The notion of something being easy or hard is subjective. So it is hard to provide a reasonable answer. Moreover, even for the same person, the difficulty level might change with time.
Let’s break the program down into a chronological sequence (I speak from my experience at Stanford; other universities might differ):
- Getting in : Hard
This is objectively hard. As Igor Markov mentioned, you compete with people from around the world. The admits are among the very best minds in the world. Luck plays a huge role. - Course requirements : Annoying/tedious
These can be tedious. Some courses are notoriously time consuming (OS) and you’ll have to spend a lot of time to get a good grade. - Selecting an advisor & research direction : Moderately hard
It can be challenging to convince yourself that you’ve made the right decision. It can also be challenging to convince your advisor that you’re capable of doing a _great_ PhD (see below). If you can’t do both, you’ll get a PhD, but will be destined for ignominy. - Qualifying exams : Tedious (rarely hard)
Require proficiency in a few sub-areas. Usually not hard, but I’ve seen quite a few people fail and/or get a conditional pass. - Research :
- A novel/interdisciplinary thesis : Very hard
Novel here would mean that you develop your primary research ideas, develop the infrastructure required to test them, and then execute. This is extraordinarily challenging. The (very real) risk of failure can induce enough stress to paralyze most people. That said, if successful, it could help you build a successful academic career. - A “supervised” thesis : Straightforward
Remember, you do _not_ have to have a completely novel thesis. Often students heavily build upon general research done by their advisor. This is usually not hard. In the odd event that you get stuck, your advisor can usually help you out. Moreover, most of the uncertainty is eliminated. This does not mean that you won’t struggle.
- Outreach : Moderately Hard
After doing your research, you’ll have to convince people outside your university that you’re good. This is generally challenging. The people in your university have a vested interest in getting you to succeed. The rest of the world doesn’t. - Developing a long term research program : Very hard
No matter what you do, chances are that people out there will be better at almost everything else. As such, building a career in research requires strategy to identify and leverage your unique skills. This is very very hard. As a consequence, very few students (~10-20% at Stanford) obtain an academic position.
Unfortunately, it is usually not easy to handle rejection at this stage.
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