When I was a kid, I had a dream that I'd have a Bachelors by 20, Masters by 30 and Doctorate by 40. Given life's development with our household having a six, four and two year old, the doctorate by 40 is just not going to happen.
Unless, there is another way.
Peter Rawsthorne got me thinking in a recent Twitter post.
do the PhD in the open, create your own curriculum & thesis, use all the technology available, supervisors will find you...I thought to myself, yes, that's exactly what I should do. Drive this into the open and see what happens. Walk the talk when it comes to my Learning and Collaboration theorem/lifestyle, and go through a PhD 2.0 experience versus yesterday's antiquated model. (I just can't afford the 3-4 years of time devoted to the university experience ... again) Then I found Lisa Chamberlin and found I wasn't alone in this type of thinking. Two months ago, September 2009, she essentially blogged the same thing I'm blogging about here. In a nutshell, I've got company. (and I love her thesis as well) So, like Lisa, I'm going to take the time to map out my path, figure out if I can somehow get an advisor to sign on, and post my thinking, research, results, struggles, and general musings here. (or at a sub-site of www.danpontefract.com) If anyone is reading this, got any ideas on advisors or institutions that might take me up on this idea? Maybe, just maybe, I can hit that final stretch goal. (and thank you Peter for the push)
