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Tag: the PhD journey

Nathan

Again, For The Final Time

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That’s the viva. You’re doing something you have done many, many times throughout the last few years – thinking about and talking about your research and your ability as a researcher – and this is the last time you’ll need to do that.

(you might want to do it again, you might want to be a researcher or have a career that involves this – but you won’t need to do it after your viva)

At your viva you need to discuss your research contribution, your PhD journey and what you can do as a researcher. These are all things you must necessarily have done a lot during your PhD. The viva is a particular challenge which requires particular prep, but it’s not so different from the rest of your PhD experience.

The viva means doing it one more time. Maybe the last time.

Nathan

Packing Up

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A few months after my viva, when my corrections were all completed, it was time to pack up the desk in my shared office.

I wish I had considered it properly at the time. Instead, I just packed everything into boxes. Things were grouped together, but I wasn’t sure of what I would be doing in the future. Maybe I would still do maths research at some point. Best to keep all of the papers, notes, books, curios, desk toys, excess stationery and bits and bobs – just in case!

When my wife and I moved in together a few years later I brought those boxes with me. When we were able to buy a house three years after that I took them with me again. More time passed. Finally, somewhere in the last five years I’ve been able to open the boxes and start to shed some of this stuff that I’ve been holding on to for over fifteen years.

In 2008 I should have asked myself:

  • Do I need all of this?
  • Is there anything I can just let go of?
  • Is there anything I’m carrying around simply because I’ve had it for a long time?

It would have been helpful to ask these questions as I was packing up!

 

I think it could have helped a lot if I’d asked similar questions when I was getting ready for my viva too.

Did I need to focus on every page in my thesis and all of the papers and ideas I’d been thinking about? No! I could have been kinder to myself by being more focussed.

Were there things I could just let go of? Yes! So much. Ideas for developing my work further, ideas about whether things were good or not.

Were there things I was carrying around for a long time and just kept them with me? Yes. I took my nervousness in presenting as a sign that I wasn’t good at presenting or speaking. I carried that idea for a long time before I was able to set it aside.

 

There’ll come a time when you have to pack up your PhD. Maybe you won’t be moving offices or taking things home, but you’ll still have to say, “This is over, time for something else.”

Be kind to yourself. Pack up only what you need.

And start the process during your prep to help you focus on the work that will help you get ready. Take time to explore what you can let go of as well.

Nathan

You Did The Work

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Four words to remember.

They don’t mean that you’re ready. They don’t mean you’re perfect. They don’t mean that your viva will be easy.

They simply mean that you have got to this point in your PhD journey because of time, effort and talent. You did the work. Luck doesn’t hold sway over your progress. Your success is due to what you did.

Your success at the viva is built on a foundation of your work. A little more will help you be ready and that’s enough.

Nathan

At A Distance

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Ask for help when you’re getting ready for your viva. Talk to your friends and colleagues in your department. Get them to listen to you talk about your work or ask about their experiences. Get the benefit of their help!

…but what do you do if you don’t have a PGR community in your department? Or what do you do if you are a distance PhD and you don’t have close contacts in your department because it’s rare for you to be there?

If you are in a position where you don’t have close contacts for some reason there is still a lot of viva prep you can do by yourself. If you need advice or want to know about viva experiences you might have to reach out to others.

Start by emailing and introducing yourself. It’s likely that there are even a few people from your department or a related institution who you’re acquainted with. Start with them.

Explain your situation. Tell people when your viva is and what you’re looking for. Ask for advice if you think they might have it and be clear about the kind of support you’re looking for if that’s what you need.

You might be at a distance and you might be able to do a lot of prep by yourself – but that doesn’t mean that you are alone as you get ready.

Nathan

Steering Towards Confidence

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To feel confident for your viva you have to do the work: you have to do the research needed, write your thesis, develop yourself and really realise what all of that means.

