Does Everyone Hate Their Thesis / Dissertation by the End?
Letter Thirty-Four: Dear Does Everyone Hate Their Work By the End
I do believe everyone goes through a stage - or many stages - of feeling disenchanted, confused, disappointed, and disliking of the thousands of words they have to output for a dissertation.
Hatred could be and definitely has been a part of it for people (it’s such a recognizable experience that there’s a meme I’ve seen on academic accounts that reads something like “I know a paper is ready to submit once I hate it”).
As could feeling disconnected or apathetic. So I don’t want to say that all the emotional experiences of this stage look and feel the same to people, but it appears as though it is a part of everyone’s journey.
Should I understand the feelings of self-hate, imposter syndrome, anxiety, and executive dysfunction during thesis writing as confirmation that academia is not for me?
Letter Nine: Dear I Hate Thesis Writing
Thesis writing is a very specific kind of writing, and particularly if you are at an institution with a strong structure for the thesis or dissertation, it can take the joy out of the research topic and writing so easily. And this is coming from someone who very much considers themselves a writer… I would probably venture to guess that most PhD theses are written without feeling particularly great about the writing or the writing process. You would certainly not be alone with that sentiment.