Swedish Doctoral Students' Experiences on their Journey towards a PhD: Obstacles and opportunities inside and outside the academic building

TLDR

The study aims to depict doctoral students’ experiences of working conditions during their PhD journey. The authors conducted a mixed‑methods pilot study, surveying 278 Umeå University doctoral students and interviewing six female participants. Students reported similar post‑PhD employment interest for men and women, yet fewer women continued; they cited financial, capacity, and rule‑related insecurities, work‑family conflict, and negative experiences as obstacles, while intellectual growth, focused study, a sense of importance, and research freedom—though blurring work–life boundaries—were highlighted as opportunities.

Abstract

The overall aim of this article was to provide a picture of how doctoral students experience their working conditions on their journey towards a PhD. It is based mainly on an extensive pilot study and comprised both a qualitative and a quantitative section. The questionnaire was distributed to 278 students of both sexes at Umea § University in Sweden and the interview study comprises six female students. Interest in working at the university after receiving a PhD was about as great for women as it was for men, although, significantly fewer women continued. Different aspects of insecurity (financial insecurity, insecurity concerning one's own capacity, and insecurity concerning unwritten rules), difficulty in combining an academic career and a family, as well as negative experiences, were some of the obstacles mentioned. The opportunities described included intellectual development and a good chance for in-depth study in a special field. Several of the students also felt that their work involved something of importance. Many mentioned freedom, but often as a kind of Janus face (two-faced) freedom. They emphasised the advantages of freedom in doing research, but maintained at the same time that this freedom also meant that there was no clear dividing line between work and leisure time, and the women in particular felt under stress.