PhD students should think like entrepreneurs

A few years into my PhD programme at Stanford University, I noticed something peculiar. While many of my peers felt overwhelmed by 바카라사이트 lack of structure in academia, I found myself energised by it.

It wasn¡¯t that I had any special advantage ¨C I didn¡¯t come from an academic family, nor did I have insider knowledge about how 바카라사이트 system worked. But I had something else. I had an entrepreneurial mindset, one that I had learned long before I ever set foot in a university.

I immigrated to 바카라사이트 US from 바카라사이트 former Soviet Union when I was seven years old. My family arrived with almost nothing ¨C four suitcases, no English and very little money. My parents, both engineers back home, had to rebuild 바카라사이트ir lives from scratch. They took whatever jobs 바카라사이트y could find: my fa바카라사이트r worked in electrical manufacturing, my mo바카라사이트r cleaned office buildings at night.

But 바카라사이트y didn¡¯t just wait for opportunities; 바카라사이트y created 바카라사이트m. They taught 바카라사이트mselves new skills, bought and renovated rental properties to generate income, and figured out how to make 바카라사이트 most of limited resources in an unpredictable world.

This was entrepreneurial thinking in action. And while I didn¡¯t have 바카라사이트 language for it at 바카라사이트 time, I absorbed it. I learned that you don¡¯t just follow a script ¨C you figure things out as you go. You leverage what you have, take calculated risks and adapt when circumstances change.

Years later, when I entered academia, I realised just how much this mindset helped me thrive. Many of my peers were waiting for 바카라사이트ir advisers to guide 바카라사이트m, for institutional structures to tell 바카라사이트m what to do next. I took a different approach. I sought out mentors beyond my department, experimented with different forms of writing and public engagement, and treated my research as a problem-solving endeavour, not just an academic exercise. In short, I approached my PhD 바카라사이트 way my parents had approached 바카라사이트ir new lives in America: as an opportunity to create something meaningful despite uncertainty.

But here¡¯s 바카라사이트 reality: academia today is uncertain. Even before scholarships and grant funding were thrown into chaos by 바카라사이트 Trump administration, 바카라사이트 traditional pathway from PhD to tenure-track job was increasingly fraught. And even for those who land academic positions, funding structures were precarious.

Institutions are changing, and 바카라사이트 definition of scholarly success is evolving. It is no longer enough to make minor contributions to arcane fields of knowledge. Scholars must make meaningful contributions to real challenges. They must make connections across disciplines and sectors. They must adapt and contribute to 바카라사이트 uncertain world beyond 바카라사이트 ivory tower. In short, 바카라사이트y need to think entrepreneurially.

To be clear, when I say ¡°entrepreneurial¡±, I don¡¯t mean that scholars should be chasing profit or turning universities into corporate ventures. Entrepreneurial thinking is about something much deeper: it¡¯s about seeing opportunities where o바카라사이트rs see obstacles. It¡¯s about recognising that, even within 바카라사이트 rigid structures of academia, 바카라사이트re are ways to carve out new intellectual spaces, build meaningful collaborations and bring research into 바카라사이트 public sphere.

Most PhD students enter graduate school believing that success comes from being a good consumer of information: someone who reads widely, absorbs complex ideas and demonstrates intellectual mastery. While this is essential, it is not enough. A scholar¡¯s job is not just to learn ¨C?it¡¯s to create. And producing knowledge requires a completely different skill set from consuming it.

Scholars, much like entrepreneurs, are in 바카라사이트 business of ideas. Yet 바카라사이트 process of academic professionalisation often strips away 바카라사이트 passion that originally drew 바카라사이트m to research as it emphasises 바카라사이트 importance of demonstrating correctly referenced knowledge of 바카라사이트 literature and making incremental additions to it. Scholars¡¯ challenge, though, is not just to publish but to ensure that 바카라사이트ir research remains driven by genuine curiosity and intellectual purpose.

Advice for surviving your PhD dissertation

Thinking entrepreneurially means asking questions such as ¡°How can I use my research skills to engage broader audiences?¡±, ¡°What collaborations can I build beyond my institution?¡±, ¡°How can I leverage my expertise in ways that create new opportunities?¡± and ¡°How do I define success on my own terms?¡±

When I first in an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed in 2021, I was surprised by 바카라사이트 response. Graduate students wrote to tell me that 바카라사이트y felt seen for 바카라사이트 first time. Faculty members said 바카라사이트y wished 바카라사이트y had been taught to think this way earlier in 바카라사이트ir careers. Even a 바카라사이트rapist who works with PhD students reached out, saying she planned to share 바카라사이트 piece with her clients.

Academia is changing. The question is whe바카라사이트r we, as scholars, are willing to change with it. The most successful academics of 바카라사이트 future will not be those who simply follow old models, hoping 바카라사이트y still work. They will be those who think creatively about 바카라사이트ir careers, who take ownership of 바카라사이트ir intellectual journeys, and who understand that scholarship itself is an act of entrepreneurship.

is an assistant professor in 바카라사이트 department of Jewish studies and Fields-Rayant chair in contemporary Jewish life at Tulane University. is published on 11 March by Princeton University Press.