{"id":418,"date":"2013-10-28T14:37:01","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T21:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solesadmissions.wordpress.com\/?p=418"},"modified":"2013-10-28T14:37:01","modified_gmt":"2013-10-28T21:37:01","slug":"destination-doctorate-finding-your-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/solesadmissions\/2013\/10\/28\/destination-doctorate-finding-your-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination Doctorate: Finding your path"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re pondering the possibility of embarking on this doctoral journey, or have just started the program, I say: follow your dream. What gives me the \u201ccreds\u201d to share? To date, I\u2019ve successfully combined a challenging job (the <i>way<\/i> more than 40+ hours weekly type of role) and a full graduate load and have just reached the transition from my \u201cacademic\u201d plan to the \u201cdissertation\u201d plan. <i>Each individual forges their personal path on this journey<\/i>, and here\u2019s a couple elements I\u2019ve found helpful . . .<br \/>\n<b>Keeping my \u201cize\u201d on the doctoral prize.<\/b> In my work, I coach leaders and organizations to surface a vision of an ideal future state, assess their current state and implement the best options to bridge the gap. Once I determined the doctoral degree would offer the right vehicle to take me to my dream and passion, I created a means to <i>visualize<\/i> this end as achieved. I had my prior degree certificates framed, as well as a \u201cplaceholder\u201d for the doctoral diploma. My metaphor for this journey involved the set of patches for the Apollo space program, which my grandmother worked on\u2014symbolizing an amazing time and achievement in our history. The quadrant of diplomas\u2014three attained and the fourth \u201cto be\u201d in the form of the framed patches\u2014reminds me every day of just exactly where I\u2019m going and provides the inspiration for my journey.<br \/>\nOnce I determined where I was headed, I crafted a map to take me there. To <i>strategize<\/i> my journey, I laid out a plan for each semester. Embracing my inner geek, my method included a spreadsheet identifying years, semesters, requirements, electives and calculated course credits for each semester and cumulative totals for each year. Every spring, summer, fall and intercession completed reflects a colorful highlight. I keep this mounted on a board\u2014front and center to where I spend the majority of my workday. The strategy clearly lays out method and milestones, and shows my progress toward achieving my objective.<br \/>\n<b>Execution and transition.<\/b> Perhaps it\u2019s no surprise I generated a super-spreadsheet to capture every single reading, task, assignment, and paper, by date, by course, by type, with descriptions, plan dates and status (remember, inner geek) for each semester. This tool helped me execute, powering ahead when possible to create slack for crunch times. Years ago a colleague and I were joking around about my approach to life and how I \u201cplanned\u201d opportunities to be \u201cspontaneous\u201d in my calendar. So, yes, I then integrated other personal and family items into this file. In for a penny, in for a pound, or, in spreadsheet vernacular, in for a cell, in for a worksheet ;-).<br \/>\nWith the beginning of this semester, I became a \u201c3<sup>rd<\/sup> year\u201d\u2014and since I\u2019ve completed two courses each spring and fall and one or two every intercession and summer\u2014I\u2019m close to finished with the academic requirements this semester. Now I have a new spreadsheet\u2014are you surprised? In it, I\u2019ve laid out all the milestones to take me through to my dissertation defense. I\u2019ve identified my committee and submitted my paper for the Part A qualification. I\u2019m slotted for dissertation seminar in the spring. I have a path, and I\u2019m able to look back, stand in the present and anticipate the future.<br \/>\nWhat path are you on? If you\u2019re interested in USD SOLES\u2014or if you\u2019re already part of the community\u2014and you have questions about balancing work and school, or the program, or this transition to the dissertation journey, ping me. I\u2019m happy to be a traveling companion.<br \/>\nKathryn is a 3rd year Doctoral student in our Leadership Studies, PhD program, and she is also a SOLES Ambassador. To learn more about Kathryn and her experiences in the PhD program, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiego.edu\/soles\/academics\/student-profiles\/phd\/kathryn-bingham.php\" target=\"_blank\">follow the link&gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re pondering the possibility of embarking on this doctoral journey, or have just started the program, I say: follow your dream. What gives me the \u201ccreds\u201d to share? To date, I\u2019ve successfully combined a challenging job (the way more <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/solesadmissions\/2013\/10\/28\/destination-doctorate-finding-your-path\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":718,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89902,60496,35186,62805],"tags":[94087,63620,93415,115116,115320,60706,115600,115905],"class_list":["post-418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice-words-of-wisdom","category-leadership-studies","category-phd","category-soles-ambassadors","tag-advice","tag-dissertation","tag-doctoral-student","tag-goal-setting","tag-kathryns-posts","tag-leadership-studies-2","tag-timeline","tag-transition"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Destination Doctorate: Finding your path - SOLES Admissions and Outreach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/solesadmissions\/2013\/10\/28\/destination-doctorate-finding-your-path\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Destination Doctorate: Finding your path - SOLES Admissions and Outreach\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re pondering the possibility of embarking on this doctoral journey, or have just started the program, I say: follow your dream. 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