Scientists (i.e., researchers in the hard sciences such as Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, Biology, etc.) are the bad step child of the media. While there are all sorts of TV shows and movies portraying physicians, lawyers, and other professionals, going through their training and such or following them as they practice their profession, the training and work of a scientist is largely absent. This is like due to the drab, wretchedly boring nature view by outsiders of a scientist’s work. As a result everyone talks about obtaining a Ph.D. in the hard sciences or what a Ph.D. is, but few really know much about it which results in all sorts of misconceptions concerning the Ph.D. and science. Today we see endless examples of scientific claims being made that often turn out to be untrue, we hear claims about who is an expert and who is not, and we frequently see multiple claims that contradict each other which leaves us all confused and wondering what is going on in science. The truth of the matter is that science is is a very complicated subject and that scientific research is likely the most complex and difficult effort ever attempted by mankind. In order to begin understanding any and all of this it is important to understand how a scientist is trained.
How I Earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry
The first major point to understand is that everyone’s journey to their Ph.D. is an individual one that will vary from school to school and from nation to nation. In some countries the Ph.D. is viewed as a research degree so their training consists primarily of performing research over a period of a few years and then publishing that research. In America, the Ph.D. is both a research and academic degree and the combination of this approach along with the rigor within the American programs has made the American Ph.D. the gold standard in the international community.
While individual programs differ from school to school and over time, the route I took to my Ph.D. in the early 1980’s was fairly typical. It all started during my senior year of my B.S. in Chemistry when I had to take the Graduate Record Exam. At that time this exam consisted of two parts and I had to score a total of 1000 points or more showing that I was in the top 50% of the graduating class. Anything less and I could not apply to graduate school. Once I had the required score I then had to choose the schools where I wanted to study. There was a choice of two routes to follow. One route went directly from the B.S. directly to the Ph.D., but this was the route found primarily in the more prestigious schools which was not within my grasp. (I had a relatively low grade point average due to working full time while carrying a full load as an undergraduate student.) The other route, which I took, was to apply to a school that allowed one to earn both an M.S. and a Ph.D.
My first tasks in graduate school was to determine my area of specialty, to develop my course program, and to find an advisor along with four other members of my committee. Once these were accomplished and approved, I started taking my courses where I had to maintain a grade of “B” or better in each. At this point I was only allowed to study for my M.S. and to move on I had to become qualified to study for my Ph.D. by taking and passing certain exams. There are five subdisciplines in Chemistry (Organic, Inorganic, Bio, Physical, and Analytical) and the requirement was that I had to pass the exam in three subdisciplines and I had a maximum of three opportunities to pass each subdiscipline exam. While this sounds easy, it was not. When I took the Organic Chemistry exam, I was one of only two of the sixteen students who took it and passed. Overall, fewer than half of those wanting to go on for their Ph.D. ever made it past this point. After passing these exams I received my M.S. I then finished taking my coursework whereupon I took my comprehensive exams which all had to be completed and passed within thirty days. For these exams, each of the five members of my committee created a written exam tailored for me. These exams were a bit more rigorous than most think of when talking about an exam. For example, I started my Biochemistry exam at 7:00AM, took a fifteen minute break for lunch, and, when the professor came into collect my exam at 6:30 that evening, I requested another few hours so I could finish it. (He told me I was done and took it anyway.) When all five exams were completed and graded, I then had to take my oral exam where I stood before my committee and a chalk board and started by correctly answering all the questions I had gotten wrong on the written exams. They then asked you more and more challenging questions until they were either satisfied I had passed. I was fortunate in that my oral exam only lasted three hours. From this point on, it was all downhill. All I had to do was finish my research, publish it, write my dissertation, successfully defend it, and I was done. To put this all into perspective, it typically takes a person two to three years to earn their masters and another five to seven years to earn their Ph.D. when these degrees are earned from different institutions. It typically takes five to seven years to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. from one institution and a bit less time to go straight to the Ph.D.
At this point I had yet another decision to make and that was whether or not to go straight into the workforce or to go on to a postdoctoral position for further study. I chose the latter because it afforded me the opportunity to learn even more on how to perform research, how to write manuscripts, how to write grant proposals, and much more. If I wanted to become a college professor, then having a postdoctoral experience was a must. As it turned out, I likely learned more during my postdoctoral appointment than I did through my entire graduate school career. I shudder to think what kind of substandard scientist I would have made had I not gone the postdoctoral study route.
Take Home Lesson
There are a few take home lessons to glean from all of this.
The first is that the Ph.D. (in the hard sciences, at least) is one of the most difficult academic accomplishments one can attain. It does not happen by accident nor does one earn the degree without being very much above average intelligence or without being a highly motivated, self starting, Type A personality. This point will become key in subsequent postings.
The second, a basic truth for every discipline, is that half of all the Ph.D.s are below average. Getting through the program is not the same as being skilled in the work. I have know some who were scary smart and unbelievably skilled and I have known others who were, to our standards, dumb as a box of bricks. The one constant was that few outside the research world could tell the difference.
Lastly, every Ph.D. should receive respect for what they accomplished. Far too many people seem to think that a Ph.D. is nothing more than an exercise in taking a few extra courses or that research is something simple and easy to understand. It is not uncommon to see fewer than half who attempt to earn the degree fail due to the rigor required. When one complains about the huge egos of many Ph.D.s, one should remember what it took to obtain the degree and how few of them there are making them some of the most elite products of our university system.
Future Posts
Future posts will discuss why the experts seem to get so much wrong, how to tell those who really are knowledgeable from those who are not, how science has become politicized and why this is such a disaster for the country, how they can lie to you with “facts” and false assumptions, and so much more.