Abstract
Doctoral Students Skills: Using Your Comparative Advantage to Succeed in Grad School and Prepare for the Job Market by Christopher L. Pallas is a comprehensive look at the trajectory, or, rather, the ideal trajectory, of doctoral studies for students intending to pursue research-oriented careers equipped with a PhD. The book speaks to the social sciences broadly, but as an accomplished nonprofit/NGO scholar, Pallas makes anecdotes and references that are highly relevant to the field of nonprofit and philanthropic studies. There are familiar references to the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR); and research topics used in the examples and the guidance offered will be recognizable to Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly’s (NVSQ) readership.
This book is big picture for the current or aspiring doctoral student. Its premise is that students should not wait until the last couple semesters of their PhD program to think about the job market and what is next. It takes the reader through milestones on the path from student to researcher including developing a research agenda, attending a first conference, seeking out funding opportunities, approaches to teaching, and going on the job market, among others. It underlines what Pallas calls “professional signifiers.” Depending on the student and their objectives, signifiers might range from gaining teaching experience and demonstrating effectiveness to regional expertise and conducting extended periods of fieldwork. He empowers the student to use these signifiers to create a comparative advantage. A comparative advantage allows a student to convincingly demonstrate they are the best person to ask and answer their research question, Pallas argues.
Each chapter ends with “Recommended Readings” and “Additional Resources” to provide the reader further guidance. In addition, throughout the text there are helpful boxes containing exercises from “Brainstorming Research Topics” to “Finding Appropriate Journals.” The book is helpful to PhD students particularly early on in their programs as well as for advisers. It could be made available to entering students as a resource, required reading in a professional skills course as part of a doctoral curriculum, or might be suggested by an adviser directly. For advisers, it reminds us of some of the challenges of doctoral studies and provides ways in which we can help students to navigate them effectively.
The book is clearly aimed at students seeking research-oriented positions. At times, the discussion between academic jobs and research-focused industry jobs and the inherent differences in preparing for these different paths is sometimes clunky. This is not a criticism, rather just the reality that these routes can often be distinct. However, with more and more PhD degrees granted and fewer tenure-track positions in the academy, 1 the options outside of academia will continue to become more important and even attractive, as Pallas notes in the text.
There are some stand-out parts of the book that will inform how I advise my doctoral students. I appreciate Pallas’s emphasis on the problematization of a research topic, in addition to identifying a gap in the research. I find myself often discussing with doctoral students about the need to go beyond filling a gap. Pallas posits that filling a gap only can result in somewhat “boring and unimportant” research (p. 69). He also dives into the debate about a PhD student co-authoring with an adviser, particularly on a student’s dissertation research. There is some excellent advice here for PhD students, as Pallas helps to articulate some of the concerns about co-authorship with advisors—such compromising research independence. It is also a good section for advisers to consider how they present and manage co-authoring expectations.
Pallas includes some topics that are in flux or that are likely to change significantly over the next several years, which are particularly pertinent for academic positions. For example, a topic he mentions briefly is that of open access publishing. This will be something that PhD students will need to understand and will confront. Open access is noted in the section on “Scam Journals,” which is very relevant. Doctoral students must be warned about predatory journals, and this section of the book is important. I would suggest that open access publishing (and open data and open science more generally) be further integrated into the discussion about publishing for doctoral students. This might include discussing the benefits and trade-offs of publishing open access versus behind a paywall. It also might be included in the context of funding options and writing grant requests that budget for open access processing and data repository fees. The text gets the conversation started and it is a topic that I think doctoral students will need more guidance on as well as one our doctoral programs and advisement will need to address.
Another topic that demands more attention is that of online teaching. As alluded to in the book, online teaching might simply become an expectation in most academic institutions. A next edition of the book might emphasize that PhD students on the market will need to signal their ability and willingness to teach online. Doctoral programs and advisers will need to deliberately prepare students for this reality. A few other minor omissions that might warrant consideration are the pressures for PhD holders, particularly in academia, to have a professional online presence. This is not considered much in the book and might now be expected. In addition, interview dynamics are changing with some academic institutions (and other types of research positions) doing a first-round interview over Zoom. Students will need to be prepared for multiple formats of interview rounds (phone calls, video calls and in-person campus visits).
The overall tenor of this book is one of encouragement. It calls on PhD students to think about approaching their studies systematically. Although the text is about doctoral studies in the social sciences, Pallas is clearly a nonprofit/NGO scholar. For me, this book, thus, represents the continued development of our field. As many of us are advising doctoral students, guiding them in the tasks and responsibilities of knowledge production and putting them out on the job market, this text provides helpful ways in which students and advisers can be successful. As our doctoral cohorts continue to diversify, with students coming from multiple educational backgrounds and traditions, and particularly for students studying in countries outside of their own, this is a good overview about how to improve efficacy in doctoral studies. It provides examples and tips relevant to our field and others. Underneath many of the tips and approaches that the book shares is a true commitment to a more level playing field. Although a more equitable academy requires fundamental changes well beyond the scope of this book, I appreciate and commend Pallas’s efforts and intentions.
