The PhD graduate identity

After so many years of phone conversations where I’ve been asked, “is it Miss or Mrs?”, I can now finally say “Dr” and punch my fist in the air with the sense of victory. It is much more satisfying than saying “Mr” with a sense of defeat, and a comically deep, rough, and totally fake voice. Yes, today I have received my Doctor of Philosophy degree certificate.

I have swapped a letter in my title. I ain’t no longer Mr, I am a Dr. I’m joining a club of doctors, which reminds me of a scene from the movie K-Pax. Now there is one more doctor on this planet.

A few years ago I posted about my PhD student identity, so I thought it’s only fair if I reflect on the outcomes of the time spent since the enthusiastic beginning.

Did your PhD go as you had expected?

This is a standard question asked at the PhD Viva, that is the oral exam to defend one’s thesis. Well, here is what I responded with.

To some extent yes. I achieved some of my goals. I’ve learnt new skills, and improved existing ones, which I lacked after my undergraduate education, but still found valuable to know. I tried what is it like to do research, participate in academic publishing, and test ideas. I learnt about the sense of touch, science communication, while I earned income.

Some things did not go to plan though. I expected I will design high fidelity haptic simulations of natural phenomena, and study how people will engage and learn from these haptic simulations. I also expected that I will be comparing mid-air haptic technology directly with other tangible technologies.

In contrast, it proved much more challenging to develop haptic sensations for the hardware than I expected, thus I was limited by what’s realistically possible to develop for the device, and I had to rely on collaborations to get support with programming. Even though I could have researched other haptic technologies in contrast to mid-air haptics, our lab and support network primarily worked with mid-air haptics, thus I would have been left to my own if I wanted to explore unfamiliar equipment.

However, I do not mind that my PhD did not go as I imagined. I’ve done many things I did not anticipate. I carried out research in the lab, practical work in the field, studied different audiences, and different applications of mid-air haptics, such as an experiential interface, or a device to convey information.

Now what?

After eight years at the University of Sussex, it feels a little sad that I will no longer be affiliated with this remarkable institution.

The past eight years were also rather full on. In 2013, I had to cope with the challenge of leaving home and starting an independent life in a country, where I knew nobody, and I have never been to before. I had to learn independent mobility skills, learn to cook and do my laundry. I had to figure out all of the survival skills, while also studying for my physics degree. I would have had about six months to rest between my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, but nope, I decided it is a good time to co-found a start-up company. The way I usually describe this period is that I learnt the difference between being tired, and being exhausted.

So now, what next? Well, I will take a break. I’ll spend some of this time to read, enjoy a slow paced life-style, work on Project27 Skills, catch up on online courses and learning skills that I kept in the suspense for years. I will also start looking for employment. I feel I have done enough formal studying and it is time to put this knowledge into action, and try to make impact in the world, try and help other people with challenges they might face, whether it is individual or societal.

However, before all that, I have something even more exciting to do in the next five weeks. I have training to do with my new flatmate, my new partner. I need this training, because in the same week I submitted my PhD thesis, I received a phone call, which began my journey on acquiring a new identity. This identity is - the guide dog owner identity.