Unrealistic doctoral expectations

Ross Woods, 2022

A member of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D) Network initiated an informal Facebook survey on the question: What expectations of the doctoral program did you have to abandon?

The network members formed an accidental sample and their comments below have been anonymized. The Network is a private group with the following stated purpose:

The Doctor of Education Network is a support group that is open to everyone who is in the process of completing their doctorate degree or who have finished the process and are moving toward new projects after the doctorate. We engage in discussions about the doctoral process, methods for successfully completing doctoral programs, and support in future research projects. This network is here to help alleviate stress during the doctoral process, provide an opportunity for networking, and providing continuous support to Ed.D recipients and candidates.
(Viewed Feb. 9, 2022.)

I had to abandon the expectation ...

1. That I could compare my experience to others. Everyone’s experience is different, and I had to embrace mine.
2. That everything had to be perfect. By the end, everything just had to get done.
3. That my dissertation has to be perfect. The best dissertation is a done dissertation.
4. That I had to get rid of the notion that I knew anything. Trust your supervisors.
5. a. That it had to be perfect. It just has to be finished.
   b. That the course work would be manageable and easy.
   c. That I had to complete the program in under four years.
6. That could keep my my timeline. I realized that it takes as long as it takes. My data collection didn’t go as planned and I had to pivot my research questions; it took five years instead of four, but I eventually graduated.
7. That I could keep to my timeline. Letting go of my timeline started to affect me mentally. So I'm pushing towards completion but letting expectations be more realistic.
8. That I could get the writing done in two or three drafts. I just came to accept it that there will be several drafts.
9. That I would be finished in the time they scheduled. I'm still working.
10. That I would finish in three years.
11. That I needed to get perfect grades in each class.
12. That I could keep all my expectations. Nothing went as planned even when following the advice of my committee. I adopted an "it is what it is" mentality and tried to go with the flow as much as possible.
13. That it is not a competition.
14. That if it was easy, everyone would do it. It’s supposed to be hard.
15. That self-doubt and the imposter syndrome won’t happen. It’s actually part of the process of self-reflection and personal continuity.
16. That I’m supposed to know everything after I was done.
17. That I’d never need any further education or certification.
18. That I could keep my my rigid expectations. Sometimes there is no path; it appears as you go, so keep going.
19. That I would stay motivated to write once I was in my dissertation phase. I haven’t written in six months.
20. a. That everyone in the program is there for the right reasons
    b. That my research would somehow be groundbreaking.
    c. That I would know exactly what comes afterwards.
21. a. That I was going to be different from everybody else and not have any stress or any second thoughts or feel defeated at times. a. That I was going to be different from everybody else.
    b. That I would not have any stress or any second thoughts.
    a. That I would not feel defeated at times.
22. That I should think deeply about everything. I learned not to overthink everything. Tasks were far simpler than I thought.
23. That I would learn everything I needed before I would graduate. A doctoral degree is just a ticket to play in the big leagues.
24. That I was doing great. When I thought I'd written something great, I'd get feedback. Eventually I shifted my mindset and saw feedback as a way of my committee supporting me.
25. I had to let go of expecting anything from faculty. Most of them didn't provide any feedback and most that did were unclear. It was disappointing at first. but two instructors were helpful.
26. That comments meant I had failed; I took them personally for a while. Comments helped my study to be clear.
27. That faculty would be consistent. How did you deal with a chair saying one thing and the Subject Matter Expert (SME) saying another? It’s like I was in a circle and the chair does not want to meet while the SME does. I had two co-chairs who sometimes told me different things. I told them I needed them to discuss it, make a decision, and then tell me what to do.