If you’re still deciding whether to study for a doctorate, or even if you’re nearing the end of your PhD and are thinking about your next steps, we’ve selected 10 articles that you really should take a look at.

They cover everything from selecting your topic to securing a top job when your years of hard graft come to an end.

14 essential PhD questions answered

Welcome to the Times Higher Education PhD surgery with Tara Brabazon, professor of education at Charles Sturt University, Australia.

The PhD experience: this far, and no further

Five students on how doctoral study changed them and their futures.

10 steps to PhD failure

Top tips on making postgraduate study even tougher (which students could also use to avoid pitfalls if they prefer).

How not to write a PhD thesis

If you want failure, this is your road map to getting there.

Realistic expectations keep you on the path to a PhD

Isolation is part of the experience, but peer support groups and co-working can combat loneliness and quell students’ self-doubt.

10 truths a PhD supervisor will never tell you

There are some important dos and don’ts to bear in mind when choosing someone to oversee your doctoral thesis.

Me and my PhD supervisor: tales of love and loathing

Academics discuss how supervisors shaped their teaching.

How to get students through their PhD thesis

Tara Brabazon shares her 10-step regime for steering emotionally drained postgraduate students through the final stages of their thesis.

Choosing a PhD subject

A well-chosen doctoral thesis will have a focus that can be explored in the appropriate time and built on in the future.

How to get ahead with a PhD

Postgraduates do not to realise how employable they are. Pat Cryer explains how to get a well-paid job.

Read next: visit the THE PhD advice page