PhD life: Year One.
In October 2016, four new PhD students joined the Lincoln Institute for Health (LIH). Their research interests vary widely within health, covering areas such as:
- Sickness absence in the ambulance service.
- Behaviour change following pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD.
- Interventions for cognitive function in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Molecular mechanisms of calreticulin and cd47 in MDS and MPN.
Back then, they were facing a new and exciting time in their life, where they were effectively starting a new job, as well as moving to a new area of the country. The excitement of starting a project which they strongly relate to overshadowed the potentially unnerving prospect of moving and committing themselves to an unfamiliar town for the next three years.
However, the students reported a few difficulties associated with moving to a different area, for example finding and settling into new accommodation was hit and miss for the students.
“Settling into new accommodation, a professional house share, was slightly unnerving as I didn’t know the area, or any of the housemates. However luckily all was well, minus the fire safety light installed into the bedroom as part of health and safety regulations. At night, I can say that I never got used to the artificial lighting. The small things matter, and I now have a huge appreciation for sleep hygiene!”
Challenges included:
“Moving to a new city, living on my own for the first time…”
“Finding a house (proximity of train tracks coupled with the daily early wake-up call from van next door means that it is very loud…)”
“Going from a good wage to PhD wage…having to go back to sharing a house again.”
Luckily, the students have settled into the Lincoln way of life, and are enjoying the challenging but rewarding journey of completing a PhD.
Since the students started their PhD….
It been interesting for the students to compare PhD life to other peoples’ perceptions of what PhD life entails. For example, when meeting new people, mentioning the words “PhD” and “student” is often associated with a mix of admiration and confusion, and maybe followed with the question: “so is that a real job?”, and the odd remark about being paid to live the student life by partying all night and spending days tagging people in memes.
“When telling someone that you’re doing a PhD some people assume you are at least 50% genius, leading to the uncomfortable feeling that you should maybe say something clever to justify this…”
In general, balancing academic and social life is difficult for anyone, especially when faced with the opportunity to have flexible work hours. This flexibility is often appreciated by the students; however it can have the drawback of feeling guilty if work is not being done, particularly during conventional work hours.
“General challenges include balancing PhD life and social life as you don’t want to favour one and you feel guilty if you slack on work.”
General PhD activities:
The students did not start their PhD knowing the ins and outs of what their academic life would entail. However, all four of them have agreed that sticking to a routine has been beneficial to their progression, and has helped them manage their work-life balance throughout the first year. The majority of Monday-Friday is spent in the office or in the lab, 9–5, working on their research project. When in the office, their days are spent doing various things, for example reading articles, producing tables, writing reports, writing reviews, contacting authors, applying for university and NHS ethics, as well as reading endless emails from ICT!
A few challenges reported by the students:
“…getting to know a new university and becoming familiar with the library.”
“Contacting authors for data, as well as analysing data for systematic reviews.”
“Academic challenges include not having an academic supervisor in my research area, as well as getting used to different techniques I have never done before.”
Out of office hours:
When outside of the office (or the lab), days are spent participating in beneficial courses, for example three students recently attended a phlebotomy course at the university, two students have attended a qualitative interviewing course, and two have attended multiple courses run by clinical research network within Lincolnshire. Students have also had the opportunity to present their ongoing research at national and international courses and conferences, which although daunting, has been exhilarating and a fantastic way to get their research out there. So far, one student has traveled to Athens and another to Milan, and all four have traveled to London.
“University highlights include going to a Madrid conference. Getting started and getting good early preliminary results. In general, getting to meet new friends and explore a city I have never lived in.”
“…starting work on my PhD, conferences, working in new coffee shops and learning to be an independent researcher.”
As well as this, students attend regular meetings with their supervisors and potential collaborators to push their research to the highest possible quality. The students strive to produce good quality research and to develop their career skills, but being in the health industry, they are heavily motivated by the potential impact their research could provide the public.
Work-life balance:
To be able to knuckle down and focus, it is necessary for anyone to let their hair down and engage in activities unrelated to their research projects. Luckily for the students within the LIH, physical activity is highly valued and the four students enjoy a healthy lifestyle! Within the office there is even half a whiteboard demonstrating the leader board for an ongoing competition to see who can run the fastest 5km. Other than this, participation in triathlons, “MyMarathon”, weekly park runs, lake swims, 10kms, badminton, squash and other activities certainly help the students to blow off some steam!
Friendly and supportive atmosphere:
Having a friendly atmosphere is very important and students reported it as being one of their highlights throughout the past year. For example, highlights of the year include:
“Meeting new people…”
“Meeting new like-minded people. The LIH environment is very open, friendly and supportive.”
“I am hugely thankful for starting the PhD alongside three other new starters. The office seats five other students (including two second year students), and having other people to go to for advice, and a bit of humour, is proved invaluable to settling into the LIH. The office environment is great, as well as the LIH environment overall. I think I can say for all of us that we were made to feel very welcome in the Institute.”
Admittedly, people do get tagged in memes, pub quizzes are attended, the students have the occasional night out, overly competitive card games are played, but most of their time is spent focusing on the research that they are committed to and are passionate about.
Overall:
The students have faced various challenges throughout the year, but are happy with their progress and have come to enjoy the unpredictable nature of student life at Lincoln. Starting a PhD can be a taunting prospect, as although it involves engaging with a project of choice, it also comes with a commitment of three years. However, the students count themselves as lucky to have the opportunity to study at the University of Lincoln. Almost one year down, two to go!
