#phd journey

[archaealice]

Had a workshop in Athens with my lab and got to visit the Akropolis on our last day

[lizzardstudies]

03/03/24

after every good week of research and being the bravest soldier, there comes the crash

I was still doing pretty well in the morning but then I came home and got completely discouraged by the useless stuff I had to do for one of my classes. the absolute basic level of knowledge I'm supposed to gather there is just annoying. that time would be better spent working on my actual thesis or even just going to the gym

so yeah. now I'm annoyed and frustrated and tomorrow I'll be bored at uni again. ugh. need to find something to go during the useless class

btw it was a tea king of a day, i chose some grape one that came from Czech Republic apparently ✨

[re--laaaaaxer]

I took up a research assistant post late last year, and it has its own perks. The minor downside sometimes is that I have to do some editing work during the weekend but fortunately, quite manageable.

Received the cutest and most lovely-looking cup with a saucer for my birthday. I love iiiiitttt. I get to drink my morning cuppa coffee with these. ✿

[nindchan]

21/02/2024

The end is not near, it's here.

Yups. After the last defense presentation, I could humbly said that I'm no longer Ph.D student.

These past 5 years have been wonderfully challenging, yet it was a journey worth taking. My Ph.D journey didn't taught me how to be a star pupil, nor a summa cum laude graduate. It taught me how speak truth, to pick a side when you see injustice, to know that strength didn't come from within ourself, because as human we have nothing but limited knowledge, and power.

Now, it's time to go back to real world.

[art-lover-genderhater]

oh my god the writing blocks get REEEEAAAL but the writing flows are just as real and there's nothing more delicious than when the dam wall breaks and you just start WRITING. So yummy.

[sciedithub-services]

8 Top Tips and Pieces of Advice for New PhD Students

PhD imposter syndrome is far more common than you might realize. Feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy are completely valid and can make you feel as though you shouldn’t be studying for a Ph.D. Imposter syndrome manifests differently for everyone – and is something Áine has experienced herself.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME IS REAL

“Imposter syndrome is real and pretty much everyone experiences it at some point. I find it helps to open up about it to peers as you realize others feel the same way.”

Which leads us to Áine’s next piece of advice…

‘Don’t compare your PhD project to other people's

“Don’t compare your PhD project to other people’s. They are all different, so don’t worry if you have more or fewer data, papers, and experience than your peers. You were accepted onto the program because you deserve to be there!”

A PhD is a massively steep learning curve. Whether you’ve got your heart set on a PhD in Accounting & Finance, Biomedical Engineering, Environmental Sustainability, Media & Cultural Policy, or Planetary Science like Áine, looking around and comparing yourself to others never helps – especially when everyone is on their own PhD journey. Managing your expectations, as well as having the right attitude and work ethic to keep yourself moving forward is important.

‘Be super organized!’

Establishing a routine and dedicated workspace free from distractions with access to the right resources and tools is the golden rule, and can really help lay the groundwork for success.

From the get-go, calendars, diaries, planners, and to-do lists will be your BFFs throughout your PhD. You are ultimately responsible for the planning and management of your studies. Although it may seem obvious, it’s not uncommon to find yourself suddenly struggling to keep track of whats-what – something which Áine wish she’d thought about at the start of her PhD.

“I have dozens of notebooks from loads of meetings, experiments and conferences and I am terrible at keeping track of what information is in which notebook. I wish I had made a system for this as it would have saved me so much time now!”

‘Build yourself a research network’

It doesn’t matter what your research area is, or where in the world you’re studying, networking is a huge part of your PhD. Attending and participating in local and international events, such as conferences, seminars, lab meetings, and even graduate school sessions are a great way to build and maintain professional and social relationships.

“Be it online or not, be it in your research group, research department or not, find peers in the same boat with a little more experience than you who you feel comfortable talking to,” explains Áine.

‘Make use of your university’s student counseling service if there is one

PhDs demand long hours, with massive amounts of reading, researching, and writing which can understandably result in high levels of stress. Checking in with yourself on a regular basis is important. Be open and honest, and don’t feel like you’re on your own, whatever your worries or concerns may be.

“Over half of PhD students experience poor mental health symptoms during their PhD. If this happens to you, make use of your university’s student counselling service if there is one, learn to notice the signs that you’re struggling and give yourself a break.”

The University of Glasgow, offers a wide range of support services, including a dedicated Wellbeing service which students can access as little or as much as they like.

‘Don’t feel pressured to work 24/7’

“Some people in academia work really long days seven days a week and that just isn’t me,” says Áine. “Early on I was really worried I was going to fail because other people around me were working such long hours, and I told my supervisor this was worrying me, and she was really helpful in encouraging me to have a work-life balance.”

