PhD

[raskolnikov]

Anybody here finished or working on a PhD? I have just started mine. My thesis is in the area of Russian Literature. Looking forward to it but it's a bit daunting at the same time.

Any tips or advice?

 

[Contra Mundum]

Anybody here finished or working on a PhD? I have just started mine. My thesis is in the area of Russian Literature. Looking forward to it but it's a bit daunting at the same time.

Any tips or advice?

What is to be done?
It's going to sound like a Hallmark Card but discipline is the key. As soon as you don't look at it for a week - you've lost it. Don't set yourself ridiculous goals that have to be continuously revised. Set up good habits as far as hours per week you dedicated to it and do not deviate from it. I had a mate who worked on it from 5AM to 8AM four days a week - he finished it working full time in six years. that is the way you do it. If you get the urge to work intensively - do that

The other thing I would say is you have to have a good relationship with your supervisor and check in constantly. It's also important to get to know your peers in your discipline who are also doing PhDs - they are the only ones who will know what you are going through. Good luck and good on you for giving it a go

 

[raskolnikov]

I had a mate who worked on it from 5AM to 8AM four days a week - he finished it working full time in six years. that is the way you do it. If you get the urge to work intensively - do that

I couldn't imagine doing 3 hours in the morning before work. I will work on it during the evenings and weekends. Being a teacher I get a few holidays a year that I can work on it. I also have 3 months full pay or 6 months half pay long service leave up my sleeve. If it becomes a bit too much I might even quit my job and do relief teaching 2 or 3 days a week.

It's a topic that really interests me so I don't think that I'll find motivation an issue.

 

[Contra Mundum]

I couldn't imagine doing 3 hours in the morning before work. I will work on it during the evenings and weekends. Being a teacher I get a few holidays a year that I can work on it. I also have 3 months full pay or 6 months half pay long service leave up my sleeve. If it becomes a bit too much I might even quit my job and do relief teaching 2 or 3 days a week.

It's a topic that really interests me so I don't think that I'll find motivation an issue.

Look mate after two Masters by thesis I never finished the PhD - no matter how motivated you are you are still tempted to miss your allocated session from time to time. Just don't do that - keep going, it doesn't matter what time it is or whether the days you commit move around - as long as you are doing something on it week in week out. That is all I am saying.

 

[sandeano]

I did mine a few years back. My greatest issue was never being able to switch off from it. Even the basic pleasure of watching a DVD was ruined by the "Invisible PhD vulture" as i referred to it, which would sit on my shoulder squawking that I had to get back to work, had to get back to work...

Having a topic that interests you greatly helps (that is what got me through) and as has been stated, ensure your supervisors are on the ball.

Another thing to bear in mind (and it kinda gets back to my first point) is that although support structures (family, friends, colleagues) are a huge help, it is only to a degree. You are doing this on your own and it can be very, very isolating.

Good luck!

 

[raskolnikov]

I did mine a few years back. My greatest issue was never being able to switch off from it. Even the basic pleasure of watching a DVD was ruined by the "Invisible PhD vulture" as i referred to it, which would sit on my shoulder squawking that I had to get back to work, had to get back to work...

Having a topic that interests you greatly helps (that is what got me through) and as has been stated, ensure your supervisors are on the ball.

Another thing to bear in mind (and it kinda gets back to my first point) is that although support structures (family, friends, colleagues) are a huge help, it is only to a degree. You are doing this on your own and it can be very, very isolating.

Good luck!

The vulture has visited me tonight. Out for dinner with friends but can't wait to get home.

 

[sandeano]

The vulture has visited me tonight. Out for dinner with friends but can't wait to get home.

Ha! You might as well come up with a name for him, he'll be a frequent companion on the journey!

 

[Contra Mundum]

The vulture has visited me tonight. Out for dinner with friends but can't wait to get home.

It’s the same with an academic writing - you would not attempt it unless you were obsessed by it - if you have good mates they will tell you if it gets boring


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Nimble Numbat]

When I started my PhD I got given two little paperback books by Thinkwell.

1) the seven secrets of highly successful research students

2) turbocharge your writing: how to become a prolific academic writer

They are short and sweet and worth having a look at, if you haven't already. Your library will probably also have a few self-help style books with tips and advice etc.

