How many papers have you read?
How many days did you show up to work?
How many times did you learn something?
How many hours did you put into your preparation?
How many opportunities did you take to present your work?
How many times have you had a good conversation about research?
How many times have you responded to tricky questions?
How often have you solved tricky problems?
How many times did you fail, but then later succeed?
How many times did you persevere when thing were tough?
How many hours have you invested into your PhD, into becoming good at what you do?
There’s no neat formula that takes all these numbers together to give you a confidence score or a grade. But taken together they must help you see you’re moving towards success.
What numbers help you feel confident for your viva?
