Tag: Postgraduate Research

Help is at hand

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To close out our day of discussing the silver linings of our Postgraduate Researcher’s work, and how they keep their heads up and stay motivated, we thought we’d offer a note about help.

PhD students are more likely to suffer from neglect, isolation, feelings of fraudulence and performance anxiety under pressure. They face an insecure economic future, and an increasingly unstable job market. It’s no wonder that mental health issues are on the rise amongst this demographic – and it’s time that we opened up the door to the fact that Higher Education has problems. We have to confront these painful truths and reach out to help. Institutions owe their students and their staff the appropriate resources and services to help them deal with mental health & wellbeing.

The University of Bristol offers a comprehensive counselling service complete with a list of group therapy sessions and personal wellbeing workshops. It  also has its own physical library and virtual resource centre. We also subscribe to the Big White Wall campaign, and recommend this online resource for anyone struggling to express themselves or reach out about a pressing issue that has been weighing them down.

The city of Bristol also has a host of services, mindfulness groups, helplines and charities available for all manner of support issues. Below is a brief, collated list of free helplines that are available (mostly) 24/7 that deal with some of the most prevalent issues PGRs tend to face in terms of mental illness and emotional support. This is by no means comprehensive, and it certainly doesn’t cover the entire range of issues that any individual may face. See National Mind’s tips for everday support, and this list of Local Mental Health Charities for further information.

Lastly, if you feel that your needs are not being met, please speak up. Never hesitate to get in touch if you don’t know where to turn, because there is always help at hand.

Sabrina Fairchield: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Sabrina Fairchild is a PhD candidate in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol.

What has been the highlight of your PhD so far?

The variety of places I have been able to visit. I have conducted archival research in England, the United States, Canada, France, China and Hong Kong. I even got to present my research in Japan. This is one of the unique benefits of being a researcher – and even though travelling can be quite tiring, the experiences you gain are incomparable.

Do you have any funny stories to share from your research and travels?

Once, when I was working at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., I was working with documents no one had touched since the early 1990s. I didn’t know this at the time — all I knew was that all my documents arrived wrapped in really annoying cellophane that I had to rip off before I could open the volumes. As there were no rubbish bins in the document reading area (for obvious reasons) I had to take all the wrapping to one of the floor attendants so they could get rid of it themselves. One day, after my umpteenth trip, the attendant approached me and informed me that the volumes had been shrink-wrapped in 1991 or 1992 to preserve the documents. The fact that the cellophane remained meant that no one had looked at them in the last twenty-years! This was either, he teased me, a very good thing or a very bad thing for my PhD. Since paying attention to the American presence in China has become one of my driving interests, I’ve chosen to believe it was a very good thing indeed.

When you’re stuck, or feeling frustrated, what helps you stay motivated?

I like to do something completely unrelated to my research. I’ve had the best breakthroughs when I leave my desk and gone for a run or a body balance class. I’ll either put the pieces together in the middle of the exercise or while I’m walking back. Often, that feeling of finally understanding something makes the original frustration seem worthwhile.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch.

Thomas Farrugia: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Thomas Farrugia is a PhD candidate within the School of Chemistry, and was a contestant in our 3MT contest last year. In three words, he describes his research as “Biocatalysis”, “Materials”, and “Proteins”. 

Tell us about a time you have felt a distinct sense of pride in your work.

Finding a way around, or solving, a problem in systems I am working with is always a great kick – one case being where I found that I could produce the films I work with directly in cuvettes, meaning I could easily sample their chemical activity and run more samples in the same amount of time.

Are there any particular funny moments that keep you going in boring or tedious moments?

I remember having one colleague who was working with a pink dye whilst making a molecule – we could always work out where we had been or what he had used and touched because it simply got everywhere!

When you feel frustrated or at your wit’s end with your research, what would you say keeps you going?

When this happens I remind myself that persistence and pacing always pay off. I look back at what I have achieved, and then focus on things that have to be done.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Tessa Coombes: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Tessa Coombes is a PhD candidate in Social Policy at the University of Bristol.

What has been the highlight of your PhD so far?

