Imposter syndrome was a real problem for me.
One of the things that really helped with that for me was when a colleague I really respected confided in me about their imposter syndrome.
Edit up top: you lose points for the wrong they’re. I didn’t even notice it until now, so I also lose points.
Fair enough answer, but plenty of ways. That’s the point of the question. To hear people’s answers. Their creativity.
If you win the Nobel prize, you should reasonably be able to say you are really smart.
If you voted for Trump, you should reasonably be able to say that you are really dumb.
Additionally, lots of people know Dunning-Kruger about how dumb people overestimate themselves, but that has another part: smart people underestimate themselves.
It gets like that.
Once you’re a few years in, you can’t really leave without starting over or being ABD, which is a really bad resume blemish (because it usually happens to people who aren’t smart enough for a PhD and get kicked out with the consolation prize).
Although, there is a really prominent researcher in my field who only has a master’s. It’s like, you know if I were on your committee, you could just staple a few of your papers together, and I would sign off on a PhD.
In the US, PhDs, in STEM at least, are fully funded. Either by research or teaching assistanship. This is the same as in Europe and students are frequently exchanged.
You’ll only be paying for yourself if you’re in art history or something stupid like that (even then you could get a TA) or you haven’t demonstrated that you’re smart enough to get a PhD.
Edit: it’s so weird how this completely factual statement has been so controversial. I actually went through this process.
You can get counter top dish washers.
I don’t know how well they work, but they’re reasonably affordable.