What is it Like to Do a PhD Without a Masters?

If you’ve always wanted to do a PhD, you might be wondering if you can get there without spending more time and money in university.

My journey to a PhD was a little different. Instead of a Masters, I did an Industrial Experience placement during my undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences. I spent 14 months working a 9-5 in a research and development lab. It was a great opportunity to experience working life, without the pressure of exams or coursework. This glimpse of life beyond studying helped put my final year of university into context and I felt better informed to decide my next steps. This turned out to be applying directly to a lab-based PhD project on a Doctoral Training Programme (which I was accepted onto).

There are numerous benefits of having professional experience before starting a PhD, but there are also some important things to consider as well!

The benefits of professional work experience

#1 Skills learned during professional experience can really benefit a PhD

The world of professional work and academia may appear to be different, but the skills you gain from work experience can easily be applied to a PhD. In particular, strong transferable skills can really prepare you for the parts of a PhD outside of your research.

This might look like:

• Better time management and project management skills from working in an environment with shorter deadlines. This can prepare you for balancing independent work during a PhD with the many other demands (like teaching and paper writing).
• Experience of training colleagues which could prepare you for training undergraduate or Masters students in your academic group.
• Presentation skills from talking in team or company meetings is useful preparation for presenting to your supervisor, academic group or even at conferences.

#2 Good working habits

A life in academia often conjures images of long hours and even working through weekends. But it doesn't have to be this way! Gaining experience outside of academia can show you how to keep your work within more typical working hours and days. A company will also want you to plan for annual leave throughout the year. This perspective can help you maintain and stick to a good work life balance and prevent burnout during your PhD.

#3 Prepared for life beyond a PhD (or instead of. . .)

The experience of working life can help you decide to do a PhD for the best reasons, such as pursuing a subject you are passionate about or as a way to further advance towards your career goals. You will understand what life could look like after completing your PhD and likely have professional connections that could be useful in finding a job post PhD.

But there are several considerations to doing a PhD without a Masters

A Masters is a great way to experience postgraduate life and academic research in your field of interest without committing to a full PhD project. This can be useful as there are several differences between professional work and academia that are more easily understood from the experience of doing a Masters.

#1 Specific research skills

The skills you learn during a Masters could be directly applicable to a PhD project and put you in the best location to connect with supervisors in the field you want to study. This experience is highly beneficial in subjects where you write your own research proposal, particularly the Arts and Humanities subjects.

#2 The academic way of working

The days in academia can look different to those in the workplace. They are more likely to have no set working hours and more independent work. There is more time to get lost in the work as deadlines are often far into the future. This can feel different to working in a wider team with more meetings and shorter deadlines, which is more common in professional workplaces. A benefit of this goal-oriented way of working and regular contact with your supervisor is that it can help you to stay focused on the outcomes of your PhD and help you to work more efficiently. However, a Masters could help you to understand whether you would work well in the academic environment.

#3 Your motivations are different

In academia, work is usually driven by interest, not by importance or deadlines. The subject area is niche and the aims can evolve significantly over the duration of the project, so you have to become comfortable not knowing where the work is going. Unlike professional work, there isn’t an external structure or corporate goals to help guide and support your direction. A PhD supervisor will likely expect you to develop and lead the project aims. Although a Masters is over a shorter period of time, it can expose you to this and help you to learn whether you would feel comfortable with this style of working.

How to fill the (possible) gap between professional experience and a Masters

Without the experience of academic research during a Masters, you may find you have a steeper learning curve during the first year of your PhD . Some of these skills include how to maintain the student-supervisor relationship, how to conduct original research and write up your findings.

If everyone around you has that academic experience through a Masters, it might lead you to feel a little out of the loop or even as though you are an imposter in the academic environment. It is possible to work through this and have a great PhD, and many with a Masters still experience these feelings.

There are several ways to fill this possible experience gap. A PhD is a time to learn new skills, so finding a supportive supervisor who understands your background can help you to adjust into this new role. You could also enrol on an Integrated PhD programme that provides a year of research skills training before starting your three year PhD project. In addition, many universities run workshops for PhD students to connect and learn new skills alongside their research – these can include everything from highly technical skills to more general literature review and writing skills.

A reflection of my Industrial Experience year before starting my PhD

The transferrable skills and good working boundaries I learned during my Industrial Experience year have helped me greatly during my PhD and made me feel more prepared for my future career. Although this experience was relevant to my PhD, I had to learn new methodologies (but this could be the case with a Masters degree too) and consciously adapt to the academic way of working. I used my DTP training year to develop my research skills and I was open with my supervisor about what areas I needed training in throughout my PhD.

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