Confidence isn’t a destination on your PhD journey. It’s a feeling you have to find through the work that you do. Your actions lead you to feeling confident (or not) and so you have to see what works and what doesn’t. Does your confidence grow through simply doing things, like giving talks or publishing papers? Or do you need to reflect more on how you feel afterwards, perhaps carefully unpicking what happened?

Will simple things like considering what you wear and how you explain things help? Will small things like a music playlist or some other helpful placebo steer you towards feeling confident?

Confidence isn’t a destination. It’s a feeling you can find. Keep going, keep doing, keep thinking and you can steer yourself towards feeling good, both for your viva and more generally.

Nathan

And Now You’re Done

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How good will it feel when those words are real?

How will you feel when your thesis is finished and submitted, you’ve had your viva, you’ve done whatever corrections you need to and – finally! – you’ve graduated?

Completing a PhD is a relatively rare thing: it might not seem that way because you’re surrounded by people who have done it or are working towards that goal! It’s unlikely you’ll ever have an experience quite like this in your life.

So take time to enjoy it if you can. Take time to record your thoughts and feelings. And take time to figure out what you can carry with you into whatever your next great challenge is.

Nathan

Snapshots From The Journey

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If you think back on your PhD, all the work and effort, the success and setbacks and so on, you’re not going to remember three or more years of continuous story. You’ll remember moments: events that for matter to you and stand out for some reason.

Given the challenge of research and the difficulties you might face, it’s understandable if the standout moments skew a little negatively.

With a little help you can focus on the really helpful highlights. Consider:

  • When have you noticed getting better at a task?
  • When do you remember learning something for the first time?
  • When do you remember your confidence growing?
  • At what times do you remember feeling proud?
  • When do you remember thinking “I can do this”?

You don’t have to focus on everything as you prepare for your viva. When it comes to building confidence, it will help far more to focus on the snapshots of your progress and growth.

Nathan

Legend

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There are several ways we use the word.

Someone is a legend if they’re amazing. They have talent and are someone who has demonstrated that for a long time. For example, a postgraduate researcher when they reach thesis submission…

A legend can also be about someone or something, perhaps a story or collection of stories. Quite often this describes how the person or thing came to be great. For example, consider a PhD journey with all of its ups, downs and ultimate successes…

Less well known is using the word legend to describe the marks on a map. The legend explains the symbols of important features, which isn’t all that dissimilar to when someone looks for the highlights in their story. For example, a postgraduate researcher reflecting on their PhD journey as they prepare for their viva…

Taken together: consider the highpoints of your story so that you can appreciate your capability and how you got here.

Or perhaps: the legend of your legend makes you a legend!

Nathan

The End Point

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When you come to plan your viva prep consider what you want to have and how you want to feel when you’ve finished the work.

  • What resources do you want to have made?
  • What tasks do you have to complete?
  • Who can support you?
  • Ideally, how do you want to feel while doing the work?
  • And, again ideally, how do you want to feel when you’re done?

Whatever your responses are, they can guide you into thinking about what you will do, how you will do it and what you are ultimately aiming for.

What do you want to have done? How do you want to feel?

Nathan

Write It All Down

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Before you begin your viva prep, write down everything you can think of that you need to do. This is before you make a plan. Get down thoughts of any little or big thing. After a few days of letting those ideas breathe you can start to make sense of how and when you’ll get things done.

As you do your viva prep, record what you do. Make a record of your actions, the tasks you complete and the outputs you create. This will help you to see that you are moving forwards to your viva with purpose. You’re not simply passing the time: you’re investing time in helping you pass.

After your viva is done, take twenty minutes to capture your thoughts about what the viva was like. What did you do to get ready? What made a difference? Keep a hold of these as you may have an opportunity to share helpful thoughts with a future candidate who needs a little advice.

There’s a lot to do to get ready for the viva. Take time to write and think, both to help you plan, to keep you on track and to help others in the future.

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