Ah, the PhD. Often regarded as the crowning achievement of academic brilliance, it’s seen as the ultimate goal for the most studious individuals.
Don’t just take my word for it—the first line of the PhD Wikipedia page calls it “the highest academic level in a given discipline.”
And let’s not forget: once you’ve got a PhD, you’re officially a Doctor! No stethoscope (or TARDIS) required.
But does earning a PhD really mean you have to be incredibly intelligent? Or is there more to it than that?
On the surface PhD projects can seem incredibly daunting. They’re about venturing into uncharted territory and pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. Even the titles of PhD theses are often so complex that they could make anyone’s eyes glaze over—if you’re curious, check out some examples in my article on choosing a good title for your own PhD thesis!
Then there’s the mystique. PhDs are rare—only about 1% of the population holds one —so it’s no surprise they’re often seen as a pursuit reserved for borderline geniuses.
But here’s the thing about the idea that you need to be super smart to complete a PhD:
- That assumption is absolutely untrue.
- More importantly, it’s a damaging myth that needs debunking.
Why the PhD Myth Hurts Everyone
The lofty perception of PhDs limits the talent pool and reinforces outdated ideas about who is and isn’t “PhD material”.
Unfortunately, it’s true that PhDs are disproportionately awarded to people from certain privileged backgrounds. Think privately educated individuals, those with parents in prestigious jobs or who are academics themselves, and others with access to resources many don’t have.
Worse still, this exclusivity amplifies broader issues around the lack of diversity in academia, such as underrepresentation of women and people of colour.
This hurts everyone:
- Individuals: Many are deterred from pursuing PhDs—missing out on exciting opportunities and limiting their career options.
- Academia: Failing to harness the potential of a wider pool of researchers limits innovation and progress.
- Society: Research topics and outcomes may fail to represent the needs of diverse communities. For example, gaps in medical research have resulted in treatments that work better for some groups than others. And don’t forget—PhD holders often go on to influential roles outside academia, such as in politics and business.
The reality? You don’t need to be a genius to do a PhD.
In fact, PhDs aren’t particularly difficult in the way we think about school exams or university coursework. What you need instead is determination, a decent work ethic, and the ability to show up consistently—even on days when you’d rather do anything else.
For more on this topic, be sure to check out my post on: How Hard is a PhD?
Why Exam Grades Don’t Predict PhD Success
I recently met a brilliant PhD student at an event. When we connected on LinkedIn, I noticed that their high school grades—all Cs and below—weren’t what you’d typically expect from someone embarking on a PhD.
But here’s the truth: exam grades aren’t a great predictor of PhD success. In fact, people capable of achieving good marks with minimal effort can be ill-prepared for the realities of a PhD.
Why? Because being “book-smart” is less important than you’d think for a PhD…
Yes, you need a solid foundation in your subject, but success in a PhD depends more on skills like time management, project planning, and self-motivation.
The Real Challenges of a PhD
From my experience, the three biggest work-related reasons PhD students struggle are:
1. Time Management
PhDs are self-directed, which can be tough for those used to having clearly defined pieces of coursework and projects to work on.
Managing your own workload is a big part of the PhD. PhD advisors / supervisors don’t always spot issues early, so it’s up to you to ensure consistent progress and ensure you’re fulfilling your university’s criteria for the PhD: for example publishing papers.
Time management doesn’t mean working endless hours: a solid 9-to-5 schedule during the week will get you through just fine—there’s no need for sleepless nights or burnout. It is about being smart with your time.
2. Poor Project Structuring
A PhD is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s easy to get lost in the middle. Many students start their PhD with only a short undergraduate research project as experience. Scaling this up to a 3–5-year endeavour, bringing together multiple bits of work into one coherent story, can be overwhelming. You have to decide things such as which experiments to conduct, when to stop working on an idea, and how to write up your work into compelling and well constructed papers.
As an aside: I believe that gaining a bit of work experience can be really handy both for project management and time management skills.
3. Motivation
Staying driven over several years is no small feat. You’ll likely go through less productive periods, but it’s important not to let them become the norm.
For more on this, check out my post: PhD Motivation: How to Stay Driven From Cover Letter to Completion.
Notice that none of these three challenges rely upon traditional “book smart” intelligence.
The Secret to PhD Success: Showing Up Consistently
If you’re worried a PhD requires constant flashes of brilliance, let me reassure you. At least in STEM fields, much of the work is repetitive. Think pipetting liquids for hours in a lab, tweaking parameters in a computer model, or preprocessing and analysing data for weeks. Glamorous, right?
Stamina and consistency matter far more than “big brain” bursts of inspiration. Sure, you’ll need some foundational knowledge, but most of it can be picked up along the way.
Intelligence plays a much smaller role in PhD success than you might think.
You might expect that a large proportion of the time during a PhD is in what I’ve described below as “zone 3”: stuff which is really challenging. Interspersed with short times when you can relax a bit into less challenging work “zone 2”.
Instead, the reality is that a lot of time during a PhD is spent doing repetitive tasks like those I just mentioned. Often at first these will require some learning, but once you’re up and running it’ll become second nature. Therefore a lot of the time during a PhD is comfortably in “zone 2” and even sometimes “zone 1”: which really doesn’t require much intelligence.
In fact, I’d argue that anyone who has worked a mundane job (and is able to keep at it) is surprisingly well-prepared for the grind of a PhD. Success comes from persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to figure things out—even when it’s tedious.
Looking back, I honestly believe I could’ve done just as well in my PhD without an undergraduate degree. That sounds crazy but I really used very little of the knowledge from my degree. Most of my time was trying things out, running pretty monotonous stuff in a computer program, and processing images which I’d had some experience in outside of academia. It was quite easy to figure things out by reading published papers, some searching online, and speaking to lab mates.
And with tools like YouTube tutorials, better search engines, and ChatGPT, it’s easier than ever to fill in any knowledge gaps.
My Advice to Prospective PhD Students
If you’re considering a PhD, my advice to you would be:
- To those who are used to being top of the class: Be prepared to work hard—perhaps harder than you ever have before. Being smart isn’t enough; PhD success demands daily effort over years, often without clear progress points to keep you in line.
- To those who doubt themselves: Don’t let the PhD intelligence myth stop you. That student I mentioned earlier with the “not-so-great” grades? They’re excelling in their PhD and looking to form a spinout company based on their research. There is so much more to what makes a good PhD student than top grades and subject matter knowledge.
So, if you’ve been hesitating because you think you’re not “PhD material,” remember this: the most important qualities—determination, curiosity, and resilience—are things you can develop.
The world needs diverse voices in research. Why not yours?
Useful Resources
For more on this topic be sure to check out my post on: How Hard is a PhD?
Currently applying for a PhD? Here are a few other posts I think you may find useful:
This post was a little different to most of the ones I’ve written here. Feel free to let me know what you thought of it.
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This was super helpful, thanks Jeff
No problem at all, thanks for the feedback Esther. Best wishes, Jeff