Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting A PhD| PhD Advice

[@yunanrainieye900]

Just what i needed to hear! 2 months into PhD and panicked about having no concrete project yet. More reading and changes up ahead

[@NerdToFit]

So happy that this was able to help you! Congrats on starting your program and Goodluck developing your research!!

[@LongboardsBE]

Thank you for making this video! It’s honestly great to just hear people talk about it in such a relaxed manner.

[@karlditz8631]

The key it to set targets and meet them in the first draft to as high a quality as you can manage but meet the deadlines. Mine was to finish a draft chapter in six weeks which i managed to do in all but one case. With that done, go back to the work and see where improvements can be made in the subsequent drafts. *Never write when you are tired and never write past your peak* . By that I mean to say that you should never over write a good argument. When you made a good argument ..stop... make a note of where you stop...go for a walk and rebuild up to that point again...stop and restart the process. That way arguments are always fresh and high quality.

[@NerdToFit]

This is valuable advice! Reading this now that I am in my final year, your advice is very relevant to me as I’m writing up. THANK YOU FOR SHARING

[@bobbyzhang9455]

It's such a nice thing to have vivid people within the office! Make everyday delightful

[@NerdToFit]

It really does! Especially having others who also appreciate balance helps a lot!

[@eveebatt]

Your idea is really great, to bring up theses comments! One suggestion for next time is to improve audio quality or attach subtitles (or both!), because its difficult to hear all the statements.

[@ua6523]

Thank you so much for this video. This feels so humane... especially the last bits.

[@NerdToFit]

Usha Aron happy that you found it helpful. Best wishes!

[@spinebuster9490]

99% OF PEOPLE NEGLECT THEIR PHYSICAL BEING. I HAD SERIOUS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DURING PHD.

[@NerdToFit]

This is so true! I hope you were able to get it under control. It’s one of the reasons I always tried to advocate for healthy lifestyle as well in academia because I’ve seen so many ppl neglect their well-being 😔

One tip I would add is don't let the first few month impostor syndrome get you down, its an exponential learning curve! (feel free to visit my channel for some tips XD). Great video and excellent tips!

[@NerdToFit]

Thanks! I totally agree

[@KAIZORIANEMPIRE]

only idiots and average people feel like imposters. If you got accepted in phd program you are clearly good enough. LOL. not difficult logic.

[@NerdToFit]

Easier said than done. I wish we all had your confidence 😂. I think comparison can be the thief of joy. Also setting high expectations for yourself or thinking others (your supervisor) etc have high expectations of you. Can lead to imposter syndrome.

[@KAIZORIANEMPIRE]

@@NerdToFit Have you heard of the dunning kruger effect? it's sort of like the opposite of imposter syndrome. It's when less capeable people over estimate their competence. It happens from data intelligent people suffer from imposter syndrome even einstein. It comes from a place of comparing yourself to the top people it's dumb. For example her einstein compared himself to people like gardel amazing mathematitcians or richard feinman people who could do maths better. Einsrteins greatest strestngh was his intuition which is what set him apart but still like other peple he decided to compare himself to tohers and i am sure others compared themselves to him it's a mess. i Don't waste my time with that, i accurately assess myself. I am not the best in my field yet but soon i will be. My intuition is what sets me apart my math lol there are a lot of spelling mistkaes i can't be asked to correct

[@sudeshseegobin5008]

Thanks for the honest truth.

[@KAIZORIANEMPIRE]

i worked late night and weekends in fact i am writing my thesis now lol. Do what you want just made sure it works for you lol, what you are doing here is projecting what it's like for you but we are all different.

[@NerdToFit]

You’re correct! Every student, PhD and PhD experience is different. Really is about finding what works for you. Also, all the best writing up! How’s that going?

[@veerstar5]

Its was a very nice video, i miss our 'phd student's cabbins'.

[@NerdToFit]

Thanks you! Saamme😢

[@biskitz89]

Hey , when is a good time to start applying to do a PhD, I'm about to start a masters at London school

[@NerdToFit]

I would say it depends on the University application process and a few other things including: 1. Type of funding you’re seeking If you’re seeking international funding such as Commonwealth which I am on it may be useful to start reaching out to potential supervisors now. That way when university applications open ( if they aren’t year round) you will have your research plan and supervisor sorted. Similarly when applying for funding this may be helpful and if you do manage to get an offer before the scholarship deadline it may help with your nominations for scholarships. If you’re interested in listed projects, these tend to have their own deadlines so just keep on the lookout for them. There is also the case where you may have an idea which your potential supervisor can submit for funding from Doctoral programmes. In this case, making contact with potential supervisors all now would be good so that the project can be put forward. General tip is to look at your potential funding sources, their deadlines and give yourself at least 3 months to work on your proposal and contacting supervisors. 2. When you want to start. Some unis have different starting periods throughout the year. I would say on average an application process take perhaps 3-5 months from initial contact with the supervisor to getting a response from admissions. Each situation is normally specific. But given that you’re about to start your Masters I would say perhaps from around September/October if you’re certain that a PhD is your next step. Just be mindful that it can be time consuming to apply and factor that in with your masters. Sorry for the blurb 🙈Best wishes!!

[@lizmoyo]

Always start early. A year in advance, in my experience. You need to make time to put together a proposal and secure an advisor

[@biskitz89]

@@NerdToFit thank you

[@biskitz89]

@@lizmoyo thank you

[@Yasin-bq5pn]

How do you guys fight procrastination?

[@NerdToFit]

Something we often did as an office and individually was the pomodoro technique. Also, identifying the hours when you are most productive can assist with that. Getting into a flow state is important for fighting procrastination. So you can start working by simply reading over some work you wrote before.

[@Yasin-bq5pn]

@@NerdToFit Amazing advice, thank you. Great video btw!

[@zatchbeltguy]

damn your lab looks nice

[@NerdToFit]

Thank you! I miss it now that we’re working from home.