About PhD Source
Thomas R. Coughlin, PhD
Founder & Author
Thomas is the founder of PhD Source and author of How to Make Your PhD Work (Wiley, 2023). He completed his PhD at the University of Notre Dame, a research fellowship at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a postdoc at NYU Langone Medical Center.
After navigating the full journey from academia to industry — including toxic labs, an advisor losing tenure, and months of career uncertainty — Thomas built PhD Source to give other PhDs the guidance he wished he had.
Since 2018, he has interviewed hundreds of PhDs, spoken at universities, and developed the PhD Diagnostics framework to help doctoral students assess their Environment, Advisor, and Project — and make informed decisions about their futures.
Invited book talk at Rutgers University — helping PhDs and postdocs navigate their careers
How to Make Your PhD Work (Wiley, 2023) at Barnes & Noble
Our Mission
PhD Source aims to give PhDs the power to navigate their environments, so that we can make the PhD a more empowered career path.
What We Know
Through hundreds of interviews with PhDs, career networking events, and university talks, we've developed specialized knowledge in several critical areas:
- Identifying problematic lab and advisor situations, and determining when issues can be remedied versus when they require a change
- Matching personality types and personal values to appropriate career paths
- Creating comprehensive career development resources tailored to PhD-level professionals
Our Resources
We offer a range of resources including our book How to Make Your PhD Work (Wiley, 2023), the PhD Planner, a comprehensive Udemy course, the free PhD Diagnostics Test, and personalized coaching sessions to help you navigate your unique path.
PhD Source
Hoboken, NJ
Email: thomasrcoughlinphd@gmail.com