Turn That Dissertation into the Story of Your Life

Ever considered writing a book? Maybe finishing the Space Adventures of Joey and his Teddy Bear from when you were just old enough to write? Well now that you’re considering a track to higher education and the glory that follows, perhaps it’s time to revisit that dream.

Imagine it’s years into your future. You’re a professor of some renown at a fine university. Best of all, you’ve got tenure. Tenure is a privileged academic position that is highly sought after by professors. It provides very long, possibly life-time positions in universities so that the lucky professor can be free to study and think whichever way he or she chooses.

With freedom of thought and research, both universities and students can benefit greatly. And lets not forget that you, with the ultimate form of job security, are quite a lucky fellow.

But how did you reach such a pinnacle from the beginning of your higher education journey? The answer is in your dissertation.

A dissertation is a thesis-driven, book-length paper written on an original topic within the field of your Ph.D. studies. The dissertation is required to receive your Ph.D. But if you want a good shot at getting that juicy tenure, you may need to do more.

Many students attempt to get their dissertations published as books. Since it’s the right length, and they’ve already done all the work, they figure it’s an easy way to enhance the resume and the career prospects.

But dissertations don’t always translate well to books, especially if it isn’t considered at the outset. If you want to be successful in your academic life after you’ve pursued higher education, then consider these tips while you’re still studying and still writing that dissertation:

• Publishers don’t care about your dissertation. They care about publishable material, and that means something they can sell to a more general population than just your Ph.D. advisers. Take note of ways you can later retool your dissertation to have a more approachable mass-appeal.
• The dissertation exists for your education. A book however, usually exists for the education of others. But more importantly, you are expected to learn while writing the dissertation. Take those lessons and keep them later for your book, when your thoughts are more orderly.
• Keep your future job search in mind. When applying to universities for jobs, they will want to read writing samples, so make sure you’ve got certain sections of your dissertation that are dressed to impress.

If you’ve taken the right notes and kept the right aspects in mind while pursuing your Ph.D., you may be in great shape to get your work published in book form. And if you do, it will be an asset while looking for those coveted tenured positions at academic universities.

So save the adventures of you and your teddy bear as a bedtime story for your children, and instead consider a track to higher education where you can publish a book of original research and knowledge. You’ll thank yourself when your friends are busy looking for new jobs every few years!