Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Financing

If you're paying for it, you're doing it wrong.

Does it not require financing?

It doesn't matter who is paying the point is if you don't have $ behind you, you are out of luck. Persistence my ass, get your money together.

My fiancé is a young (second year) academic with a PhD in geography. In his case, he's certainly intelligent and persistent, but earning the degree was more about him proving to the world that he could do it. His father was in prison his whole life and provided this piece of advice that stuck with him - "Son, you can hustle for your whole life but that's gonna be a life of hard work. Better to pencil whip the world." He took it to heart.

good point for the sciences pp, but for liberal arts, all it takes is persistence

Lol guys big difference depending on what field you're talking about.

Signed, persistent and intelligent physics phd

Anonymous wrote:Financing

+ ass kissing and the desire to put off joining the working world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Financing

If you're paying for it, you're doing it wrong.

+1

Desire.

Anonymous wrote:Financing

If you're paying for it, you're doing it wrong.

Persistence.

Just to finish? Persistance. But without a LOT of intelligence you're not going to be successful as an academic (if that's the goal). The highly successful academics I know are persistant, highly intelligent, creative, AND interpersonally skilled (in different ways).

Persistence and financing are both good answers. In some cases (not all!) a lack of common sense helps so the student doesn't realize that the degree will never pay off in the way he or she hopes.

Financing

persistence

Persistence.

What really makes the difference in having the drive to complete a PhD?