This is a great thread to read.

Myself and my wife have been married 2.5 years and are now at that stage where we're planning to have children, infact to 'start' at the end of this year. As a first year PhD student, I have somewhat subtly been playing a rearguard action, hoping that the longer I delay it, the better.

Even at this point, if we wait until the end of this year, I'll have a newborn baby during the last year of my PhD!

So, has anyone had any experience with PhD + Newborn? Is it simply unwise to do so? I'm full-time and do, and I expect will, work from home a lot writing up and reading etc (history PhD).

Any advice would be mucho appreciated!

Thanks for your advice - much appreciated!

I've been to a few conferences before, but at the weekend I will be presenting a paper for the first time. Having received the agenda recently, it's a small group of people on a fairly general topic, so no others specialists in my field.

Anywho, for those who have done this a lot - or at all! - do you have any tips? I'm just working now on converting my chapter into a few brief slides, as I've been told often enough to Keep It Simple Stupid, and to try and ad-lib as much as possible.

Much appreciated,

I think it all depends on your subject and your own style. A lot of people, if unfamiliar with their field, will take the first year to ease into it, become familiar with the main areas, and do extensive reading. Those who are more familiar have the advantage of jumping in and, if their supervisors are active, even writing some chapters.

Good luck!

I was put on the funding reserve for Cambridge when I originally applied for a PhD, and wrote it off like yourself.

Low and behold, within a month they wrote to me offering me funding. So don't despair - not everyone accepts their funding offers!

'- Go to the dinner. You might get lucky.'

- Haha, great reply Larry!

Sorry everyone :$

Didn't mean to make anyone feel redundant, besides I have absolutely no idea if the quality of my work is any good yet! I have also done my fair share of slacking - I played Skyrim on the PC for about 2 weeks straight, watched the entire show of Tru Blood from season 1 to 4, all of The Wire, and am currently burning my way through Boardwalk Empire. Some days I do nothing but surf the net trying aimlessly to motivate myself!

I think my main advantage has simply been my previous grounding in this subject, and the fact that I knew my supervisors for a few years which has allowed us to create a pretty good and accessible relationship.

Best wishes,

Hi Joanna,

One thing I would say, and this is advice I've been given countless times by people, is not to ever compare your progress to that of others. As you have rightly said, there are too many variables for this to be a useful exercise. More than that, we all have our own speeds and styles. Just like when we were undergrads, there were those of us who took 8 weeks to meticulously plan and write essays, and others who could do them the week before, and both end up with the same grade!

That having been said, I'd be happy to share my own progress if it will help at all.

I started my PhD at the end of September, and am doing it in history full-time, fully funded. I was lucky enough to have begun a topic which I have been researching for the better part of 3 years, since my second year dissertation. Though of course not the exact topic, when I began my PhD I would say I possessed a thorough grounding in the general and, in some cases, specific research area I had chosen to tackle. This meant I was familiar with the major questions, historiographical arguments, etc of this area, though inevitably I have gone through them again in light of my new topic, nonetheless it has given me a great advantage.

I meet my supervisors once a month and they have been unbelievably helpful, even urging me to see them more if necessary. Each meeting they have set me a goal for the next one. In our first meeting we laid out the general direction of my research and discussed what I wanted to do, and for what purpose. They then challenged me to read several important works and report back for a discussion the following meeting. At that meeting they then asked me to write them a short paper on my chosen methodological approach for the following meeting. Then before christmas they asked me to have prepared for our return meeting in the new year a sketch of my thesis, with chapter titles and a small summary of each chapter. This last goal was, and will continue to be, very helpful in directing my research, as it can feel like you're sometimes bobbing up and down in a vast ocean of literature and sources.

For my next goal in January, I challenged myself to convert my dissertation into an article and submit it for publication to a good/decent journal in my field. At the following meeting they provided intense and lengthy feedback, and thus I was able to submit it, and am currently awaiting a response from the journal, which can take up to 3 - 6 months.

