notes: The road to a Ph.D. is as difficult as the Shu Road. Looking back, if I had gone back in time, I wish I had known these valuable lessons before I started my PhD. Lucy Taylor, a PhD graduate from the University of Oxford in 2018, has compiled 20 tips for current PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to help those who come after them.
[20 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My PhD].
Set goals as early as possible
Consult your department's guidelines, identify your PhD goals, question existing questions, and change them once your goals have been set, but a clear plan will keep you focused.
Organize your work as well as your workplace
Using meaningful tags to make it easy for you to find them later will save you a lot of time later on.
Talk to your mentor about your needs and expectations
Everyone works differently, and knowing what you need and talking to your mentor helps keep your work productive.
Be honest with your mentor
If you don't understand or mess up anything, or if the tutor forgets to give you feedback, tell the tutor right away and ask for guidance. The more honest you are, the better your relationship will be. Honesty will make it a good way for a mentor to help you.
Take the time to read the literature review
Reading the literature carefully before or after data collection will help shape research objectives and draw conclusions.
Split ** into smart
specific: explicit, measurable, attainable: achievable, relevant: relevant, timely: to do in a timely manner). Making a must-do list for the United States and Japan can make you more productive. A complete job is made up of a lot of small trivial jobs.
It's never too early to start writing
Doing what your mentor asks you to do as early as possible and showing him your work, even if you don't use it in the end, is a good way to organize and organize your thoughts in your brain.
Showcase your work
It can be a group meeting, an academic conference, etc. You may be intimidated by presentation at first, but more presentation work will make you more confident and you will be able to build a network and improve your work.
Try to publish your work
Sometimes the process can be very difficult, but writing about your research and presenting it is a great way to learn new skills and improve your resume.
Be sure to back up your work
Back up your work so that you can have fewer tears of regret later.
Write down everything you have done and done
Write down everything you have to do and do, even if you don't need it later. Include meeting minutes, research methodology details, annotations, and more. No matter how good your memory is, there will come a time when you can't remember why you did it.
Finish is more important than perfection
No matter how long it takes you to revise your manuscript, there will be a lot of changes that follow. Therefore, it is best to send it to the tutor as soon as possible when it is finished, and revise the manuscript according to the tutor's guidance and suggestions.
Communicate more with other members of the lab
Communicating more will allow you to gain more experience, advice and help in scientific research, while broadening your thinking and making more friends.
Attend some of the other labs' meetups
Attend seminars and group meetings in your department, even if the topic is not your area of expertise. What you learn will change the direction of your research, and attending such gatherings regularly may open your eyes to other opportunities.
Learn to live in addition to work
Although the lab is like your home during your PhD, don't stay in the lab all the time, it's good for your mental health. You can go out and play sports, join clubs, develop some personal hobbies, and spend time with friends and family.
The nature of the research dictates that many things will not go as planned
In research, failure will be common, and he doesn't mean you can't. Stay calm, take a deep breath, and keep going. Failed work can also be part of doctoral Xi.
Don't compare yourself to others
Your PhD research process is a creative work that reveals new information and creates knowledge, so everyone's PhD program Xi is very unique, and there is no need to deliberately compare yourself with others. You just have to get your project right.
Don't self-inflict on yourself and stubbornly stumble on a problem
When you encounter problems, avoid stumbling and talk openly with your peers and mentors to ask for help.
Enjoy your PhD
This can be very difficult, and there will always be times when you want to find a "normal" job. But the PhD is full of new experiences, and it gives you the opportunity to work on problems that fascinate you. So, enjoy the process.
Maintain a balance between life and scientific work
This is the most important point of the PhD journey. There is a steady pace of work, and it is not that the beginning of the PhD shows the posture of a workaholic, so that all energy is exhausted. Taking care of yourself is the key to success.
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