And Carrie On

I’ve taken time this year to suss out how higher education has helped me in achieving my goals. First, I thought broadly about the impacts of how higher education made me a better person and leader.

Then, I challenged myself to spend time thinking about the impact each degree had on my life. First, my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arkansas Tech University. I earned these two degrees and felt sure I was done. Fast forward a decade later, and I decided to attend Texas Tech University and earn a doctorate.

That process took four years, and it profoundly changed me and my skill set. In today’s post, I am sharing a few takeaways from the journey to earn that degree.

Four Takeaways from a Doctoral Degree

Letting Go of an Empty To-Do List – As a doctoral student and a full-time working professional, I quickly had to come to terms with the idea that I couldn’t end the day getting everything off the list. When the day was over at work, I had to compartmentalize the work and instead go home to work on my doctoral studies. Prior to starting the program, I would often work in the evening on things that felt more pressing for work. That wasn’t possible in a doctoral program. Having to make decisions about what could wait each day helped me get really good at understanding what tasks were most important in my list. I still use this skill daily when I have multiple demands on my time and need to focus on what is most pressing.

Analyze Everything – I never had a test in my doctoral program. Instead, everything was focused on writing and analysis. As a newer leader at the time, I wasn’t as familiar with analyzing and making recommendations. This process was incredibly hard for me (first summer group project still haunts me). Changing from right and wrong answers to looking for patterns and trends is a different set of muscles in the brain. However, I got better at it over time, and I am so thankful for this training. Now, I regularly review data and trends to make informed decisions for the university where I work.

Making Decisions Without All the Data – In my classes, we often had to make decisions on a case study with just what was provided. My classmates and I regularly found ourselves saying, “If only we knew x…” Looking back, that was part of the process. The program helped us get comfortable making decisions without all the information. As leaders, we regularly have to make decisions without all the data we’d like. If we had all the answers, the decision would be much easier. My doctoral program trained me to make decisions based on limited information. I got familiar with analyzing situations and systems, which gave me a basis to make decisions. That skill, while still not fully comfortable, is something I use regularly when I have to make a call as a MarComm leader.

Productivity Looks Different Every Day – One of the things I learned in writing a dissertation is that some days I wrote brilliant things, and other days I wrote junk. Both were part of the process and mattered toward getting finished. If I had put pressure on myself that each day’s writing had to be amazing, I would have never finished. Instead, the daily writing forced me to keep moving. What I learned is that even in the “junk” the process mattered, and often there was good. In my work as a MarComm leader, there are days I feel like I nail it, and there are days I don’t. Some days involve generating ideas that shift the direction of a project, and other days I’m focused on clearing space so the next day’s thinking is better. Both matter and count. That mind shift forced me to reframe my thoughts about productivity and success. It’s all part of the overall process, and it all matters.

How Has a Doctorate Helped You?

If you’ve earned your doctoral degree, how has the process benefitted you? Would love to hear your thoughts. Just drop a comment below!