A Dissertation Retrospective

Hey ya'll. Sorry for the radio silence. I've been rushing to finish my dissertation so I can start a new gig in the Fall, and its been all consuming. I'll be designing some new courses from scratch later this summer, at which point I plan to continue the syllabus design series. But in the meantime, since all I'm thinking about lately is my dissertation, I thought I'd share my impressions of the process. So join me after the break for a look back...

First Year:

Fifth Year:

End of Sixth Year:

Comments

[Justin Caouette]

Here here.

[Anon]

This isn't exactly on topic, but: how much of the dissertation should one have completed before going on the job market? Thanks in advance!

[Anon UK Grad]

Someone once told me, about when I was at your stage JG, that you'll be shocked how much of the final dissertation you write in the last eight months or so. Turned out to be true in my case.

[2 cents]

If you are from a top 15 Leiter school, it is fine to go out on the market with an incomplete dissertation (if the faculty support you). As you move down the list, you had better have more of it done. In the bottom 1/2 of the Leiter list you should have all (or 90 %) of it done. If you are not on the Leiter list, do not go on the market until you have defended.

[Derek Bowman]

Anon,

I don't think things are as rosy as 2 cents suggests even at the top 15. But the most plausible - and actionable - advice I've consistently heard is that you need enough of your dissertation done so that your advisors can write credibly and specifically about when you will finish. Nobody can afford to have a search fail because the candidate they hired can't finish their PhD in time, so your letter writers must be in the position to eliminating all reasonable (and most unreasonable) doubt.