In terms of my own experience (I'm not finished yet), I think just trust your gut about what you should be doing. And realise that you will probably know more than your adviser about your specific area pretty quickly, and so be in a better position than them to make judgement calls. Don't disregard your adviser (keep in regular contact and listen to what they say in your discussions), but don't disregard yourself either. An analogy I've heard is that doing a PhD is like learning how to be an explorer. Your adviser has had his adventure and can give you some general tips, but now you are the one doing it, and you need figure out where you want to go, how you are going to get there, and what you are going to do etc.

As an aside, do you have any recommendations / personal favourite Russian books? I've read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, Demons, Crime and Punishment, Cancer Ward, and August 1914. And I'm reading The Idiot at the moment. Of the ones I've listed I liked (maybe not the right word to use) Cancer Ward the most.

 

[Werewolf]

Anybody here finished or working on a PhD? I have just started mine. My thesis is in the area of Russian Literature. Looking forward to it but it's a bit daunting at the same time.

Any tips or advice?

I finished mine (physics, it involved building lasers) last year and recently graduated. Tough, but worth it

Expect any PhD to be daunting and mentally draining, but don't be afraid to seek help, counselling, etc.

 

[raskolnikov]

As an aside, do you have any recommendations / personal favourite Russian books? I've read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, Demons, Crime and Punishment, Cancer Ward, and August 1914. And I'm reading The Idiot at the moment. Of the ones I've listed I liked (maybe not the right word to use) Cancer Ward the most.

Dostoyevsky is my favourite. Crime and Punishment is my favourite but I also love The Brothers Karamazov and Notes from the Underground.

Others that you haven't mentioned:

Dead Souls - Gogol
Fathers and Sons - Turgenev
The Mother - Gorky
Dr. Zhivago - Pasternak
The Master and Margarita - Bulgakov
Man is Wolf to Man - Bardach

 

[Norwegian Blue]

What is to be done?
It's going to sound like a Hallmark Card but discipline is the key. As soon as you don't look at it for a week - you've lost it. Don't set yourself ridiculous goals that have to be continuously revised. Set up good habits as far as hours per week you dedicated to it and do not deviate from it. I had a mate who worked on it from 5AM to 8AM four days a week - he finished it working full time in six years. that is the way you do it. If you get the urge to work intensively - do that

The other thing I would say is you have to have a good relationship with your supervisor and check in constantly. It's also important to get to know your peers in your discipline who are also doing PhDs - they are the only ones who will know what you are going through. Good luck and good on you for giving it a go

What he said, particularly the bit about ridiculous goals. Keep them realistic or you'll get snowed under.

I'd add that you should get to know other academics besides your supervisor. When I was doing mine (Pure Maths), my supervisor was also Dean of the Faculty and a busy man. Having another professor or two I could drop in for a coffee and a 20 minute chat about C*-algebras with was a perfect way to avoid procrastination.

 

[The Edukator]

What is your motivation for doing a phd? Is it a stepping stone to something or is it for the challenge?

Interested to know because I could not think of anything worse than going back to study. I've got a degree and a great job now that rewards me well fiscally. I found that I got very little reward studying.

 

[Groin guru]

Anybody here finished or working on a PhD? I have just started mine. My thesis is in the area of Russian Literature. Looking forward to it but it's a bit daunting at the same time.

Any tips or advice?

Finished mine a few years ago.

There is no perfect formula. You can have any number of hurdles thrown at you. It also depends on how many hoops you have to jump through at your university too. If you aren't efficient try to work on it. Before I started a family member said that it completely consumes you. I brushed it off because I'm pretty relaxed and understand the need for down time etc. But you quickly discover it can be hard to switch off. I'm not sure how it works in your area but if you don't have supervisors that are switched on it can be even harder. Some get lucky and have funding so get RA's and student help. Others (myself) had to source my own grants and tackle it alone. Balancing research with domestic/international conferences, extra income (job, teaching, RA work), networking, every person at the uni stopping you and asking you "how is your PhD coming along", family/friends having no idea what you're doing and therefore don't understand why you're spending so much time at uni, and the extras (seminars/workshops/3MT's etc.).

So simply it:
- Make time for yourself. Your personal health should be #1 priority. Don't get into the habit of working weekends or working at home. It'll take over. Make time to exercise still. I know it's cliche shit but you'll be surprised how easily you put it off.
- Become efficient. To-do lists / calendar updates...do whatever you can to keep you on point.
- Be as prepared as you possibly can for your confirmation. It's daunting but with a good group of reviewers and supervisors it's a good way to get feedback and springboard you into the next phase.
- Apply for the university grants. Get in contact with your grad school. There are always travel grants/internships available. Good way to work networking in with travel and save you some money (if you're on an APA then you'll need to all the help you can get - yes you're basically lower than a coles checkout operator ).
- BIG 1: If you are collaborating make sure you organise a contract prior to starting. It's a shark tank and I've heard/seen too many horror stories of people helping with a study expecting to be on the paper only to be left off. Don't let it happen to you. Set guidelines early.

