In this concise advisory video, Steve Tippins, Ph.D., of Beyond PhD Coaching walks prospective doctoral candidates through five critical questions they must answer before committing to a PhD or other terminal degree. He first asks viewers to clarify their underlying motivation (“Why do I want a doctorate?”) and warns against vague or superficial reasons. Next, he probes whether a doctorate is truly required for the intended career path, distinguishing between roles that mandate a doctoral credential (e.g., tenure‑track professor) and those where it is optional or merely prestige‑driven. He then highlights the importance of selecting the appropriate type of terminal degree—PhD, Ed.D., DBA, etc.—based on the candidate’s professional goals. The fourth question addresses the full financial and opportunity‑cost picture, including tuition, fees, books, software, travel, conference expenses, and lost earnings. Finally, he confronts the sobering statistic that roughly half of doctoral students do not finish, urging viewers to consider the consequences of non‑completion and to evaluate the support structures (advisor, department, personal systems) that can improve completion odds. Throughout, Tippins promotes his coaching services and a free doctoral decision guide as resources to help candidates make an informed choice and successfully finish their programs.
Chapters
So you're thinking about getting into a doctoral program. That can be a wonderful journey, but here's 5 things you should think about, questions you should ask before you embark on the dissertation journey. The first one, why do I want a doctorate? I talk to people, I ask this question frequently, and sometimes they just say, well, I don't know, I was in a master's program and I just thought I'd keep going. Well, a doctoral program takes time and money, so you really should know why you're doing this. Over the years, I've heard things like, I want to be a professor, I want to be a researcher, I promised a family member I want to do this. Every once in a while I get, I want to show that that teacher in 3rd grade, or wherever, was wrong about me. But there is an overarching goal or desire to get a doctorate, and for many people it's multiple reasons. They want to get a doctorate. And anywhere along your journey, we at Beyond PhD Coaching are here to help in any way that we can. So you want to click the link below, find out the services that we offer, and even book a time to talk to us. The next question you want to ask is, do I actually need a doctorate? If you know your why— why am I doing this doctorate— if one of your reasons is I want to teach at a university, Then yes, you probably do need a doctorate. If the answer is to become something like a principal, you might need a doctorate. If the answer is, wow, I wanna impress people with having doctor at the beginning of my name, okay. But there are times professionally when you don't need a doctorate. It might be nice to have, but it's not gonna give you a raise or a promotion or anything like that. So you have to understand why you need this. And if it's an internal— Desire, great. Just understand that. Now, here's a question not a lot of people ask. Am I choosing the right kind of doctorate? Because there are PhDs and Ed.Ds and DBAs, etc. So many areas that have terminal degrees. If you have a DBA, you can be doctor. If you get a PhD, you are doctor. So being called something Doesn't matter what the degree is. However, let's go back to question 1. Why do I want a doctorate? Well, if I've said I want to be a researcher, then I want a degree that entails doing a lot of research. Then that's probably a PhD. If I've said I want to be a principal, it's more procedural and understanding educational processes, then I may want an Ed.D. So you want to make sure you sign up for the right type of degree. that goes along with the reason you want to get a degree. You also really should consider what is this going to cost, and cost is more than tuition. It can be fees, it can be books, software, and travel, and research-related expenses, and conferences, and maybe student loan interest. You also want to think about the time that a degree can take and any potential lost earnings. I dropped out of the workforce to go get this degree. Now I'm coming back. Well, I didn't have a lot of earnings during the doctoral program. There is a cost there as well. And make sure you factor all of that into your decision process. The 5th thing you might want to ask is, knowing that 50% of doctoral students do not finish their program, what happens if I don't finish? My program? Well, obviously you're not a doctor. Obviously, if you have any student loans, you're still paying those even though you didn't get the degree. But more importantly, you want to understand the support that the school gives you in order to finish and not be one of the 50% that didn't make it. So how are chairs compensated? How do chairs support you? What systems does the school have in place And what systems can you put in place to support yourself? I'm Steve Tippins from Beyond PhD Coaching, and I've been doing the academic job for over 30 years and coaching and chairing dissertations for over 25 years. My goal is to help you finish. So if there's any way we at Beyond PhD Coaching can help, please reach out. Click the link below and maybe even look at our doctoral decision guide that we have provided. Good luck on your journey.