Finally February's goal was to actually write and submit to my supervisors an actual chapter of my thesis! This I was particularly nervous about as so many people say it's always best to write everything up the last year, so to procuce a chapter 4 - 5 months in was a bit of a curve-ball, but writing as soon as possible does appear to be both my supervisors' preferred method and I must say I believe they are right. I have recently submitted this to them and await their feedback (it was about 7,000 words in the end). Next month is my 6 month probation review with the chair of research in our department sitting in and reviewing my progress. Therefore my goal for March has been to prepare a presentation for this.

In addition, I am presenting my first chapter at a conference on 18th century studies in mid-march, which will be the first time I've presented.

All in all I'm happy with my progress and feel I'm on the right track. As I said, it helped I knew what my topic would be, and had studied the general area for some years. Whether or not I can keep this momentum or progress up, we'll see! They might think my chapter is not up to scratch or my probation review may go bad! But right now, I'm satisfied and happy with the speed at which I'm doing my work. My goal at the end of this year is to produce another chapter, hopefully my introduction which tackles all the debates and arguments surrounding my field, ie the hardest chapter!

Best wishes,

Don't worry too much - I sometimes feel that we use our supervisors as a barometer for our abilities and success, when infact all they're there to do is work for you, i.e. provide you with feedback, assist you in direction and method, etc. It's a bit like banks and the general public: go for a meeting with your bank manager and you can often come out feeling financial pathetic, but they work for us! We should remember that, they're there to provide a service to our money, just as supervisors are there to provide a service to our research.

If you didn't 'perform' well in a meeting, do not let it stand as a judgement on how well you're doing, or think you can. So you have trouble expressing what you know? As long as you can express it in your writting work, there is no need to worry.

Unfortunately there's also a heavy social element to the student-supervisor mechanic, and the more you get to know them, the easier these things will be. I have two supervisors, both excellent, and it has helped that I've known them for 4+ years, having done my BA and MA at the same university as my PhD. But while one supervisor will generally engage and reinforce my comments, another will often challenge and push me, which I very rarely react adequately to! But then I am a bit of a mumbler and have never been efficient at articulating my thoughts, but I'm one hell of a researcher and can generally produce excellent written work.

I guess what I'm saying is: don't judge yourself through your supervisors: it means very little!

Best of luck to you.

Hi all,

I'm one of those new PhDs who have been floating around here since October. Four months in, I'm still really enjoying it and consider myself extremely privileged to be doing a PhD and research which I'm passionate about. This is mostly the cause of two supervisors who have been extremely supportive, motivating, and friendly on an almost weekly basis. As opposed to me chasing them up, as seems to be common from posts on here, they're constantly in touch and ensuring we meet every month for at least a couple of hours. I found this at first a bit unsettling as throughout my academic career thus far I've been largely left alone and produced good work, so monthly get-togethers and weekly updates felt structured in a way I wasn't quite prepared for - almost like doing an undergraduate again!

However I have come to really appreciate and even depend on this kind of relationship with my supervisors. My topic feels so large and though I've alread got a considerable amount of primary research under my belt, it did at first feel like I was just swimming in a sea of sources. However, my supervisors have given me goals every month to achieve which have really helped to give focus and direction to my work, as well as challenging me to think engagingly about what I'm trying to achieve. Despite having been involved in this particular topic for many years, it surprised me at how uncertain I was when they first asked me why this topic, and specifically why the question.

Before Christmas they had me complete an essay on my chosen methodological approach, have challenged me rigorously in meetings about the historiography, and in the New Year set me the task of actually sketching out my thesis structure with a snyopsis for each chapter. I found each task very worthwhile, especially the thesis sketch which I conducted very much along the format of a contents page and is now providing me with a guideline as to how to pursue my research goals.

However at our meeting last week they asked me to actually write a chapter in preparation for my 6-month probation review in March. Gulp I thought! So I've got about 6 weeks to knock a piece of writing up of about 5,000 words, on any chapter I wished, with the one guideline that it had to be work I would actually want in my final thesis, not something I'm writing simply for the review. I am almost certain this will prove another very satisfying task as all the others, and help hone and propel my research forward. I've already started and I've surprised myself at how competent and comfortable I feel cracking on with the writing side of things.