The highlights for me have been the positive interest and support from people within the School for Policy Studies and from people I have spoken to outside the University. To know that others think what I am doing is interesting and worthwhile is always motivating. The fact that some of them even think it is exciting never ceases to amaze me.

When have you felt most proud of yourself during your PhD?

My proudest moment so far was undoubtedly that moment when I decided I wanted to do a PhD and subsequently received such phenomenal support from friends, family and lecturers to actually do it! Applying, getting accepted and starting out on my PhD journey made me feel incredibly proud.

When you feel at your wit’s end with your research, what would you say keeps you going?

The main thing that keeps me going when things don’t quite work out, or I’m having to spend hours on quite tedious tasks, is thinking about where I was a couple of years ago and where I am now. Back then I was working in a difficult and challenging environment, and not particularly enjoying life and rarely looked forward to going to work. Now I’m doing something I have chosen to do, something that I love and enjoy, for all the challenges it throws at me. I now enjoy the process of ‘going to work’, even Monday mornings are good. When at a low ebb I think about the end goal, finishing the PhD and what a sense of achievement that will bring. I would also say having a decent playlist to listen to is critical, as the right music will always lift your spirits and get you through the tough times.

Can you share something that makes you smile about your PhD?

My funniest moments tend to be when working at home and my cat decides it’s time to play or that she needs attention. She’s very good at sitting in front of the computer screen or on whatever I am trying to read, or just deciding to lie across my books and desk.

Tessa's cat keeps her looking on the lighter side of her reading.
Tessa’s cat ensures she takes regular breaks from her work…

 

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Jonathan Godbehere: “Why I Love My PhD”

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Jonathan Godbehere is a PhD candidate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol. He works on Electric Machine Design for ‘Sensorless’ control.

Tell us about a moment when you felt really proud of your research.

That would probably be my first conference paper submission, and then acceptance.  It marked the first time I saw my work peer-reviewed, and I felt like my work was actually ‘good’ to some extent. It helped that it was also a big, significant conference in Montreal. I got to travel and see somewhere out of the ordinary for free, which was a bonus! It was a great payoff for all the hours put into the paper (and the work itself) in the first place.

What are you looking forward to in the upcoming portion of your PhD work?
The first time I turn on my electric motor – and it hopefully works!

Is there a moment in your PhD experience that always brings a smile to your face?

Once, we had literally kilograms of scrap copper left over from a lab refurbishment. The whole research group rallied to help strip the outer plastic coatings off so we could recycle it. The proceeds went to our group’s Xmas dinner that year, because we managed to raise so much money!  Quite a nice group activity.

“Why I Love My PhD” is an ongoing series inspired by The Guardian’s series of the same name, about how our Postgraduate Researchers stay enthused about their work and what keeps them going on the harder days. If you would like to share your story or contribute, please get in touch. 

Then and now: a look back on the Year in the Life of a PhD

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University of Bristol

Over the course of the past year we have brought together a diverse group of researchers, each completing a doctoral degree across a range of subjects, and at various points in their studies. Each of these researchers have provided unique insights into what completing a PhD is like, as they shared their experiences from week to week. As the ‘Year in the Life of a PhD’ draws to a close, we caught up with some of our researchers to reflect on where they were a year ago and to see how far they have come over the past year.

Wingrove_1Louise Wingrove, third-year postgraduate researcher in the department of Drama: Theatre, Film and Television.

A year ago I was nervously waiting to deliver a my first paper at a conference (which quickly became three conferences!) and was about to start teaching.  Although these things were important to me, and I was really looking forward to them, the health problems I was also experiencing at the time and fact that I was approaching my final year did worry me more than I allowed myself to admit.

In the last year I have thoroughly enjoying delivering my first conference papers and teaching on my first module.  I have seen my writing published for the first time in the wonderful ‘What the Frock book of funny women’ and been offered further writing opportunities.  Most importantly, I have learnt to be far kinder to myself and accept my limitations, which has in turn resulted in a massive improvement in my productivity and thesis work.  Through writing blog posts and agreeing to collaborate on a play about Jenny Hill for the excellent HIDden Theatre company I have begun to see how my research can be seen by and interest the wider world and, though the obvious concerns of post PhD employment still plague me, I feel excited and hopeful to see what the future holds.  Providing I can get the thesis written and handed in of course!

