Reflections on my PhD journey: Five years in the wilderness

Abstract

Embarking on a doctoral journey is a daunting endeavour, filled with academic challenges and personal growth. PhD students experience many roles that require managing many skills, identities, responsibilities and challenges. This paper reflects on a five-year wandering PhD odyssey marked by supervision challenges, a change of supervisor, and the crucial role of university postgraduate support. The journey was pursued in consecutive registration cycles (2017-2022). The paper adopted a diaristic approach to document and examine PhD experiences at a South African university in KwaZulu-Natal province. The qualitative research gathered data from the author’s experience through the journey. I reflect on my PhD journey as a case study. A documentary research method was used to gather data. Experiences were recounted as diarised research. Interpretive systematic review was used to show existing research. The study was rooted in the transformational learning theory. Research showed that academic challenges could be turned into learning opportunities for career development, networking and collaboration, personal growth, resulting in meaningful research contributions. The lessons learnt, challenges overcome, and contributions made during the journey lay the foundation for future academics to focus on academic excellence during their academic wilderness. The new supervisors offered expertise, mentorship, and a renewed sense of purpose, emphasising the importance of collaborative and supportive supervisor-student relationships. The unavailability of resources, workshops, seminars, writing retreats, and peer networks were setbacks in my journey, which could have helped navigate the academic landscape, maintain mental well-being, and regain the momentum to complete the PhD. Insights gained are shared.