So the purpose of posting here, other than to just send out a positive vibe about my PhD (which I sometimes feel is lacking here!) I wondered for all those other newbies, how is your relationship with supervisors going, and how have they challenged you thus far?

Best wishes,

Absolutely not!

I was terrible in the last year or two of secondary school - socialising too much, joking around, dating - far too distracted to take academia seriously. I ended up with very mediocre GCSEs. College was a total disaster, barely attended classes and actually did not get a single grade above C! I then went to University to study a subject I hated and eventually dropped out.

So erm, no, not until I met my wife did I realise where my passion lay and returned to University where straight off the bat I started running up top grades and realised that when you find something you're passionate about, you can defy your expectations.

Cheesey, eh?

It's funny though, I do remember the exact moment when I thought 'Hmm...I want to do a PhD and get into research'. This was as a failed student and a University drop out. Here I am 6 years later, doing a funded PhD. How the world turns! ;-)

Well as I live off campus, infact about 2 hours away, I have limited to no contact with fellow PhDs. The odd time I attend campus for events etc, my interaction with others is small which I think is a consequence of not being up there much and thus not being well known. For example, at a research student induction event, I spent the whole time chatting to faculty members, as opposed to other PhDs.

Whilst it is mostly a consequence of living far away and having a life/wife/mortgage/family where I live and thus not bothering to interact with the department much, it was rather regrettable when I attended campus last week and all the PhDs clearly had a daily dialogue and knew eachother very well, not really bothering to speak to me! However my own lack of effort is partially to blame too.

Not that I mind too much - I'm sure it will change next year when I teach regularly and most likely become more department-orienated. I'm happy in this first year to go off in isolation and work from home/archives getting my project up and on the right path.

Best wishes,

Hi all,

New as well, so I'm not entirely sure I am at liberty to contribute, but I'm also one of those 'jollies' who are currently loving their PhD.

I think in many respects it helps that I've been at the same university since my undergraduate, and thus know my two supervisors almost like friends, know the faculty very well, and recognise a few fellow PhDs. It's one of the reasons I chose this less prestigious University over Cambridge - people thought I was mad, but I think familiarity, ease, and comfort are paying back major dividends.

I can't pretend I haven't loved working from home as well (lots of general and theoretical secondary sources to consult). My wife leaves at 7am for work and so I don't stop from then until she returnes about 5.30pm, so I have little distraction throughout the day but also a point where I put my work down and spend the evening relaxing and re-energizing. I also at the moment do not work on the weekends, but when I hit the archives next week, I expect that will change as my time for reading drops dramatically and I'm sure I'll need to compensate.

The secret for me is that I love my subject so much that if I were not doing it right now for a PhD, I would probably be doing it for a hobby regardless. It seems to help massively if you genuinely enjoy your subject. It's also wonderful to have the kind of relationship with your supervisor that he invites you out for dinner!

So yes, add me to the 'jolly' list - jolly for being paid for doing something that is my passion. Every morning I wake up before the alarm, eager to start my research. Sickeningly positive, isn't it?!?!

Best wishes,

Halo

Had my first formal meeting today with both supervisors. Drew up some great objectives and they really pushed me - in a supportive way - to define my concepts and questions. I now feel like I have a real direction and something to aim towards, literally in the form of several pieces of work they'd like me to do for next term. I feel a bit less aimless now, and I can focus on particular areas.

They also encouraged me to put down the theory and go straight into the archives, which took me by surprise but I'm excited to hit the manuscripts so no bad thing.

They were both very supportive and told me to drop in for a cup of coffee any time I'd like. Great experience so far!

Hi Pjlu,

Lovely reply, thank you for your encouragement. Great to hear of your own success in this sphere. You've definitely spurred me on and I like the idea of 'trialing' it at a few conferences / discussion groups. I have one or two coming up over the next few months so I shall certainly give it a go.

Thanks again - much appreciated.