Update: May 31. 2025 (Revised the documents)
Before discussing how to be successful in a Ph.D. program, we need to understand what it is. What is the objective of it? There may be various interpretations, but I think the objective of a Ph.D. program is to prepare you to be a real scholar and an engineer. Then, what is a scholar or an engineer? What is the difference between them? Before we start talking about this, I want you to be familiar with this situation: a question involves other questions repeatedly. This endless chain of questions would be the most painful and intriguing part of your Ph.D. life (or your whole life as an engineer).