Photo of Richard BuddRichard Budd, recent graduate from the Graduate School of Education

A year ago I was just about to submit my thesis, and was more or less at the end of my tether, having a young family, full-time work, and finally, finally, finally getting my PhD to the stage my supervisors were happy with. The year since then has mostly been about passing my viva, working, developing my profile through CPD and publication/impact activities, and applying for jobs. In a way it’s been frustrating because I didn’t know much about post-PhD employability back then but I certainly do now. Then, in the space of three weeks from the end of April this year, we welcomed our baby girl to the world and I was offered a (permanent!!!) job as a Lecturer in Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University. We’re moving house in about six weeks and the new job starts in September! I’ve barely had a chance to draw breath.

Madeline_BurkeMadeline Burke, third-year postgraduate researcher in the department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

A year ago I was very worried about my PhD, whether I was doing enough work, was I good enough, etc. But over the past year I’ve really learnt to manage my demons. It really helped reading other people’s blog posts and seeing how they were handling the aspects of the PhD that I found hard!

Sarah_JoseSarah Jose, third-year postgraduate researcher in plant science

A year ago I was halfway through my PhD with a lot of questions and not many answers. Now I am heading towards the final stages of laboratory-based research, and have started to get some answers that inevitably lead to more questions! At first this was causing me a lot of stress, thinking I’d never be “finished”. Now I realise that’s the nature of novel research – it’s based on exploring interesting questions unearthed by previous work. I’ve still got a way to go before I’m satisfied with the answers I’ve got though!

University of BristolRhiannon Easterbrook, second-year PhD candidate in the Department of Classics and Ancient History

This time last year I was spending long days in the Grad School, preparing my upgrade material and wondering if I would ever see summer.  Not only did I get a break but the work paid off. I passed my upgrade before launching myself into a year of new experiences: organising and presenting at conferences, teaching undergraduates, and significantly refining my approach to research. Now I’ve a good few thousand more words under by belt and much greater appreciation for both the range of duties academics cram into their time and my own resourcefulness. Still can’t wait for a summer break though.

University of BristolElspeth Robertson, final-year PhD candidate in the School of Earth Sciences

This time a year ago, I had three half-finished chapters and I was starting to knuckle down for the final slog. I was quite intimidated by the thought of how much I still had to do (both actual science  and writing), but I was starting to get a nervous excitement about the prospect of finishing. During the course of the year, I have handed in, successfully defended my thesis, submitted my corrections and I am due to graduate this month. Currently, I am relieved it is all over!

University of BristolDominika Bijos, final-year PhD candidate in Physiology and Pharmacology

A year ago I won the 3MT competition during the turbulent summer of writing my thesis. Final stages of writing coincided with fast-tract realisation that life post-PhD might not be easy. I submitted, defended (no corrections!), moved cities, went to Canada as a visiting scientist, came back, graduated in February and worked on a new project for a few months still in Bristol. I co-organise (4th year running) a conference for early career researchers in my field – all of it from attracting funding to on the day details – it’s my contribution to the community 🙂 Now I work on my CPD.

I enjoyed writing for BDC so much I started my own blog at www.scienceyesorknow.com.

University of BristolRebecca Ingle, second-year PhD student in the Bristol Laser Group in the School of Chemistry

In a year, it doesn’t seem like a lot has changed. This time last year, I was working in Japan and now, I’m back there again, trying some new and exciting experiments. The end of the second year of my PhD is drawing worryingly close and sometimes, given the slow nature of research, I find myself wondering what I’ve actually achieved. However, when I attend seminars or look at new experimental set-ups, it’s clear that I’ve actually learnt a huge amount since I started. The challenge for me this coming year is more of the same, keep persevering, learning everything I can and writing things up.

University of BristolJames Hickey, final-year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences

This time last year I was scrambling around to gather the data for my final thesis chapter, whilst simultaneously working on the penultimate chapter. I was also lucky enough to take a 6-week study visit at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, which was the perfect way to escape the rigours of my regular office/email/department and solely focus on my own work.

