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Getting started with your PhD

8/3/2017

15 Comments

 
Five steps for finding your feet as a new PhD student
​
​I just started my PhD around 6 month ago and especially in the beginning I felt quite insecure. Everyone I met was asking: “What are you going to do for your PhD? “ I had no clue myself, so I turned red and mumbled something like “Um… study the behaviour of blue tits?” Honestly, I often felt like an idiot and wished the ground would open and swallow me up.  
But, despite all these insecure moments I was highly motivated to get into this new area of research! Beginning with something new is always tough and this is probably especially true when starting a PhD. In this post I summarized five points which I think are really important in the first weeks/month of your PhD and I hope they might be helpful for some of you. 
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Written by Kristina
​1. Self-confidence
For your PhD you might move to another country, meet a new research group and maybe you are even unfamiliar with the research topic itself. A few weeks before I started at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology I suddenly became very unconfident. “Am I tough enough for a PhD?”, “Am I good enough to work in a world class institution?” During the first days at my new workplace this feeling got even worse… I had the impression that everyone else was way smarter and more experienced than I am. The turning point came during a “teaching” week in which all new PhDs participated and we talked exactly about this feeling – self-doubt. It turned out that everyone else felt exactly the same! So, my message here: Get rid of your self-doubts! No one is perfect and there is a reason why you got the PhD position in the first place.
 
2. Read, read, read
Especially when you are new to a certain research area: sit down and rummage through the literature. This will help you to get familiar with the area and most important it will provide you with information about what might be interesting to investigate during your PhD. In the beginning this can be a frustrating process as you discover that all your potential ideas already got published. But, at the end you will find a niche which is interesting to do research on.
To avoid getting lost in this huge amount of literature it is very important to find a good way to store and organize it. This will also help you a lot later on when writing your research proposal or your first publications (see 4).
Another hint: Do not stop with reading papers across your entire PhD. Even though you might have already finished your proposal this is really important to keep up to date! By the way, reading also helps you in getting more confident and clarifying your ideas, that way you won’t feel like an idiot the next time someone asks you about your research.
 
3. Talk, talk, talk
To your supervisor: Depending on the type of supervisor (some might be present frequently, others you barely see) it can be difficult to approach them. Nevertheless, it is very important to talk to your supervisor about your research and progress! She/he is usually an expert in the field you are doing your PhD in and thus they are a very important source for guidance and inspiration! To make the meeting efficient for both of you - come prepared! Supervisors have very limited time. So, you could send around a list of points you would like to discuss or make a little presentation. She/he will definitely appreciate that!
To your colleagues/friends: Be social and talk to as many people as possible about your research. This will not only provide you with valuable feedback for your own research but open opportunities for potential collaborations. This is also true for non-biologists or friends working in a different field of biology! I experienced that they often ask very basic questions which you might have completely overlooked while digging deeper and deeper into your research topic.
 
4. Write a research proposal
During my first weeks, members from my cohort complained the most about writing a research proposal. “I still have no idea about what to do”, “Planning experiments? If that ever worked!”, “All the chapters will change again during my PhD!” etc. Indeed, writing a proposal might seem to be senseless and is definitely not easy when you just started a PhD. Nevertheless, I think this was one of the most important tasks for me. You might already have a vague idea about the questions you would like to address during your PhD and the experimental setups. However, writing it up properly and embedding this into the current knowledge of research helps to determine what your research questions and goals will be, and in particular why your research matters! While doing so, a good literature review will be of huge value!
 
5. Time management
Time is one of the biggest issues during the PhD and will pass faster than you might think. You will probably encounter situations where people ask you “How is work? What did you do last week?” and you simply don’t know. How is it possible that I can’t remember what I did for one full week!? Honestly, I still have to struggle with this but according to more experienced PhDs and Postdocs this is completely normal. Nevertheless, it is important to make a rough timetable for your PhD and to set yourself specific millstones to reach! For example, every 6 months you set yourself a specific goal: In the first 6 months you might want to finish your research proposal, after one year finish your first experiment, and so on.
Further, time management also means a good work-life balance. I won’t go into detail here about this but what I would like to say: There is also a life outside of your research and breaks are really important to stay motivated and creative! So, go out every now and then and have a beer with your colleagues and friends!
15 Comments
Theresa
13/3/2017 12:00:25 pm

Hi Christina,
very nice blog post! I just coincidently stumbled over it :)
And yes, I can totally relate to what you´re describing. I felt (and sometimes still feel) exactly the same. But it seems you already figured it out :) I don´t have doubts you will do a good job!
Greetings from house 11 :)
Theresa

Reply
Kristina
16/3/2017 08:21:37 am

Hi Theresa,

Thank you! I’m glad you like it :-)
I’m also still struggling with some of these things but then I always try to recall these 5 steps.

Greetings from house 7! ;-)

Reply
Mäggi
21/3/2017 02:15:47 pm

This is so true and I hope all new PhD candidates will read it and come back to it whenever they start struggeling! It is a constant learning process - and I hope our IMPRS can support you throughout the whole process!
Wise words! :-)

Reply
Nabiev
22/3/2017 11:36:57 am

Dear Kristina,
Indeed, you brought so useful and wonderful tips for new PhD fellows. Thanks a lot. I got many points for myself for the future.

Regards,
Nabiev, Prospective PhD student, the Max Planck Institute

Reply
Kristina
22/3/2017 04:38:12 pm

Dear Nabiev,

Thank you! I’m glad that my 5 steps are useful for you!

All the best,
Kristina

Reply
Guillermo
23/3/2017 02:24:14 pm

The first point remarks exactly what I am feeling now that I am about to begin my PhD in Germany. Regards!

Reply
Kristina
28/3/2017 04:05:14 pm

Dear Guillermo,

Sorry for my late answer but we had problems with our reply button.
This feeling will definitely get better! ;-)

Good luck with your PhD!
Kristina

Reply
Juan Camilo
23/3/2017 03:18:21 pm

Kristina thank you for your great post!..I was looking to read something like this.

Reply
Kristina
28/3/2017 04:07:52 pm

Dear Juan,

Sorry for my late answer but we had problems with the reply button.
Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

All the best,
Kristina

Reply
Ken saville
23/3/2017 07:23:14 pm

One thing i would add is: go to seminars and develop the skill of asking good questions. At first maybe just write them down, then as you progress get up the courage to ask. This really helped my reputation as a grad student.

Reply
Kristina
28/3/2017 04:11:31 pm

Dear Ken,

Sorry for my late answer but we had problems with the reply button.
Thanks for your advice! Going to seminars and asking questions is definitely something many (new) PhDs also struggle with.

All the best,
Kristina

Reply
Ralf
13/4/2017 07:34:00 pm

This sounds familiar :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts and putting them into such inspiring words.

Reply
Kristina
18/4/2017 07:35:19 am

Thanks for your comment Ralf!

Reply
Patrick
30/6/2017 03:26:05 pm

Yes starting in your PhD writing your research proposal is not easy. Sometimes as a <a href="http://phdproposal.net/about-us/
">PhD proposal writer</a> you should put in your mind that you are confident in what your doing and focused.

Reply
Agastiyar link
14/1/2021 09:32:08 am

As a PhD Student i feel difficulty in completing my thesis paper. The tips you shared here helped me a lot...

Reply



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