Hey! So I've just moved from my university where everyone around me was doing PhDs to a place where nobody around me even knows what a PhD is! Has anyone else struggled with questions like '.. so what do you actually DO'? Or struggled to justify how you're getting paid for what doesn't seem like 'real work'; people thinking that academia is just writing papers that nobody will read and speaking at conferences to other experts that nobody will listen to... in a bubble disconnected from the real world... Lol! Or the classic question: 'You're STILL a student?' It's a bit difficult sometimes when the people around me work long hours for low pay and some haven't been to university at all - I feel really privileged to be paid for essentially just sitting on my ass and writing all day when they are working really long shifts. Let me know any top tips for justifying the PhD to non-academic people!

You don't have to justify your life choices to anyone but yourself.
The people on long hours and low pay would be better off focussing on their own lives rather than trying to make you feel bad.

I guess I'd say, yes, it's like being a student but you're more independent and you aren't attending lectures. I know what you mean though, as I have had lots of baffled looks too from some folks. You could say it is (supposed to be!) basically an apprenticeship / training to be a researcher in X. Depending on your field (as I suppose some are less like this). Or, I am studying/researching X...