Nine months later I was finished and submitted my thesis. I am now waiting to graduate and working as a postdoc with my PhD supervisor to finish off some side projects and write up some papers. I’ll then be moving to Clermont Ferrand in France to take up a new postdoc position at the University of Blaise Pascal (while frantically searching for the Holy Grail – a permanent position…!).

The whole experience has been stressful, exhilarating, exhausting and manic in equal measure. But I’m glad I did it.

tessa profile v3Tessa Coombes, first-year postgraduate researcher in the School for Policy Studies

Just 1 year ago I was in the middle of writing my MSc dissertation, whilst also thinking about applying to do a PhD. It seems like a long time ago now, but also it’s gone really quickly. I can’t quite believe I’ve nearly finished my first year (surely I should have made more progress than this in a year?). I’m currently at the stage of putting together all the documentation I need for my “Progression Review”, what they used to call an Upgrade Report. So I’m grappling with writing up my theoretical framework and methodology, along with a recognition of the ethical implications of an ethnographic study! All this so I can actually begin my fieldwork in time for the lead-in to the 2016 Mayoral election in Bristol.

I’ve really enjoyed my first year, there have been ups and downs, but I would expect that. It’s been challenging but also exciting, interesting and thought provoking. I’ve learnt so much in what is actually a short space of time, but I have such a very long way still to go. If anything, my interest and excitement about my research has continued to grow throughout the year and I can’t wait to get started on my fieldwork.

The art of writing

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tessa profile v3Tessa Coombes is a first year postgraduate researcher in the School for Policy Studies. Her research will explore housing policy and agenda setting during the Bristol Mayoral election next year. The research stems form a desire to develop a better understanding of the role local elections and new models of local governance have on framing policy agendas.

I’ve always enjoyed writing, even if I don’t always do it well. I find it a creative process, that brings to life all those thoughts and ideas, commentary and debate that whirl around in my head, but frequently have no real outlet. Writing has been a part of every job I’ve had, in different ways and for very different audiences. I’ve had to adapt and develop my own style to respond to the demands of others, and to work to other people’s deadlines that often serve to stifle my own creative process. But, nonetheless, I enjoy writing. I write for fun and have my own blog. I also write contributions to local news websites and magazines, such as Bristol 24-7 and The Bristol Cable, and for the professional press like the Planner Magazine. All of these provide an opportunity to write about things of interest to me, sometimes related to my research but often not, where I can freely express my opinion. That’s part of the fun of writing.

Over the last couple of years I have had to get used to a different kind of writing, one that is more controlled and evidenced, that fits with particular conventions. Last year, when doing an MSc, back in the academic world for the first time in over 20 years, I had to complete formal assignments and a dissertation. This involved a form of writing that was entirely different to anything I have done in a long time.  Then this year, embarking on my PhD, I have once more had to develop my style further into academia, a style change I find both challenging and rewarding. Challenging because my inclination is to keep things simple, use simple language and keep away from jargon. Rewarding because when it works and I can combine simplicity with complexity there is a real feeling of achievement.

My approach to writing is to see it as a creative output, something that occurs naturally for me in response to learning. After all, what’s the point of all that learning if you can’t share it with other people? A blank page, for me, is an opportunity to articulate and share, rather than something to be scared of. Writing is like creating a painting, there are different layers that are needed to build the picture, which on their own make little sense, but together they can evolve into something worthwhile, a masterpiece that others will enjoy. I view writing my PhD in a similar way. There are layers that I will write at different times, continuously throughout the process, that need to come together into a coherent story at the end. There’s a complexity to this writing process, in terms of debate and argument, analysis and detail. But there’s also a simplicity about it, where carefully crafted pure and simple arguments can be brought together into quite a simple story. A story that will grab the readers attention, and will slowly but surely take them through the complexity in a way that makes sense. In a way that brings them to your conclusions with a sense of understanding and agreement.

