You will have the opportunity for unparalleled focus on whatever your research question is. ​ Those who have recently obtained a PhD can outwork virtually any of their peers in terms of duration and efficiency ​ To undertake this vow of poverty voluntarily, while doing work that is more intellectually challenging than most of your peers that are earning average salaries shows superhuman commitment to seeing something through to completion ​ This criticism will either get to you, and you’ll bail out of the program, or you’ll learn to separate the valid criticism from the invalid criticism, a skill that will serve you well in any profession, in any discipline ​ If you work on your degree alone, you’re doing it wrong. Have a side job. ​ Stick to your schedule. Be humble. Don’t expect to get more than 3 hours of high-order intellectual work done per day