What do I do if I fail my Ph.D. program? (2024)

It hurts to fail in general. For Ph.D. students, academic failure is especially painful. Most Ph.D. students are smart, hardworking, and ambitious. They have never failed a class. Many of them have aced most of their classes and had a 4.0 GPA (or close to it) before joining a doctoral program. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that you are not one of the best students anymore. On the opposite, you are one of the worst and a failure — or so it may appear to be. The pain is especially severe when you fail after many years in the program.

Since failure hurts, you need to take some time off to grieve. But do it in a way that is healthy and productive. For example, one of my friends, after being kicked out of his program, went on a long car trip along the West Coast of the United States: from San Diego, CA up to Vancouver, BC. This helped him clear his mind and decide what to do next. This was especially painful for him, as he was the only doctoral student in the department who thought that being a professor and doing research was the most wonderful career one could imagine. The faculty in the department were not fair to him. Unlike other students, he was 100% committed to the program and a future career in academia. I think this is a great way to grieve: by traveling alone in a car along some scenic routes.

After you grieve for some time, you need to come to terms that it is your ego that hurts the most. So after you bring your ego down to a healthy level, you need to realize that just bSince failure hurts, you need to take some time off to grieve. But do it in a way that is healthy and productive. For example, one of my friends, after being kicked out of his program, went on a long car trip along the West Coast of the United States: from San Diego, CA up to Vancouver, BC. This helped him clear his mind and decide what to do next. This was especially painful for him, as he was the only doctoral student in the department who thought that being a professor and doing research was the most wonderful career one could imagine. The faculty in the department were not fair to him. Unlike other students, he was 100% committed to the program and a future career in academia. I think this is a great way to grieve: by traveling alone in a car along some scenic routes.

Because you failed in a Ph.D. program, it does not mean you are any worse than those who graduated or that your life is now permanently damaged. It will all come back to normal after some time.

Let me tell you about the six people who dropped out or were kicked out of my Ph.D. program when I was there. Out of the six “failures”, two were by far the smartest, most knowledgeable people I have ever met. One was a “walking encyclopedia” with the memory of a data center: he knew so much in so many fields and could recall exact dates and numbers from his memory. On top of that, he knew several languages. The other one was a Physics major from a university that is often placed above Harvard. He was officially recognized as one of the best graduates of that university. I’ve read in newspapers about him. Another Ph.D. dropout student was a successful business person and a multi-millionaire. He dropped out because he realized that it was too much work to get a doctorate degree and he didn’t think he had the time or the health to do this. The remaining two “failures” were kind of average. They left the program on their own after 1–2 years. One got a job with a company on Wall Street. The other one started working for a major consulting company. Both probably make 2 times as much as an average “successful” graduate of our program. The multi-millionaire guy is just retired. The walking encyclopedia guy got a government job that probably pays as much as an average professor makes. The guy who drove along the West Coast ended up getting two doctorates from two different schools in two different countries. This includes a doctorate in the field that he wanted from a top-10 university in that country. He works for different universities around the world, and he likes to travel. I haven’t heard from the Physics guy, so I don’t know what he is doing now.

Graduating from a Ph.D. program often does not take much intelligence and creativity. What often matters the most are perseverance and good people skills. In fact, some faculty resent doctoral students who are smarter than they are and make it very hard for them to graduate.

So while your ego hurts, you will eventually realize that this may be your lucky ticket for a more rewarding career: financially and otherwise. You may end up making more money outside academia. Also, despite what many doctoral students think, you may have more employment stability outside of academia. A good specialist in any field is rarely out of work. This is not always the case for Ph.D. holders. There are so many of them who go for years without any meaningful full-time employment! Graduating with a Ph.D. can become a curse. Full-time, tenure-track positions are hard to find. There are hundreds of applicants for one single opening in some fields. Most newly-minted PhDs are willing to move across the globe for any reasonable employment opportunity at a university.

But getting back on the academic track after you fail in a doctoral program is also an option. You can transfer to another doctoral program. Also, there are many doctoral programs offered by top universities in Australia and UK that allow you to get a doctoral degree without being a full-time student. You can study towards your doctorate degree while you work full time somewhere else.

I’m happy I graduated, and I like my job. But I know my life would have turned out OK even if I hadn’t graduated. It turned out OK for virtually all of my classmates who “failed”. So there’s no reason why it all wouldn’t work out well for you as well. It may take some time to recover and get your life back on track, though. And this is perfectly fine. The odds are in your favor.