There’s lots of advice to students about how to write, much of which suggests you set yourself a daily writing target, which you then stick to no matter what. I can see why the discipline of this is important and why it must work for many people, but I’ve tried this approach and for me the writing that comes from it is stifled, boring and constrained. If I’m not in the mood to write, then forcing myself to write just doesn’t work. I’ve written assignments like that and when I go back to read them I can tell that it was forced rather than creative thoughts that made up the report or essay. The work is dull and it’s lacking in energy, even if the points made are the right ones, the style is very different. I prefer an approach that feels more creative, one that has routine, but is based on my preferences, rather than someone else’s (there’s a good discussion here on creating routine when writing, drawing on the work of Ronald Kellog).

When I first begin the process of writing something new I try to avoid the clutter and distraction of notes generated from my reading. I start with a blank page. I then try to form my thoughts on what I have read into a short discussion of key arguments, issues and themes. I do this without the clutter of referencing and acknowledging who said what and how. I do it from memory, from thoughts that occur to me from reading my notes and I do it when I am feeling creative and able to write fluidly. For me this works, most of the time! Of course, sometimes the creativity is just not there, it’s beyond my grasp, I can’t think where to start or how to structure my thoughts. I’ve come to recognise those times and instead I do something else with my time, like more reading, organising files, and literature searching. All the time continually mulling over the story I want to tell and trying to work out how I can construct it. I may also use this thinking and reflecting time to write something else, something less constrained, where I can write freely without the confines of academic convention – something like a blog maybe! Eventually, often after much reflection, I am ready to write and can go back to the writing that needs to be done.

The challenge of writing is an integral part of any PhD. The only advice I have on writing is to do what works for you, try different approaches and look back on what’s worked when you’ve written things before. But above all, enjoy it, it’s a precious opportunity to express yourself, articulate your thoughts and tell the story of your PhD for others to enjoy.

Closure: the thesis and the viva

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University of BristolJames Hickey recently completed his PhD in the School of Earth Sciences. His research focused on unravelling the mechanisms that cause volcanoes to become restless prior to eruptions. Ultimately, the aim is to improve our understanding of precursory signals to enhance forecasting and mitigation efforts.

It’s been a long and winding road, but I’ve reached the final hurdle – minor post-viva corrections. So while everything is still fresh (or permanently etched into my mind!) I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the thesis write-up and viva process.

I didn’t have a long write-up period at the end of my studies – I started writing in my first year, and continued to write throughout in the form of a series of papers. I think this helped keep me slightly saner at the end of the 3.5 years, but don’t get me wrong; the last few months still weren’t easy!

My supervisor was very proactive from the start at getting me to think of my work in terms of publications, and this soon bore fruition. I managed to publish 3 papers before I started writing my thesis proper, with my fourth and final science chapter/study now currently in prep for publication.

When it came to the piecing together of my actual thesis I made sure I was being as efficient as possible with my time. As I still had a few models to run for my final science chapter, I used this time to simultaneously start formatting my thesis. I used LaTeX for this, which has numerous advantages over something like Microsoft Word – this could be a blog post in itself, so I won’t go into it here. But if you are thinking of using LaTeX I’ve made my thesis template freely available online, and it meets all of the University of Bristol rules and regulations (as far as I’m aware).

In the end, my thesis consisted of three science chapters from my papers, plus one additional science chapter. To me, I think this is roughly where the end line should be drawn. I feel like the additional chapters (introduction, methods, conclusions, etc.) are mostly unnecessary. Each science chapter usually has its own introductions, methods, and conclusions – so why the need to repeat? At the end of the day, maybe 5 people maximum are going to read the full thesis (the student, maybe two supervisors, and two examiners), while (hopefully) many more people will read the science chapters when they’re published. I feel it would make much more sense to be able to simply submit 3 or 4 solid science chapters, with maybe a couple pages each for some pre- and post-amble that ties things together in view of an overall bigger picture. No waffle – just good, original, science. (N.B. I can’t speak for the process in faculties other than science, where concepts, logistics and PhD theses may be vastly different.)

