There are many possible future benefits to writing a thesis or a dissertation. These include knowledge about writing and research, knowledge about yourself and what you’re capable of, as well as the professional benefits of writing a thesis or dissertation such as establishing your research agenda or extending your publication record.
Writing a thesis or dissertation gives you more knowledge about writing and research than you can gain taking a graduate class on either. The best way to learn how to write or to research is to do it! The more you do either the better you’re able to discern what’s working well and what’s not working. One of the most difficult parts of doing research at first is the lack of knowledge about basic things – like how to keep good notes on your experiment, how to set up a step by step system for what you will accomplish and when, how to prioritize one part of the research or writing over another, and how to break a huge project down into small manageable chunks. All of these skills will serve you in the future not only in your future writing and research. These are the types of skills that will make you a good employee, a good entrepreneur, or a good academic in the future.
Success isn’t only determined by knowledge, rather it is more likely determined through the effort you’ve realized you’re able to put forth in your thesis or dissertation. Usually, the thesis or dissertation is the first piece of very long writing that a student has produced for evaluation. It is the first time that they’ve had to self-organize and manage their own time in working toward a goal. Learning these skills shows you that you have what it takes to complete a long, involved, multi-step, complex, and unique project like this of your own. And you get to own that accomplish as your very own since you were the one who was responsible for its creation. You’ll also gain knowledge about your ability to be determined, resourceful, and conscientious in your work ethic in the future.
There are many possible professional benefits that happen to due to completing a thesis or a dissertation. The obvious professional benefit is gaining the degree associated with the thesis or dissertation. However, you will also always be able to list this work as an item on your resume. If academia is a goal than the thesis or dissertation can help set the direction of you’re the research program you’ll pursue as a professor. And if you publish your dissertation or thesis in a reputable journal than this is something that you can use in job applications, interviews, and networking far into the future.