The highlight of my week was a Skype call with a recent DBA graduate. She was very open with her commentary about the process to complete her doctorate and the benefits of the achievement. I took copious notes and look forward to staying connected with her. There were two big take-aways. First, there is no getting away from the effort required, it is enormous and feels like a “slog” for much of it. Second, the importance of producing a high quality dissertation, even if this takes several iterations. Producing a high quality thesis will boost your confidence significantly going into your VIVA and likely make it easier from the examiner perspective if the calibre of research and writing is high. In some ways these take-aways may sound obvious, but I think they are both important points to remember throughout my final leg of the journey.
Off to play tennis now and I will be dedicated writing this week as I am on vacation.