebrate that, let's have a moment. But it's never like that. It's always like, do more, do more papers. I remember once handing in a paper, I spent like, you know, months if not a year preparing the data, getting it published, going through the reviewer, just the thing, the thing, the process of getting a PhD and submitting a paper in academia and my supervisor said to me, great, what about the next one? That was it. Great. That moment. Great. Was just there. That was the only praise and then it was like, what about the next one? There is no recognition and that really starts to brainwash PhD students. The second biggest thing that happens to PhD students is that there is a stigmatization of leaving academia. When you first start a PhD, like I know everyone's got that fantasy in the back of their mind where they're like, oh, I could become an academic. But then throughout that time, you realize that maybe that's not for you. Maybe the stress of academia isn't for you. Maybe the, you know, act of research isn't something you actually thought you liked. But the problem is, is that throughout your time, the fact that you want to leave academia is stigmatized. It feels like a failure. And you do hear people talking about it like, oh, they went to industry and it's never like they're doing something they love, they're really happy and they're thriving. It's always like, oh, they left, oh, maybe they couldn't hack it, oh, they didn't get their funding. It's always like framed in a negative light. It's never like, well done to them for leaving the ivory towers and getting something they want. Rather it's like, oh, they're a failure. And that is a massive problem. Throughout your PhD, you are brainwashed into thinking that you are your project. Not that you're two separate entities, but rather the success and value of your PhD and project is a direct relationship to your worth as a person. And that is something that is inevitable with high stake, high kind of like a valued qualifications. But we don't do anything to stop these PhD students from becoming their project. If a project goes well, people feel happy. If it goes bad, they spend months in depression. And the thing is, I found it really useful to go out and find things that I enjoyed doing outside of academia. It could be learning something, a new language, it could be learning an instrument, it could be just doing a hobby, a sport, going out, trying new things. Somewhere where you see growth personally that isn't your PhD or your project is so very, very important. And that's the thing, is that not enough people are given the time during their PhD to think like this, or aren't given enough freedom or ability to kind of explore outside of their PhD because the system says, and there's a pressure I think, even if it's not spoken, is to give everything to your PhD. And that just makes for sad and anxious PhD students. Another way PhD students are brainwashed is by thinking that their skills are worthless outside of academia. And this is something that really bothered me. Because when I was leaving academia, I was, you know, I had put in my two weeks notice and people are saying, oh, what are you doing? And I was like, I'm going to go do an internship at Cosmos Magazine because that's what was like a stepping stone for me to leave academia. I thought I wanted to do science writing and I didn't in the end. But they always said to me, oh, I don't know what I would do. I don't know what skills are valuable outside of academia. And that always made me feel a bit sad. Now don't get me wrong, when I was leaving, I was worried, I was scared. But the fact that I could see a path out was a little glimmering light at the end of the tunnel. But these people could not see that. They felt trapped. They felt completely isolated in the academic bubble. And I think that is a massive issue in the academic realm, is that the further you go into it, not only do you have the sunk cost fallacy where you're like, well, I've spent so many years in here, now I need to carry on. But also the fact that they just feel worthless. They internalize all of the criticism that we talked about earlier and they just feel like they're not valued outside of academia. That is further from the truth than ever. There are so many awesome ways to make money outside of academia and find fulfilling careers that it just is a really horrible state of affairs when you've got these incredibly bright people that are capable of so many amazing things saying, well, I'm worthless, outside of this little rubbish bubble. It's so, so sad. And it really was the thing that made me realize academia probably wasn't such a great place to be. Another way that PhD students can be brainwashed is into thinking that their supervisor is like this godlike figure. Now, it's very rare that you would worship your supervisor, but the problem is you see them as the gatekeeper to money, the gatekeeper to networking, the gatekeeper to essentially you doing your own experiments. I saw so many PhD students just halted, just waiting, just like stuck because they felt like they hadn't got the approval or the direction from their supervisor and they were scared to make those steps for getting it wrong. A good supervisor should be able to let you on your way and support your journey rather than saying you need to do this, you need to do this, don't do this. They need to help you in your own path to becoming an independent sort of thinker, doer, and creator, and researcher. Unfortunately, far too many supervisors are seen as like the holders of the ultimate truth and the gatekeeper to moving forward and success. They should support you and connect you, but sometimes you do have to like go around your supervisor to get something you want, to get progress. It's much easier to apologize than ask for permission in my experience in the past. And that is something that was really bothering me is that so many people were waiting for permission from their supervisor to do stuff. Don't. Move forward. It's your career, it's your life, and I think academia sort of, you know, takes away a little bit of that independence when you're in those bottom tiers. Terrible. If you liked this video, go check out this one, which is the real PhD experience. I asked 177 PhD students what their real thoughts were and that was the result, so go check it out.