Journal 9: Interview Takeaways

 

There are at least three takeaways from my interviewer regarding the dissertation.

(1) She gave me some great advice regarding the dissertation.  She told me to choose a topic I am most passionate about.  Her advice is to choose something I love because I would get sick of the topic.  She talked about my dissertation idea about chemotherapy-induced alopecia and self-esteem in adolescent cancer patients.  She thinks that my dissertation is doable!  I can make my research easier by studying cancer survivors that are young adults, instead of cancer patients.  I could also interview parents of cancer patients or CCLSs.  I would have to work with hospitals but I can put flyers up at clinics.  She told me it doesn’t have to be perfect; it is merely an exercise.

(2) Her best advice for a Ph.D. candidate starting would be to hold the dissertation lightly.  She was fixated on her dissertation being her opus or masterpiece.  She put a lot of meaning into it, and when it didn’t turn out as she imagined, she was heartbroken about that, and thus never published her topic after the dissertation.

(3) She wants me to consider it an exercise or academic play.  As a supervised researcher, I can make mistakes that I wouldn’t be able to as a PI or author, ever again.  She just encouraged me not to be a perfectionist about it.

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