7 mistakes PhD students make | You've definitely made one of these!
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- Here are the mistakes PhD students make.
These seven mistakes are what I have personally experienced or witnessed during my time as a PhD student and post-doc.
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▼ ▽ TIMESTAMPS
1. 0:50 Underestimating how hard a PhD can be
2. 1:50 Relax too much in year 1
3. 3:21 Not seeking help when they need it
4. 4:51 Not taking care of themselves
5. 7:15 No career mentoring
6. 8:44 Not writing their thesis early enough
7. 10:35 Not setting a hard finish date
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First year is not a time for relax ! Definitely a great advice. Time flies in the blink of an eye.
8. Choosing not to take useful courses in the first year of your phd when you have the time (see #2) e.g., courses in statistics, experimental design, and writing, etc. If these courses are taught by good professors, they can have a major impact on your phd!
This is so so true!
Unfortunately, these codes are not graduate-level courses at my school, so we either cannot take them or cannot get credit. Which ducks because the only reason why I didn't try taking these courses before applying was because I was advised that the purpose of a 5+ year PhD program is to teach you these things.
In a nutshell: Be professional (Don't underestimate, discipline, teamworking, balanced workload, career management, discipline again and again)
I am just less than two months into my Ph.D and I have been reading like hell, attending chemistry courses, trying to understand almost everything, it is crazy how overwhelmed I am even becoming. But, I believe it is for the better.
Insightful... thanks for sharing!!
Get a hard finish date
I need to do that 😊
Hi Andy! I am so glad finally there is a channel about PhDs, now I am doing my second PhD in Australia and did hit a wall with my supervisor. Thanks for your videos, those are really helpful.
Andy, Thank you for providing this video. First time watching it and already getting great tips from you. I am a few weeks away from finishing with my masters degree and wanted to continue on to my PhD in about 6-12 month after. Where I thought your videos gave me some great insights on what to do and to look for. So thanks.
Let's take a moment to really appreciate the phrase 'drip into an unknown amount of time'.
Amazing tips! Thanks
Hello Andy!
I am in my third year in my four year long PhD. Your videos are indeed quite insightful and I thank you for doing these videos. Why don't you do a video about effective presentation skills? Thanks already!
Wow, I enjoy hearing your valuable experiences regarding PhD and stuff. I would also appreciate if you would speak more slowly for the non-natives to be able to use your tips and also analyse them in mind 🙏😇🙏
Hi Andy! I'm just starting my phd and I discovered your channel a few days ago. I wanted to thank you for making such useful videos. They're already very helpful to me and it seems like they will be very helpful all the way through my phd journey. Thank you!
Thank you for motivating me
Great content thank you very much for this video , I agree with everything you've mentioned especially the hard deadline thing, I have spread a one month submission to almost 2 more months and still did not finish, I really need an external influence as no matter how hard I tried I can't keep my word .
Thanks for the kind words! Look for a slightly painful external motivator - good luck!
Thank you Andy!
thank you Andy
Hard deadline is one of the mistakes i am making. In my research group we have a culture of daily progress report. The target i set for another day is always carried forward to an another day and so on. So that's really a good point to work on. I will start..lets c
I'm pleased this is helpful for you! Good luck at setting those hard deadlines!
Thanks so much for these videos!
An absolute pleasure thanks for watching!
You are awesome sir...keep doing the good work😊👍
Thank you, I will
What if your professor doesn't agree with or allow the hard deadline? I feel professors may be consciously using this gray zone to always squeeze a little bit more every time.
Hi Andy, Can you comment on how do you actually get a career mentor? Does he/she have to be coming from the same backgrund a you?
great content!! any suggestion on how to get mentors?
Reach out to any industry associations to see if they have a mentoring program. There is also a group called smart tribe that have a mentoring program for PhD students I think!
Great advice. I have had much trouble with submission date. I essentially gave up during Covid 19 pandemic. I am not back on track. I want to submit it and leave Academia for good.
You got this!!!
I feel you man. Get through it, this too shall pass!
How it went
Great advice, I genuinely appreciate it as I am preparing for grad school. Any tips for getting into a PhD progtam for a junior in his bachelor program of Honors Physics?
I'm pleased it was useful! I'll add it to the list of videos I am going to make!
Hi awesome tips 🤝. I start in September 2020, this maybe project specific but in general how soon would you recommend that I should aim to start my writing up???
I'm pleased they were useful! I'd recommend starting to pull together your narrative in the second year - based on what you have learned what do you think the structure of of thesis will look like?
Thank you very much for the great content. They are very informative and you are eloquent. I would like to know what do you mean by getting a job? You mean during your PhD?
Yes, you're writing your thesis and simultaneously applying for jobs.
Hi Andy,
Want to know your thoughts about earning a PhD. via distance learning. Sorry, I know you already answered this question but I could not see it.
would be better if you can have a bullet list at t beginning
What are your thoughts on doing a PhD by distance learning?
I'm an older student who did both of my Master's Degrees by Distance Learning so I'm used to the format
If it can work for you then all good. A good friend did their PhD mostly remote and struggled with the isolation but still did some cracking work.
delay my last saw your reply already, also, your thoughts about employers not recognizing professional Ph.D.
