Let me start by giving you a bit of a background information about myself. I am born and bread in Greece and this is where I’ve done and still doing all of my academic studies. I studied Information and Telecommunication Engineering in the University of Western Macedonia (a 5 year course degree) and this is where I chose to do my PhD. I also work fulltime as a mobile team lead in a software company, so as you can tell I have pretty limited time to dedicate to my PhD studies if you include the time I spent taking care of myself and maintaining a barely existent social life. There are a few things I learned over the 3 years of doing my PhD that I wish I knew in the beginning.
1.Ask yourself why?
Before you consider doing a PhD you have to know the reason why you want to do it. It may sound like it’s not that important but trust me it is. You should try and have a vision of what you want to achieve by doing a PhD. The vision may not be clear in the beginning but it should exist. Whether it’s for ambition or you want to contribute in science there is always a reason. Write down why you want to do it, what do you want to accomplish by doing it, where will it get you and keep it with you throughout the course of your academic journey. Of course the reasons may change from time to time but you should always be in-sync with yourself. Knowing why you want it, I believe, is the number one source of your motivation and that kind of motivation will get you through the rough parts.
2. Find a schedule that fits
Knowing yourself and your limits is very important before starting. I learned that the hard way by trying to juggle too many things at a time. Once you start your PhD make a 4 month plan that will include the conference or journals you want to go after and the steps you have to make in order to get there. Once you have that on paper find your most productive hours and try to be consistent with your engagement. I can’t function after 10PM, I am a morning person and combined with a full-time job I have a very limited timeframe that I can be productive and make actual progress with my studies during the weekdays. I try to take advantage the time I have before going to work even if it’s one hour of study I try to commit to it every day. That leaves my weekends to do most of the heavy lifting which can be tiresome after one point. That’s when knowing your limits comes in action. Take a break. It’s mandatory! Knowing when to take an actual break is your key to survival. Go out with your friends, pick up a hobby, go for a walk. Letting go of the pressure the PhD will give you and having fun will actually make you more productive in the long run.
3. Sometimes a little is more than enough
It’s ok if you feel tired at some point and it’s ok if you get stuck in your research. Even if you read one line per day that is progress! You should be proud of yourself that you are doing something so incredibly amazing. When I’m stuck with writing I try to do some side work like gathering all my references and fixing them up, or correct the format of my text. These actions may look little at the time but will appear useful later. Take it little by little every day and without even knowing it after awhile you will look back and won’t believe what you have accomplished. Even If you give 5% of yourself some days that still equals to progress and moving forward.
4. Communication is key
Choosing the right supervisor plays an essential part in your academic path. The second most important thing after figuring out what path you want to follow in your research field is choosing the right supervisor. I have been lucky enough to have collaborated with my supervisor in my diploma thesis as an undergraduate student so we had already built our communication bridge by the time I chose to do my PhD. Others may not be so lucky especially if you are planning to do your PhD abroad and not in the university where you did your undergrad or postgrad studies. Try to do some research about your supervisor, check the work they have done and try to picture yourself contributing to science together.
5. Prepare for rejection
You need to understand that rejection is natural. It doesn’t mean that you are not good, or what you did is not good enough. Getting rejected by a journal or conference is completely fine and you need to learn to be ok with it. Rejections have a lot to teach you and will make you grow. This is how you gain more experience and learn how to be better at what you do. Rejections always come with constructive criticism and advice about your work from the reviewers so take that input, use it to your advantage and move on.
6. The imposter syndrome
I am sure that a lot of you have heard about the imposter syndrome. Well it is a real thing and a lot of people in the academic community feel it. Even the greatest scientists at some point felt like frauds even though they had made one of the greatest discoveries in history. Don’t compare yourself to others. You are unique, your ideas are unique, your research is unique and noone in the world can take that away from you. You should be proud of yourself and your progress no matter how big or small it is. This is what makes you “you” and once you realise that you will feel a burden lifting off your shoulders.
7. Enjoy it
Please, please, please try to enjoy your journey. Those years will pass so quickly you want even notice. Try to take advantage of them and have as much fun as possible. Take advantage of the conferences and travel the world. You can choose the conferences you want to apply based on the places of the world you want to visit. Make friends there, collaborate with them in your research and share your experiences and struggles. You will find that you have so many things in common that you actually thought.
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Remember: Take it one step at a time.