To be honest, I decided to do a PhD because I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the end of my undergraduate degree career-wise. Graduate school just seemed like a logical extension to be able to keep doing the research that I enjoyed. I ended up at McGill because I had initially been exposed to doing research in the field of chronic pain and McGill is the world headquarters of chronic pain research. In hindsight, I have always been energized by the vibrant, diverse, curiosity-driven atmosphere of a university campus. I am grateful every day that I still get to go to ‘school’ to work.
In terms of academics, the most valuable experience was the opportunity to explore and develop independent thought and critical thinking. I valued being able to work on a project and being given the freedom and the flexibility to explore that topic that I’m interested in without a certain curriculum or strict guidance on where I should go. I think that was really valuable in terms of my personal development.
Our graduate program was set up to foster lots of interactions both in the lab and outside of the lab. So I was able to interact with a wide variety of people coming from different backgrounds, and that was a broadening experience.
The PhD helped me to learn how to think through problems, how to research them effectively, and also how to communicate complex ideas clearly. You really start to develop fundamental communication skills in graduate school, and further develop them in your training. My graduate program gave me lots of experience writing and communicating to a wide variety of groups.
If I could go back and give advice to my former self before I began my PhD, I would say: “You can do it. It’s going to be okay. You’re smart enough”. When you first start a graduate program, everyone seems super smart and you feel like you don’t know anything and you’re going to fail. In my experience, anyone can do a PhD if they want to – it just takes grit, resilience, and a healthy dose of optimism.
It is important to establish a work-life balance that works for you. Graduating with your PhD is only step one of the rest of your life – it’s not like as soon as you get your PhD, everything relaxes and it’s easy. You’ll always feel this drive to achieve and accomplish and so you need to make the decision now about how you want to live your life.
In my experience, the skills and habits that you develop during graduate school are the ones that you’ll carry forward throughout your life, regardless of where you end up. So make sure you’re taking care of your mental health, your physical health, and your relationships. Work hard in the lab, but at five o’clock, shut your laptop, go home, and do something else. It makes you a better scientist.
This story was adapted from an interview conducted by TRaCE McGill. Click here to read Anna’s full interview.