A PhD Is Not Enough!: A Guide to Survival in Science Paperback – January 11, 2011

My graduate Astronomy Research professor strongly recommended this book, and I'm glad he did. I bought the paperback and the Audible version. The audiobook was great, as I have a long commute every day, and it is read by the author, which I always prefer. The paperback was a must for me as well. I plan on rereading it several times and using it as a reference. Being able to highlight and quickly find a section or chapter will be crucial. It is a short, easy read, full of information. If you plan on being part of a research community, or even just publishing a handful of research papers, this book is worth a look.

First off, let me point out that I'm reviewing the first edition of this book (1993) which I very recently bought. Had I known a second edition was coming out so soon, I would have bought that instead. Anyway, this book is basically advice for young people who are interested in a career in science. If you are planning to go to graduate school (for a Ph.D.), it will be especially of help. There are 8 easily readable chapters that take you from graduate school all the way up to establishing yourself as a reputable scientist. Given that the book is only 100 pages or so, the material is obviously succinct. There is also some useful material on preparing (and delivering) scientific presentations, and writing science papers.As a young scientist myself (in academia), I can relate to much of it and also learned a few things (e.g. in terms of what to expect at this point). The only issue I had with the book is this. While Feibelman's background is physics, his advice his still largely applicable to people doing research in other areas. However, his perspectives are very US-oriented. The depictions of processes and life in both academia and industry are therefore not very accurate if you look at science and scientists in other countries. In fact, taking his advice - assuming it all works the way he says they do - in *your* country, could actually be detrimental to your career. I found myself shaking my head at times, realizing that this may be how it is in the US, but it's a bit different where I'm from. Some things are better, some things are worse. Ultimately, as a scientist (whether in academia or industry), you should basically want to do the best science you can in the time you have. If your intentions are genuine and work thorough, you are more likely to be the most satisfied at the end of the day.

I am a PhD student who is going to graduate in a year. I feel lucky I bought some books on how to survive in academia. "A PhD is not enough" is the second book I read. The first one is "From student to scholar", which I believe you also have heard about. If I have to give a ranking, I choose the "From student" one as the best (in various academic survival books).This book certainly is good. It is short and informative. I have learned a lot.But I think the author of the book is a little cynical. Many people like the way the book is written. But I think the book conveys some negative emotion which is not very good for a PhD student who is eager to start an academic career. For example, in Chapter 6 'From here to tenure: choose a career path', the author gives a long list of the disadvantages of being a professor in a university. I sense that the author particularly hates teaching. He mentioned many times how stressful and boring teaching is. The author also talks about how wonderful working in a national lab is. I notice that the author himself is a scientist in a national lab but not a professor. That perhaps can explain why he likes national labs instead of universities.But after all, it is also good to be aware of all kinds of disadvantages of professorships. After all one needs to get well prepared to pursue a professorship.

This book is extraordinarily valuable for anyone with a doctoral degree in the natural or social sciences (Although the author is a physicist, I found his advice transferred very easily to my experiences in the social sciences, and is far better than similar books by social scientists. I only wish this book had been available when I was a grad student). The author is concise; he says what needs to be said and leaves out the fluff. I strongly disagree with those reviewers who said his advice was common sense. If that were true, then why do so many intelligent students fail to follow these guidelines and end up dropping out, struggle in dysfunctional environments, or in some way fail to reach their potential? I found his advice to be rich and rewarding, and what he said frequently described the people I saw every day when I was a grad student. The fact that he refers to "overhead foils" is trivial and does not mean the book is outdated; the advice is not outdated by any means.Not everyone sees things the same way or has the same experiences, and I am sure there are other viewpoints, and one should always seek out a variety of opinions, but the author has a viewpoint that one should not miss. A short book, but one that is worth its weight in gold.