Having a good work-life balance is essential. You’re allowed to have a life away from your PhD, so make time to organize fun and exciting plans with friends and family in between reading sessions, research, seminars and meetings with your supervisor.

‘Don’t worry if your project changes as you progress

“Don’t worry if your project changes as you progress, and when that happens, don’t be concerned if you feel a bit lost and unsure as to what’s happening,” says Áine. “Doing a PhD means contributing to knowledge and so it’s totally normal for what you might contribute to change as you go through.”

You’re challenging existing beliefs and customs, all while developing new ways of thinking. Remember you’ve chosen to study a PhD to make a significant contribution to your field

Regularly check in and assess where you are in your schedule, but keep in mind that encountering problems and new developments are inevitable. Accepting that your initial plan of action may change is also ok.

Contact us for the best SciEditHub Editors

[astrojaxsaga]

Been keeping up with working out ~5x a week, and one hike/run a week for some additional cardio. Last week was a hike on Veitch Creek trail, mainly because there were no trail markers for the hike I was actually trying to do (so we never found how to cross the creek lol). It was only a few days after the snow ended so it was still pretty slushy, not worth a steep climb anyways.

Yesterday I was able to do an arm workout, run ~25 mins on the treadmill, and spent 20 mins in the sauna. The pre-workout I have been recently using is pretty intense and I needed to burn off that extra energy before trying to sleep.

Today I had an early morning meeting, and was pretty distracted in the afternoon while my roommate had an interview with 2 post-doc positions with the Gemini telescope. (Not intentionally eavesdropping, just taking notes for when I similarly will hopefully have interviews later this year haha.) Definitely could have been more productive, but i do love waking up early and getting shit done. I might try for to get some work done tomorrow before we both leave for work, to make sure I am prepped and good to not work over the weekend.

[juri-andthemoon]

unpopular opinion, but a PhD in any stem field is much more impressive than a medical Dr.

[seasage-phd]

I've transformed into that academic girly who reads academic texts FOR FUN.

I do not recognise myself. 🦀

[archaealice]

Poland Day 4 - Final full day here, got a lot of work done but sampling animals is way more taxing than humans. Really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again tomorrow but we still got some more work to do in the morning.

[lizzardstudies]

29/01/24

I worked on that grant application until my brain gave out and then I tried to finish organizing all of the papers I downloaded during research

[re--laaaaaxer]

6.11.2023

It's already November. How crazy is it that 2023 is coming to a close in just a month? And I've been hitting bumps with my thesis lately, which I hope I can overcome once my sore throat and runny nose subsides.

How are you all? Please look after yourself. You matter—your health matters.

[psychannalyst]

Todays study set up for working of thesis ethics and systematic literature review planning

[sophielovesbooks]

Fitting a model then running model diagnostics and immediately realising how ill-constructed it is feels sort of like I've created Frankenstein's monster then immediately diagnosed it with 100 illnesses.

Like. It's my fault, really. Not my creation's. I'm so sorry.

[ericalagu]

“Doubt is not a pleasant mental state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.” ― Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire

19/01/2023, Thursday.

I am a PhD student! It sounds incredible! 👩🏻‍🔬

Last spring I completed my exams and went on 5-days congress before starting the traineeship. In that moment my life started to change!

I realised I was miserable, passively transported by the events, sort of asleep, so focused on passing exams that I never asked myself what made me happy... After the polymer congress I began to question who I was and who I wanted to become. I was awake and my life was just to tight.

The period from end-May to end-September (the time it took me to complete the thesis and graduate) was a complete roller coaster!

The thesis absorbed 90% of my time, certain days I worked up to 12 hours! It needed to be that way due to PhD application deadline. In the spare time I struggled to be a functioning human. Going to the gym was hard, no time for hobbies at all, and I couldn't bear the weight of housework... My 4 years's relationship ended in August.

On the 21st September I graduated 🎉 from there everything went in the right direction! I could rest till the beginning of the PhD (in November), I reached out for old friends, and I fell in love with an amazing person.

Currently I am content! I still struggle with work-life balance, there are a few aspects of my life I want to improve and work on. I need to focus more on maintaining friendships and I would like to learn to do more recreative activities on my own (and not just wait for someone to accompany me) 💪🏻

[firesalamander]

i really need to start looking into and developing my list of possible PhD programs since my ideal would be to begin applying within the next two to three years but every time i start searching for lists of programs it just freaks me out and i stop. i think i just need to make a friend sit down with me irl at some point while i look around at pages. i guess i should probably start working on a writing sample of some sort too. och this whole process is just nerve wracking