My viva came a month and a half after my thesis hand-in. A few days before I got ‘the fear’ – something I’ve not felt since I sat my (somewhat underprepared) undergraduate exams. I had spent most of my time trying to write a paper that my viva crept up on me, leaving me with just two days either side of a wedding weekend to ‘prepare’. Naturally I googled ‘viva prep’, which mostly suggested a week or so of going through potential questions and preparing answers. I instead used my time to read through my entire thesis, and think about it in a critical way; assessing where it could be improved and how it fits into the broader scientific picture I was addressing.

Going into my viva I was hoping that the 3 published papers in my thesis would be mostly free from the examiners onslaught. I was wrong.

My two examiners went through my thesis from cover to cover and picked everything apart: “why did you do this?”, “why did you choose this value?”, “why didn’t you do this?”, “I don’t really like this”, “you could have done this”, “why didn’t you do this?” (again). It’s like they don’t know that we’re mostly scrambling to get the thesis finished in as close to the 3 or 3.5 years of funding we are afforded (with 4 being more like the normal PhD timeframe in my department these days). I know some people say they enjoy their viva, but I was unfortunately not one of them – 2.5 hours with next to no positive comments for the amount of work put in was somewhat demoralising (and also slightly off-putting of a future career in academia).

I did stand my ground, however. On more than one occasion I even had to interrupt the examiners and ask to speak as I had the rebuttal on the tip of my tongue but was struggling to squeeze a word in. In other cases, it was only after my viva that I thought of the most scientifically appropriate comeback. You win some, you lose some. I guess it is a defence of your work at the end of the day…

Defense
Maybe this would have been a better approach. Image credit: XKCD.

I eventually emerged victorious (yay!), to bountiful cheese, wine, olives and Jagermeister – subject to minor revisions that is. If only the post-viva period was like a paper review and I could write back with my rebuttal arguments for the points where I couldn’t think of them during the viva. Oh well. I was also asked to lengthen my conclusions and methods chapters (boo!). I still don’t understand why, and I probably never will, especially as only the internal examiner and myself will ever see them.

Regardless, I’ll look back on my PhD journey as a positive one. I have improved myself in many ways, met some amazing people, and travelled to some incredible places. I will also be able to address myself as Dr if I so please.

To anyone nearing the end – hang in there. It may not seem like it right now, but it will all be worth it.

Viva celebration
A good viva celebration makes it all worthwhile. Image credit: Fabian Wadsworth.

So long, farewell, and thanks for all the cake

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University of BristolRebecca Ingle is a second year PhD student in the Bristol Laser Group in the School of Chemistry. Her research involves studying photodissociation dynamics in both the gas and solution phase using a combination of laser experiments and computational chemistry methods.

Avid followers of Chemistry’s ‘Friday Good News’ might know that it has been a rather busy week for the Bristol Laser Group, with three PhD vivas in two days. Apparently, the book of Guinness World Records doesn’t have an entry for ‘most PhD vivas completed in a week,’ but I suspect we’d be in the running for the record.

Vivas mark the end of the huge amount of work involved in a PhD and are strange times for everyone involved. For the candidates, there is the whole gamut of emotions, from the terrifying pre-viva wait to the exhausted relief when it is all over. For the older PhD students, it is an uncomfortable reminder of data that has yet to be collected and experiments that are yet to work. As well as being a celebratory time, it is often a sad goodbye to colleagues.

Post-viva
A post-viva Steph modelling a stylish ‘I <3 Lasers’ hat – coming soon to all good designer boutiques near you

Sometimes academia can feel a bit like a revolving door of new colleagues and contacts. New students roll through the doors in September, the Master’s students disappear in May and throughout the year, both PhDs and postdocs move onto pastures new. Both friends and collaborators tend to live at the opposite end of the country (if you’re lucky) or even on different continents.

Cake
The obligatory three-tier celebratory cake left in the presence of PhD students for five minutes

As part of a PhD, you will end up meeting an overwhelming number of people and it quickly becomes impractical to keep in contact with most of them. I’ve met so many people over the last 18 months that I’m surprised I can remember half their names. To avoid this, a lot of networking courses recommend keeping a ‘Stalker Book’ (not the phrase they use). You use this to keep note of everyone you meet on the conference circuit, as well as various details about them. To me, this sounds rather creepy but the idea of this circumvents the embarrassing situation where you meet someone who knows you and your research well but you have no idea who they are, which has thankfully only happened to me once.

