Year One

How far have you come from the researcher you were in the first year of your PhD?

• I remember that I was always nervous before meeting my supervisor – afraid that I would be found out.
• I remember never quite understanding the terms in the papers I was reading – and worried because I found other papers to read but wasn’t sure if I should spend time on them.
• I remember spending hours and hours feeling stuck with my main project – and spending hours and hours on little side projects that didn’t quite come together.

Which left me wondering if I was going to make it through my first year, never mind the rest of my PhD.

By the end of my PhD I was definitely doing things differently:

• I remember going to meetings no longer nervous. Maybe I wasn’t exactly confident but I could say and show that I was making progress.
• I remember still not understanding everything in the papers I was using but I felt that I knew enough.
• I remember spending hours and hours finishing my thesis – and only a few hours considering what I would have to leave out to make it happen.

What I didn’t see at the time was the difference between how I was at the end of my PhD and how I had been in year one.

I can see it now. Doing things well or better helped – but knowing that I had made progress and really feeling that would have made a huge difference to my confidence.

As you get closer to your viva take time to reflect on the difference between who you are now and who you were when you started your PhD.

PS: How has your thesis contribution grown from the beginnings of your PhD journey? The latest issue of Viva Survivors Select, The Contribution Issue, has lots of ideas for reflecting on your work. Take a look if you’re looking for more viva prep help!