Over the last few weeks, I have been slaving over the same problem. I'm not sure whether it was the exasperation, or seeing the hours tick by that made me think about the future. It made me wonder, are people really expected to finish their PhD's with ground breaking results? Or, can we really even expect anyone to even read the final thesis? So what should be our goals after the work is done?

I got advice from a post-doctoral student which you can read here, (http://www.indoctorate.co.uk/2011/02/defining-phd_11.html), but I was really hoping to see what the general opinion is from everyone on here with regards to what you think you will get out of your PhD.

Hey indoctorate, a great question!

The further I went through my PhD the more realistic I think I got about what a PhD is and what the expectations were. I think as well having got my PhD, I am able to reflect backwards on it.

There seems to often be the assumption you will have to make some great discovery and really shift ground to get a PhD. Fortunately that is unrealistic and the true nature of the PhD is reflected as such. A PhD certainly is about doing something new and making new ground in some area. But that may only be a little extension of what is already out there. My own PhD grew out of work from what someone else did, and it made perhaps a small improvement. But that's what research is often about, making little but continous changes that then expand outwards. My work is already being picked up by someone at my old Uni as a means to step forward with it. Little but important steps, not a giant leap.

As for will anyone read it? Okay, let's be realistic - unless you've done something really ground breaking (in which case, well done, but you are in a very small minority) hardly anyone will read it. Your supervisors, external, maybe the odd PhD student reading around for their literature review. And yes, ultimately the thesis is what your PhD is about. But don't be disheartened - if you've published papers, these will get a wider audience. If not, well it gives you something to work towards. That's where the "real work" is done in my opinion.

As for what I expected to get out of it and what I got - well, true, there is a big mismatch. But not necessarily a bad one. I don't think I could even tell you half of what my thesis is about and I only graduated last summer. The skills I have got out of it, however, have been the useful thing not the subject specific matter (although I don't work in research/academia so it's probably a moot point anyway).

Sorry if that's a bit garbled. Beer at lunchtime is a bad idea.

Ground breaking results are very unlikely, but normally a PhD would have to make some contribution to knowledge. That can be at a small level. You could have tested a methodology on a different data set. Or established some new facts. Or worked out a new hypothesis.

I finished my PhD last year. I doubt that many people will ever read my thesis, beyond my supervisors, my immediate family (i.e. parents and hubby), and a post-doc who worked on a closely related PhD. But I am turning my thesis into more journal papers, and those will reach a wider readership. I published 2 peer-reviewed papers during my part-time PhD and I'm now generating more. And I continue to do fun research, albeit in an independent researcher way.

To pass the PhD would be groundbreaking enough for me. As long as I have found a gap in the knowledge that I can fill I'm happy. I first thought that when I started out I wanted to change the world, I now know that this will not happen. In fact apart from my supervisors and external I would be shocked if someone ever reads my thesis ever again.

The main thing I want from my PhD is a secure, well paid job... Again I can dream!

Thanks for the advice all :-) I don't know, I think i'm just getting a few first year nerves. My supervisor gave me a project to work on and I spent about three months trying loads of different methods. I managed to get a few of them to work, but not to a standard I thought was good enough. But my supervisor said to leave it and move to the next project. I just didn't like the thought of leaving something unfinished.

But that's made me feel better hearing what everyone has to say!

If you're in your first year then yes it is too early to worry about this sort of thing unduly. It will work out ok. You have a long way ahead of you. Don't worry if the odd experiment doesn't work well. A PhD is a marathon not a sprint. And you will get there in the end :p