Email is a wonderful thing for keeping in touch in the modern era of mobility and conferences will become a great time for catching up with others in your field. Generally I find most people in academia understand that a quarterly email and biennial visit is the foundation of a solid friendship. Don’t be surprised, though, if any social correspondence continually ends up being prefaced with ‘I’m sorry for the late reply but…’ though do be warned, these tactics may not work so well on family members.

Congratulations to our three new doctors!

Never JUST a PhD student

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University of BristolDominika Bijoś recently received her PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology. She studied smooth muscle contraction and examined how other cell types influence it in bladder tissue and in the whole organ. Initially, she used molecular and cell biology techniques, but spent last year watching and analysing moving bladders and the conclusion was – they dance the samba!

Whether you are at the beginning of your PhD journey or finishing up, remember: never be JUST a PhD student. I’m speaking from experience. Throughout my PhD journey I hated that pitiful statement: “oh, you are just a PhD student”. Out of this frustration two things came out: I became MORE than a PhD student and I realized you should never let yourself be JUST a PhD student.

Let me explain.

The “just a PhD student” can come from two sources:

The general public still think you are a student

First are friends and family, who attribute the word STUDENT to a NON-REAL profession. I had to explain that I work usually more than 35h a week, sometimes during the weekends and I am a real member of the workforce. I convinced friends that my job is to research how and why X works and why it is important for real life application. To make sure you are taken seriously by the general public might be the easier task of the two.

Fellow scholars might overlook you at times

The second group who will call you JUST a PhD student (in my experience) are SOME fellow scholars. They might not realize it or (rarely) do they do it on purpose, but some will treat you as a lower level worker due to your lack of experience. Without PhD students, research would have gone nowhere. Sometimes being JUST a PhD student means that your problems are considered less important. I have asked my share of questions that showed I lack the deep understanding of the subject, but also a share which were dismissed just because I asked them. The philosophy doctorate doesn’t write itself on OLD stuff. You need new discovery and discussion to get it. And I suspect that at times, more experienced members of scholar family might JUST not remember that. NEVER get discouraged by that.

Drop the JUST – you are the expert now

It might sneak up on you that you become an expert as colleagues ask your opinion more and more, but for me it was a breakthrough. I visited a group in Canada (like Rebecca, I escaped MY lab). In Toronto, my task was to teach a technique my PhD was based on. I soon realized that for them I was never JUST a PhD student. I was the expert of the technique. On top of that, I was a new but experienced perspective, so they asked my opinion on everything from how I design an experiment to how I present the results. It was my experiment so I knew what I was talking about, just the confidence part was new. I designed the experiment, conducted it, taught other researchers, analysed the data etc. It was a breakthrough in my perception of my PhD life. I definitely became more than JUST a PhD student.

Just a PhD? – never!

On top of science and technical know-how, this experience made me realize you should never let yourself be JUST a PhD student. In the process of your PhD you will become the expert scholar on the topic, but you should challenge yourself to be a good researcher and do all things that come with it: communicate, write, network…explore all the unexpected benefits of the PhD life.

Get better at what you do

You can call it enhancement of your transferable skills, the continuous professional development or whatever you want, but identify where you can improve and act. Whatever your passion or inclination do other good in the world outside of your research topic: be a leader of a hockey team, play cello, organize a conference for your fellows, write a blog, start a journal club, start sewing, learn Spanish, pursue a project outside the lab and improve there.

What I did? Well, first I got totally down with being JUST a PhD student. And on top, I felt guilty for always not doing enough research (sounds familiar?). But then I realized that I had founded a society for those in my field, advocate for open access publishing, and mentor others. I took part in the 3MT Bristol Competition (great fun, do it!). All not quite strictly research, but all making me a bit more than just a PhD student.

Why it matters? Because after a PhD is said and done, in (like Richard) or outside of academic research, you want this experience to make you more than just a PhD student. Passion, excellence, self improvement and constant growth is what makes you more than just a student. It gives you the PhD.