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Tag: anticlimax

Nathan

Awesome Anticlimax

Daily Post, Sabbatical

I love hearing stories about vivas that were transformatively awesome for the candidate. Not only did they pass, not only did it go well, not only was it enjoyable – it was AMAZING!!!

I love hearing them, but occasionally there is still that little twinge of sadness thinking about my own. I passed, it went well, it wasn’t unenjoyable, but it wasn’t awesome. It wasn’t amazing. If anything it was an anticlimax.

I remember thinking afterwards, “Was that it?”

I think now, particularly if your viva is over video and you’re without a peer community around you to help you celebrate, there’s a chance that your viva could lean towards being an anticlimax rather than totally awesome. By comparison to 2020, the viva – this thing that gets hyped so much for so many reasons and in so many ways – might seem to drop in terms of significance.

Maybe. On the day, or the day after, or the week that follows, however long, there might be a time where your viva feels like an anticlimactic end to your PhD.

But pride will follow eventually.

You’ll recognise the achievement. You’ll realise, as you finally take a breath after it all, that this is something amazing.

I hope your viva is awesome, but if on the day it doesn’t quite hit the heights you were hoping for, I hope that the anticlimax is short-lived, and the awesomeness finds you soon.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on August 1st 2020.

Nathan

You Pass

Daily Post

In most cases the viva is a tough, fair, interesting conversation. In most cases the candidate finds out they have to complete some corrections afterwards. In most cases the candidate discovers that their worries about what might happen didn’t match up with what did happen.

Your viva could be an anticlimax. It might not live up to all of your expectations. It could be boring. It could be fine but not the amazing event you thought it might be.

After thousands of hours of work spread out over several years of a research programme, in the space of a few hours you’re pretty much done.

Before you can believe it, it’s all over.

You pass.

Nathan

Just OK

Daily Post

Be aware that there’s a chance your viva won’t be amazing.

It’s likely it won’t be terrible or exhausting. It’s highly improbable for your examiners to be unprofessional or unfair. And it’s certainly true that the viva can be an enjoyable experience.

But it could be just OK.

Fine.

So-so.

Meh.

I’m glad that lots of candidates enjoy their viva. I’m sad that some people, like me, feel their viva is an anticlimax. I don’t know what can be done to set expectations for the emotional experience that candidates might have.

At the very least consider it as a possibility.

There’s a good chance you will enjoy your viva! It’s unlikely you will hate it. But it could end up just OK.

Still, you’ll have passed. Then you can move on to the next step of your journey.

Nathan

Awesome Anticlimax

Daily Post

I love hearing stories about vivas that were transformatively awesome for the candidate. Not only did they pass, not only did it go well, not only was it enjoyable – it was AMAZING!!!

I love hearing them, but occasionally there is still that little twinge of sadness thinking about my own. I passed, it went well, it wasn’t unenjoyable, but it wasn’t awesome. It wasn’t amazing. If anything it was an anticlimax.

I remember thinking afterwards, “Was that it?”

I think now, particularly if your viva is over video and you’re without a peer community around you to help you celebrate, there’s a chance that your viva could lean towards being an anticlimax rather than totally awesome. By comparison to 2020, the viva – this thing that gets hyped so much for so many reasons and in so many ways – might seem to drop in terms of significance.

Maybe. On the day, or the day after, or the week that follows, however long, there might be a time where your viva feels like an anticlimactic end to your PhD.

But pride will follow eventually.

You’ll recognise the achievement. You’ll realise, as you finally take a breath after it all, that this is something amazing.

I hope your viva is awesome, but if on the day it doesn’t quite hit the heights you were hoping for, I hope that the anticlimax is short-lived, and the awesomeness finds you soon.

Nathan

Submission Day

Daily Post

I was so happy I was buzzing!

I’d printed my three copies of my thesis. Bound them on the tricky hot-glue binder in my department. My paperwork was all in order. I was finally going to submit!

There was no queue at the university’s main admin hub. I walked right up to the desk and said, with a big smile, slightly nervous but really happy: “Hi, I’m here to submit my thesis!”

I remember what happened next so clearly.

The person behind the desk glanced at me and my stack of theses, and then called over her shoulder, “Bill, you’ve got another one.”

Bill came from the back office, checked the number of copies, looked at my form, signed it, said, “OK, thanks,” and was gone.

And that was it.

There was no congratulations. There were no pyrotechnics, no brass band, no huddle of people who wanted to know what it was like and what had just happened.

It was a milestone day for me, and just a day like any other for Bill.

It’s just my story, but I’ve heard others like it. The end of the PhD, from submission day to viva, can be anticlimactic. That doesn’t lessen your achievement. If you start to feel like it’s not really anything special, then reflect on what it was you set out to do. Reflect on what you’ve done along the way. Reflect on the journey rather than the destination.

Your PhD means something.