Steve Tippins Ph.D.Helping doctoral students get their dissertation accepted, succeed in their careers, & change the world | Academic Career Advisor | Dissertation Chair & Founder, Beyond PhD Coaching | 35 + years of experience.

Other people knew the stuff but didn't have the empathy

15 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief testimonial, the speaker recounts a one‑hour conversation with a potential mentor who asked probing questions about a chapter the speaker was struggling with. The dialogue sparked a sudden insight, leading the speaker to feel a strong desire to work for the mentor despite being broke. The speaker emphasizes that while many others possessed the technical knowledge, they lacked empathy; the mentor’s authentic, empathetic approach resonated deeply, aligning with the speaker’s values of authenticity and genuine connection.

Chapters

he was like, what is it you're overwhelmed with? I sent it to him. I think there was a chapter I was struggling with, and then he asked me some questions and stuff. And just by the end of our conversations, I was like, oh, okay. I think it was maybe about like an hour we were talking, and the light bulb just went on. And I'm like, okay, I think I want to work for you. I'm broke, but I want to work with you. So I think for me, honestly, it was a lot of empathy because, you know, I've spoken to a few people and it was just like, nah, they knew the stuff, but they didn't have the empathy. And for me, I love authenticity, and he was very, very authentic from, you know, the beginning, and that really got me.