Hello, I'm a first year PhD student and it has been six months but I haven't made any progress. I know my topic and I'm reading research papers after papers. This is causing anxiety in me since I feel like I'm lost. I have asked for help from lab mates also but my topic is different from theirs so they can't help much. This is nerve wracking. Please tell me how to overcome this. Your videos are of great help. Thank you in advance.
I hope it has gotten better since you've written this comment! If not then hopefully you can find my words helpful. I think you need to have an overall idea of what your supervisor is expecting from you and plan out what what is expected from you to achieve in the upcoming weeks/months. This can be done by asking the "silly questions" when possible and having regular meetings with your supervisor/s. Set a time schedule for yourself and the things you want to get done by a certain deadline. The other PhD students can help you in terms of the common requirements of a PhD student such as deadlines, lab meetings and may be lab experiments if they so something similar, in terms of common lab work. And remember it's okay to feel anxious and lost at the start, as long as you're trying to break the cycle and feel better in yourself and the work you produce. Wish you all the best!
I don't agree 1st year as the most important, 2nd or 3rd year are real deals, before it is like accumulating, learning, keep going....with time goes by, then all things connect together
...suffering through this😀
Dr. Stapleton, do you believe that staying in the academia or going into research and development in the industry is a wiser choice? (Senior chemistry undergrad here)
..... we all human and we all need help!
Thanks for such a nice video. I am planning to do phd on self funding. Give me some advice about doing job and phd same time and how much minimum time i have to give to study. Thanks
Andy a PHD in the uk is not the same than in USA. We have to teach and also take several classes. The teaching is time consuming, and if you do no do a good job you can loose your funding. There is not time for a hobby
The number 1 mistake I made was not realising that doing a PhD meant more than just telling people I was doing a PhD.
Hi how I'm starting my PhD this September, my question is how soon would you recommend for me to start my writing up
same here, although it's still one more reference letter away, what project is urs about?
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Hi, I'll be investigating the relationship between religion and physical activity (exercise).
What is your project?
@@hezronottey6474 to integrate nanophotonic elements for ultracompact photonic and optic instruments, and my background is mechanical engineering
I'd recommend starting to pull together your narrative in the second year - based on what you have learned what do you think the structure of of thesis will look like?
Thank you very I really value that
Is it necessary to have research paper before applying for PhD in USA? What if your PhD extend more than 5 year? Does they provide financial aid or support in that situation?
No, it's not necessary to have research papers before applying for PhD in the USA. The PhD programs usually give students four years of support. After that it's uncertain if your support will continue. There have been students who have run out of support.
What are the other factors which play crucial role in getting admit for PhD ?
@@preetinamdev9842 It depends on the school and program. Mostly, straight As in your previous programs are expected, especially since it is easy to get those in the US. Strong letters of recommendations are useful, especially if your letter writers are well known within the respective fields. Some programs require good scores on one of the GREs out there, others do not require it at all. Some require a piece of your previous work. Some pay attention to the details in your letter and the reasons you provide why you want to study at that particular department. Always do your research on the people working there and what their strong suit is. Always read carefully through the requirements posted on each department‘s website. Funding is usually guaranteed for three to five years, beyond that depends on their funding situation, how impressed they are with you, and whether they might need you to teach or assist in a particular course or project. If they fund you 8 years, consider yourself lucky (as I was), but do not count on it. If they accept you into the program but offer no funding, it is their way of saying they welcome your money but do not expect too much from you. I would not do it in that case.
Best advice I can give: Figure out what you want to do your research in, find people doing research in this direction, and see if one of them is willing to become your research advisor. If you got someone who wants you on the other end, it's a lot easier to get in.
Why did you decide to return to academia after 13months of industry?
Three years? THREE YEARS???!!! Yep, must be in a very different type of graduate school than what prevailed in the US when I was a graduate student.
In the US, PhD in Biology or Chemistry usually takes ~5 years. Is this above the average worldwide?
I'm a PhD student in marketing in morocco and we have from 3 years to 6 years to finish , the vaerage is usually 5 years.
Another mistake which is really harmful to your academic career is to let yourself be distracted from research. Of course, teaching and administrative burden is often a part of your job (or PhD studies), but you should definitely keep a research-first focus. Otherwise, those less important activities will consume most of your time and mental energy (and they tend to be a bottomless well). Remember, that PhDs and many other important academic achievements are awarded based on your research (typically publications and/or projects) record. Even year-to-year scoring and employee evaluations typically assign a much larger weight to papers than e.g. to students' opinions (this may be different if you are in a teaching position, but is typical for research and research/teaching staff). Therefore, it is not worth it to work your ass off chiseling course materials, because you will get at most (let's say) 10 pts. for students satisfaction (and little in terms of your CV building, and absolutely none international recognition), and 50 pts. even for an average JCR journal paper. I have seen people making the mistake of focusing on teaching and not being able to finish their PhD for years because of this.
It took me six years.
mines 5 years lol.
I am in First year PhD .