PhD Diary: Gráinne McEvoy

Contributed by Gráinne McEvoy

Do you consider your PhD to be a job or a vocation? Like medicine and the holy orders, it’s a vocation. As evidenced by the on-call hours, the modest income, and the conviction that no other job is nearly as important.

In 20 words or less, tell us why you decided to do a PhD? In the most positive sense possible, and without a shred of irony, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

Gráinne’s Diary: I fully agree with Tomás Irish in the last PhD Diary who wrote that he views doing a PhD as a vocation but tries to treat it as a job. Indeed, I have to dispense with modesty and commend myself for generally sticking to a nine to five routine, even if my workload too often requires an additional seven to eleven nightshift. For some reason, though, and despite the fact that my family and close friends are immeasurably supportive and proud of what I have chosen to do, I still feel the need to prove to my non-academic loved ones that while my career choice may appear self-indulgent and airy-fairy, I still have a routine and responsibilities just like a real grown-up. I repeat ad nauseam that I have teaching responsibilities, I don’t watch daytime TV, and I work at a desk in a grey cubicle complete with hand lotion and pictures of my nieces and nephews. Before you advise me against protesting too much, I should point out that I am a sort of academic emigrant; I’m pursuing a doctoral degree in Boston.