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Tag: the PhD journey

Nathan

Worry

Daily Post

It’s Friday the 13th and I’m not worried. I’m not particularly superstitious, so when this date rolls around or a black cat crosses my path or I spill some salt I don’t worry that that means something bad is about to happen.

But I am, by nature, a worrier!

Before the pandemic I worried about train times, the distances between a hotel and a venue, and whether or not the seminar room I would be in would have what I needed. Now I sometimes worry about whether or not my broadband will keep going, or if an image choice for a slide will work in communicating what I want.

Most of the time, before the pandemic and in the present, my worries were a distraction. For all the worry, even when things went wrong, I still figured something out.

Mark Twain is often quoted as saying, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” He probably wasn’t the first person to say it, but it’s a helpful reflection. It helps me when I am tempted to imagine worst case scenarios or start problem solving before it’s even certain that there is a problem.

It’s natural to be nervous about your viva. It’s understandable to be anxious if you have a specific problem. But if you find yourself worrying, perhaps stop and ask if you really need to. Do you need to worry? Is there a problem or just something that’s getting in the way?

And if that’s the case, and perhaps the thing you’re worrying about isn’t that likely to happen, is there something you can focus on instead that will help more than worrying?

Nathan

Thrills!

Daily Post

It could be exciting to have the chance to sit down and talk with your examiners!

You may be eager to finish your PhD journey!

Getting ready for your viva might have put a smile on your face as you realised just how far you’ve come – and just how much you’ve done!

And equally you could be nervous, anxious, worried or uncertain about everything.

You might not be able to resolve every issue or problem you have before the viva. You may have a few particular worries and what ifs rattling around your brain.

But you can also prepare for the viva. If you have gaps in your knowledge you can work to fill them. If you’re unsure of what to expect you can ask. You can go to the viva nervous, but also certain of what you have done and what you are capable of.

You might not dance into your viva and high-five your examiners as you greet them, but I hope you can feel some of the positives about the occasion!

Nathan

One Way

Daily Post

There’s no single right way to select examiners. There’s no best criteria for deciding whether you should have you supervisor at your viva. I can think of many options for planning out and completing viva prep. I have a lot of suggestions for how someone might build their confidence before their viva – but I don’t know the best one to suggest to you offhand. And, of course, there are many different questions that can be asked at the viva, many approaches that your examiners can take, endless variety of situations on the day.

There are so many aspects of the viva that have lots of possibilities and yet, ultimately, there’s only one way you succeed: you do the research, grow as a researcher, write your thesis, submit it, then prepare for and pass your viva.

It’s the only way to get it done.

Nathan

Surviving

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Survive means manage to keep going in difficult circumstances. In some ways I feel like this is quite a mundane definition, almost boring: it doesn’t capture the flavour of what people tend to think about survival. Over time we have skewed survive to only mean situations where life is threatened and nearly all hope is lost.

Survive implies, I think, a challenge that is being worked through. It feels like the best verb to describe the kind of challenge being overcome in the PhD viva: it’s not a new challenge, it’s not impossible, it’s not supposed to be a struggle. It applies to the PhD as well, of course, though the challenge is bigger, for longer and can take many forms.

Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances sometimes doesn’t capture the nuance of the difficulty or the challenge. It doesn’t account for how someone might feel about their PhD or viva. It’s still the best verb I can think of for describing how someone can engage with the circumstances of their viva.

Nathan

It’s Complicated

Daily Post

If your research wasn’t complicated then it probably wouldn’t be up to the standard needed for a PhD. It will help you, however, to explore how you can express your ideas clearly, simply.

The process for getting ready for the viva isn’t a straight-forward linear process; deciding when to start and what to do can be a complicated business. You can simplify things by asking simple questions and doing simple things.

Knowing what to expect from your viva is a very complicated question. It depends on what field you’re in, what university you’re at, whether your viva is in-person or over-video, who your examiners are, what time of year you submit and many other factors. Or simply, you can expect a conversation for several hours or so, lead by examiners and their questions.

Ask anything about the viva and the honest first response is: “It’s complicated.” If you find the right help and explore a little though, you’ll probably find that there are simple things to consider which will really help you.

