I’ve got a few questions for you: Did you do the work? Did you show up at the library or the lab or the office? Did you overcome obstacles through the tough times? Did you learn, did you grow, did you develop?
If you did all of these during your PhD, how could you be in a bad position for the viva?
It’s understandable if you are nervous, but it’s no accident that you’ve got this far. Keep going.
15 Responses
[…] it’s no accident that you’re at the […]
[…] I don’t know is not the end of the viva. It could be the end of a strand of conversation. Or it could be an opportunity to show how you can think, and engage, discuss and decide. You can give an opinion. YOU can reason things out. I’ll say it again: You’re not here by accident. […]
[…] A PhD thesis needs to have a significant, original contribution in it. So a postgraduate researcher needs to make a significant, original contribution for it. Significant, original contributions (to research, to knowledge, to the world) don’t grow on trees. They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t happen by accident. […]
[…] of the mountain didn’t fall there.” It resonates with a recurring theme on this blog: you can’t get to the end of the PhD by accident. If your viva is coming up, it’s because you did the work. You must have […]
[…] If you’re reading this at the start of the PhD, you’re supposed to be here. If you’re in the middle, hang in there. If you’re near the end, congratulations. Keep going. You can’t get to where you are just by being lucky. You can’t finish a PhD by accident. […]
[…] can’t write a perfect thesis. But you can’t get to the end of the PhD by accident […]
[…] but taking a pause every now and then can really help. Look back over your PhD. It’s no accident that you’re doing it. If your viva is coming up soon you’re in the best possible place […]
[…] You’ve not just been lucky. You’ve not got this far by accident. […]
[…] explanation for getting to the end is that you’ve done the work and done it well. It’s not an accident you’ve made it this far: you’ve done something that’s valuable, and you can only […]
[…] You’ve not got this far by accident. Old You is up to the task. […]
[…] No Accident: the starting point for all of my Viva Survivors musings and one of the core principles for my approach in helping candidates. Simply, it’s impossible to get to submission and the viva “by accident” – you can’t be that lucky. You really have to work to get to submission, and that work carries you through the viva. […]
[…] You’re on track. Keep going. […]
[…] I started with the following short post in 2017: […]
[…] I started the daily blog five years ago today by publishing No Accident. […]
[…] No Accident – April 18th 2017 […]