I sure as hell hope you like the subject you've got. I liked mine but after 4 years I wanted to shank my thesis and peel the cover off with a scalpel.

Welcome to the ****ing show!

PM me if you ever need any advice or have any questions throughout your thesis.

 

[raskolnikov]

What is your motivation for doing a phd? Is it a stepping stone to something or is it for the challenge?

Interested to know because I could not think of anything worse than going back to study. I've got a degree and a great job now that rewards me well fiscally. I found that I got very little reward studying.

For me it's purely the challenge. It's something I've always wanted to do. It's not really a stepping stone for anything at the moment, I have a good career,lthough that's not to say I won't look at possibilities when I finish. Russian literature has always been something I've been extremely interested in so I really don't see it as a chore. That's not to say I'm expecting it to be easy or undemanding by any means. I loved university and study. I could have done it the rest of my life. Sitting in class and listening to professors of Literature talking about Dickens, Woolf, Joyce, the Brontes. Loved every minute.

 

[The Edukator]

For me it's purely the challenge. It's something I've always wanted to do. It's not really a stepping stone for anything at the moment, I have a good career,lthough that's not to say I won't look at possibilities when I finish. Russian literature has always been something I've been extremely interested in so I really don't see it as a chore. That's not to say I'm expecting it to be easy or undemanding by any means. I loved university and study. I could have done it the rest of my life. Sitting in class and listening to professors of Literature talking about Dickens, Woolf, Joyce, the Brontes. Loved every minute.

I think you missed Chekhov!

 

[Snake_Baker]

Anybody here finished or working on a PhD? I have just started mine. My thesis is in the area of Russian Literature. Looking forward to it but it's a bit daunting at the same time.

Any tips or advice?

Hell no.

I am interested in what you are utilising as your point of difference.

 

[raskolnikov]

Hell no.

I am interested in what you are utilising as your point of difference.

I am looking into the connection between mysticism and nationalism throughout the history of the Russian novel.

 

[74561347]

youre in luck they just opened that new russian literature factory in the city

 

[Wind Guard]

Ensure that a thorough literature search has been carried out.
A friend discovered half way through her PhD program that the experiment she was conducting had been done before and the results published recently.
She had to alter the emphasis of her thesis which added about 12 months to her Thesis submission date.

Being aware of what current theses are in the pipeline around the world is also helpful. Checking the authors and titles in up to date symposiums and conferences can help. Your supervisor(s) should also be aware of the latest research in the area.

Although completing masters degrees can be less strict in this area, a PhD candidate can face big hurdles if their work is essentially a validation of previously published research. There needs to be at least some innovative content or furthering of the discipline.

Good Luck

 

[GastevsBeard]

be wary of tricky academic politics. To put it in footy-parlance, your dissertation can be derailed by "off-field distractions"

recognize your advisers goals will not always align with expedient completion of thesis goals

for all the challenges of a PhD, take time to appreciate that it will be the one-time in your life you get to self-indulge in an intellectual pursuit, for the sake of intellectual curiosity

Have a plan for post-PhD. Academia may prove to not be as you envisioned it, & jobs are scarce. Try & develop some other employable skills (for me it was analytics)

 

[Rusty Brookes]

Here's something that might be useful

The Thesis Whisperer

Just like the horse whisperer - but with more pages

thesiswhisperer.com

My tips are don't miss your milestones and make sure you've got a good relationship with your supervisor.

 

[androidtommy]

I finished mine last year, one tip I have that I didn't see mentioned here was keep good references. Which ever methods of organising your literature you want to use, try to keep a note of why you read it and file accordingly.

For me, that was note in my endnote folder saying something like 'pg 46, procedure for xyz compound synthesis' in the folder for a particular chapter.

Not sure how much that applies here, but made it a lot easier when writing to find what you are looking for.

