Self-help book aims to improve happiness of PhD students under pressure
Psychiatrist and “meta-scientist” Joeri Tijdink researches the well-being of scientists. Now he has written an uplifting self-help book: How can doctoral students survive academia?
Not infrequently, PhD students begin their doctoral research with sky-high ambitions and idealistic plans. But working in science is not always what they imagined. Most of all, it is much more stressful. An estimated 40 percent of all doctoral students suffer from symptoms of stress or depression.
That has to change, psychiatrist Joeri Tijdink believes. He is a member of The Young Academy, a society of relatively young top scientists. As a “meta-scientist,” he researches integrity and reliability in scientific research. With his new book, The Happy Academic, he aims to help doctoral students become successful and happy scientists.
There are 34 often witty tips in the book. For example, you should immediately stop promoting yourself on your own website. Why did you choose a lighthearted tone?
“In all the research I’ve done on scientists, I have come across a lot of suffering: publication pressure, scientific misconduct, depression, and anxiety attacks. Many scientists are quite serious people who put a lot of pressure on themselves. I want young researchers to take a more lighthearted look at their own situation.”
Why is the book aimed primarily at doctoral students?
“They experience the most problems. As many as 30 percent terminate their PhDs prematurely. That is a mortal sin. After all, doing a PhD can be very fun and challenging, even if you don’t go into science afterwards. As a doctoral student, you get to spend years doing something you find especially interesting. That really is a privilege. It is a pity that this group in particular has so many problems. After all, doctoral students are ultimately the future of science. While of course they still have a lot to learn, they also have the most innovative ideas and creative insights. So it is a shame if they are discouraged.”
- Science is also an exercise in rejection; you must learn to deal with that
- Accept that scientific research is never perfect
- Stop excessive use of social media
- Don’t romanticize a scientific career
- Making mistakes is part of the game! You are not the sum of your results
- Get used to sometimes having to adjust your opinion or scientific outlook
- Share your problems with others
- Think about something other than work: Stop working overtime and never stop exercising
- Take early signs of an anxiety attack or burnout seriously
- Remember to have fun and enjoy what you do
The book is very critical of academic culture. You could have written a book about that, and yet you chose to write a self-help book.
“People have been publishing and talking about the same pain points for decades: the university is too hierarchical, publication pressure is too high, there is a lack of mentoring, and there is too little research money so competition is fierce. Universities have been slowly changing course in recent years with “recognize and value.” But that turnaround is still far from complete. And PhD students still suffer from these major structural problems on a daily basis. That’s why I wanted to offer them help with that.”
What actions can doctoral students take themselves?
“Because of the hierarchy at universities, scientists who don’t perform well can stay in influential positions for a long time. If your department head is a narcissist, it’s helpful if you know how best to deal with such a person without it coming at your expense. It is also good to think about how to be productive without working day and night and how to support each other as scientists without seeing each other solely as competitors.”
In your book, you advise PhD students to stop working with people who make them feel miserable. But these students are very dependent on senior researchers. What should they do when those relationships don’t work out?
“If you can pick your own supervisor, above all find someone with whom you have a good rapport. If that is not possible because your project is already associated with certain scientists, make sure that during those three or four years you exchange ideas and collaborate with people with whom you do get along well. Even in very difficult situations, you have more options than you think.”
