Question: Hi Suze, would you say a PhD is essential to be successful in science?

Suze Kundu answered on 13 Jun 2011:

Hi Princess Rachael!

Firstly, I love the fact that you’re a Princess. I too can often be seeing sporting a tiara. Can’t beat it, right?!

Secondly, to answer your question 🙂 I think that it depends on how you measure success within science. Is success measured by publishing loads of scientific papers based on your research, or is it to have your own research group, or is it to be a popular scientist, on TV or in magazines, or to invent something that will change the world? I guess that to a certain extent, for all of those things, it definitely helps to have a PhD. Having a PhD under your belt really means that you’re more likely to have the opportunity to carry out your own research, rather than have someone else make all of the decisions while you work under them.

When you do a PhD, you learn lots of really valuable skills. You can manage your own time, work on your own and in a team, you’re able to present your work to a scientific audience, but also to non-scientists which really helps communication skills, and you basically become a more reliable source of information, probably because of the fact that you’ve been through this process that makes you think outside the box, and stretch your imagination in order to solve a problem.

You can do a lot of wonderful research in labs up and down the country, and also abroad, without a PhD however, by spending three years on a piece of dedicated research, I think that it definitely opens more doors for you. At least I hope it does – hmm, how about I give you guys a shout when I’ve finished my PhD at the end of the year, and let you know how I got on with all of my doors?!