 

[Arkangel]

I went straight through the education system from school to undergrad to my PhD, my degree was in the sciences, and my goal from the beginning was to get an academic position (which, for the record, I succeeded in), so my experience may be slightly different to yours. With that disclaimer though, here are some random thoughts that may be useful:

- I used a spreadsheet to allocate every hour of my time during the week, including weekends. This helped in two ways. First, it reduced my tendency to procrastinate, because when I was scheduled to work on a task it was only for a relatively short period of time, which made it seem less daunting. Second, it helped me to “switch off” when I needed to. By giving myself copious amounts of blank cells (i.e., leisure time), this meant that I basically never felt overwhelmed by the work I was doing. I would sometimes keep working into the leisure time if I was in the flow of what I was doing, but this felt like earning bonus points rather than having it take over my life.
- I allocated the first hour of every day to writing, even at the beginning stages of my degree. Getting something down on paper, even if it was rubbish, was a great way to work through my thoughts. Pretty soon it also meant I had hundreds of pages of notes, so when it came time to write my polished thesis I could rely on this material and it made the mental work of generating ideas less taxing.
- I completely changed my thesis topic six months in to the degree. This was a result of realising that the philosophical justification I had for the original topic was weak. The disadvantage of this was that I had wasted the first six months of my scholarship; but the advantage was that I made sure that the new topic I picked had a sound justification, which meant that my motivation never really flagged. (I ended up finishing in 32 months anyway, so the wasted first six didn’t have much practical effect.)
- There are probably two main things I would go back and change if I could. The first would be to get involved in more projects unrelated to my thesis. I’ve since found that the more diverse material I read and think about, the broader and more unique the perspective I get on my own area of specialisation. In addition, sometimes one can make a bigger contribution to work outside of one’s main area of expertise by bringing this expertise to bear in a different domain. The second would be to focus more on learning the rules of the “game” of academia. I wasn’t brought up in a particularly academic cultural milieu, which meant I was pretty naïve to the optimal strategies for succeeding in the pragmatic aspects of academia (i.e., those not directly related to the quality of one’s research). Despite being an area whose goal should be knowledge, in many ways things like nepotism, egos, politics, and marketing play a surprisingly large role in academic success. It’s not necessary to play this game to get on, but if one is aware it exists, it’s easier to find a path to success that allows one to retain one’s dignity and principles.
- The expectations that I had before running the experiments for my thesis turned out to be completely wrong, and this provided me with a great lesson on following the data wherever they go. I’m not sure how relevant something like this is for someone in literature, but it might be a good idea to read up on common cognitive biases to which people are subject, or simply to think deeply about what evidence would be inconsistent with your assumptions and expectations. I think the one of the worst things an academic can do is to start out with an argument, and simply attempt to prove it; this might be a good strategy for a lawyer, but it restricts and constrains what one learns, which is kind of the antithesis of research. So, I guess “be prepared to be, and comfortable with being, wrong”, would be the general message here.
- Finally, I think doing a PhD should be fun. I moved to a new country to do mine, where I knew no one, and I made no friends at all while I was there (by choice—I’m not anti-social, but I’m not someone who requires social interaction, and I wanted to focus on my research). But I loved it, and I loved working on it. So, my tip here is, “try to enjoy yourself”.

Hope this is helpful, and good luck with your research!

 

[RichLeMonde]

My advice would be don't do it. I'm finishing mine up, in Sociology, and I greatly regret undertaking it. I think modern academia is broken, especially in the Arts/Humanities. The level of toxicity and ugly, self-serving politics in my Dept was something I did not anticipate. I worked in public and private healthcare for 15 years prior to completing my PhD, and academia is the least professional environment I've ever been in. I had no supervision for 4 years, and when I spoke up, my supervisor verbally abused me. When I raised it with the post-grad coordinator, and said I wanted some kind of mediation/concillation process, as would occur in a professional setting, she said I was on my own. The PhD model in Australia is terrible - you're expected to **** off for 3 years then come back and hand in your thesis. And in case this sounds like the sour grapes of someone who projects responsibility onto others and complains about their failures, rather than taking responsiblity themselves, well I published 4 peer-reviewed articles in good journals during my PhD (which is unusual in Arts/Humanities - none of my peers published more than one), without them being looked at by a supervisor, and coordinated (lectured and tutored) several subjects. I think I would have had as good a chance as most in getting a post-doc, if I appplied, but I would never work in a university in any capacity now. My experiences over the last 4 years have led me to basically be an 'accelerationist' when it comes to universities - I think the quicker Arts/Humanities in their current form within the neoliberal university die off completely, the better. I'm not sure what alternative form the study of Arts/Humanities could take next, but it couldn't be worse than the utterly neoliberal commodified shit-show that currently exists.