Nathan

A Lasting Contribution

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Nothing lasts forever. How long will your contribution to knowledge stand? How many years before there is something bigger, better, more considered or more helpfully stated?

On the one hand, you don’t need to account for everything that will or could happen in your field with respect to your research.

On the other, it could be helpful to think about what could happen next to help you share something of the significance you see and that you hope others will see in time.

Consider what your work could mean in the future and you can help yourself to consider what it means right now.

Nathan

Find Your Numbers

Daily Post

I’ve worked with over 6500 people who were getting ready for their viva. I’ve now been publishing this daily blog for five years. Today happens to be the 1800th post.

And every time I am about to start a webinar I get nervous.

Every time I finish up a post I wonder if it is alright.

Every month I wonder if I’m going to run out of things to say or what I might do if no-one wants my help.

I’ve been working in this area for over a decade and I still have doubts. I still get nervous. And that’s OK, that’s part of the process. Over time I’ve found ways to build up my confidence and balance out the nervousness I feel. I’m nervous because I treat what I do as important.

I’m confident, at least in part, because of the numbers I focus on. If I’ve done that many viva prep sessions, helped that many people, written that many posts – well, I can do one more!

What numbers will help convince you on your journey to the viva? The number of times you’ve presented work? The number of days or hours you’ve shown up to work on your PhD? The number of papers you’ve read to build your knowledge of your field?

Find the numbers that will help build your confidence for the viva.

Nathan

The First-Year Viva

Daily Post

I write and publish this blog with the final PhD viva in mind, but there are other times when some of the ideas and advice might be applied. The first-year viva naturally springs to mind: a test that marks confirmation that a postgraduate researcher is on track. After a year of work they have made progress, are showing their potential and their department is confident that they will complete their PhD.

Thoughts on how to prepare for the first-year viva are very similar to the final viva. Ideas of who can support you, expressed throughout the many posts of this blog, are the same: your supervisors, your colleagues, your friends and family. The expectations for first-year vivas are very similar.

Everything is smaller though. Shorter than the final viva. Less work expected. Less prep needed. The stakes and the desired outcome are nowhere near as great as the final viva.

Of course, for all the same reasons that one might feel nervous for the final viva, you might feel nervous for your first-year viva. Worries about what to expect. Uncertainty about whether you’ve done enough. Anxiety about whether or not you are good enough.

All the same remedies are needed as for the final viva. You can’t simply change how you feel. You can work to get past the worry and stress. Do the prep. Ask for help. Reflect on your journey so far. Remember that you’re learning, developing, but capable. You are good enough.

Ask others from your department about their experiences in the first-year viva to learn more about what to expect. Then use that to work well and work past any doubts you have about the future of your PhD journey.

Nathan

Rewarding Progress

Daily Post

If you need any extra motivation to get viva prep done, consider setting rewards for when you finish tasks. Big or small, rewards help spur people to action. What sort of rewards might help you? What sort of milestones in your prep could you aim for?

  • What could you do to reward a read-through of your thesis?
  • How will you celebrate when you have finished exploring your examiners’ recent publications?
  • And how could you bring a smile to your face after completing a mock viva?

You could ask others to join you for some friendly social pressure, or set some future rewards by yourself. The fact that you set rewards for yourself will do nothing to dampen your enthusiasm, so long as the reward is suitably motivating!

Nathan

The Next Steps

Daily Post

At some point your PhD will be finished.

Then what?

You don’t need to have all the answers. There’s no single right path that should be followed by a PhD candidate as they prepare to finish. It will help though to consider, while you’re writing up and getting ready, what your next steps might be.

  • Perhaps explore what excites and interests you. Where could you find opportunities that would allow this?
  • Maybe necessity governs your next actions. What needs must be satisfied by work, in terms of time, money and location?
  • It could be that you need to take simple steps before then. Is your CV up to date? Do you need to get help from others? When will you make time to do what needs to be done?

To figure out your next steps you probably also need to look back at the journey so far. This can help you decide what you have to do or what you could do, but it also helps prepare you for the viva too. Looking back could bring into clarity the trajectory that you’re on, both for the viva and for life after the PhD.

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