A typical Ph.D. student is expected to have been trained in conducting and researching projects when he is ready to get a Ph.D. after conducting enough research under a faculty advisor.
The Ph.D. degree is given by an expert from an extremely reputed industry and he is under no obligation to give the degree unless he considers the researcher's work worthy of a Ph.D. degree. Therefore there is no relaxation and one has to give it all to get a Ph.D. and satisfy the person evaluating his work. For some, this might be easy while for some it may take years.
Ph.D. students have to conduct thorough research on the given topic and go through the publications of experts. They can derive their own opinions from these works or point out some flaws and remedies for the same.
The entire process of obtaining a Ph.D. degree has a number of obstacles and sometimes things look too forlorn and some even give up. But trust me the result is worth the effort and a Ph.D. can become your savior for a lifetime.