How important is it to publish before fininishing your PhD?

[allegretto]

Because I haven't.

It is possible to gain a PhD without publishing anything, however publications give your thesis credibility and make it easier to defend.

More importantly, you need at least one first author publication in order to gain a decent postdoc position (at least in the sciences).

Thanks. I'm not looking for a post doc position, just want to pass!

It's very much field dependent.

Also in the sciences but you would need to have at least published paper (and usually more) to graduate. I wouldn't usually sign off on a PhD pass without two published papers.

Yet you wouldn't need a first author publication to get a postdoc in a science field which lists authors in alphabetical order. (Maths and theoretical science often do this.)

Thanks. I'm in humanities (linguistics).

Your PhD is your PhD. But the rest of your career will need publications if you want employment on a standard academic three-legged contract (teaching, research, administration). My supervisor suggested that I have a publication in process as it would be my "calling card." Nowadays I'm interviewing candidates for tenure-track jobs who have book contracts in hand.

So while your PhD is your PhD, and will stand alone for the degree, if you want an academic career you should be getting a move on to get at least a journal article out/in press/ accepted by the end of your PhD.

Thanks for the input. As things stand I don't think I am going to need my PhD for my future career so I will just concentrate on finishing it!

Fello humanities PhD student here. My impression is that in my field, at least, publications are fairly irrelevant to the passing or not of the PhD. There is an implicit pressure to publish but that's more for qualifying you for an academic career beyond the PhD.

I agree with the others, that it's a nice thing to have, rather than an imperative, but I would encourage you to present your work at 1-2 conferences a year from year 2 onwards as it gives you some valuable additional feedback as well as good practice in explaining your research (and defending your ideas).

Although it may be advantageous to publish, there is no need to publish. Yes it will make your thesis easier to defend, but if you have no intention to pursue an academic career, then why out yourself through the whole struggle.