(actually I’m not the best person to give you advice because I just started my PhD and my PI is always available if we need for his feedback/guidance even if he’s very busy, but those are my suggestions!)

Thanks!

Hi!

It might appear a bit scary in the very beginning, but I think it’s definitely more fun and more formative studying and planning experiments by yourself! Moreover if your lab is big, even if the others are studying different things, I’m sure you can learn a lot from them discussing with them every day. I guess you can also ask your PI to go temporarily to another lab to learn something very specific if you want I guess, and your university probably offers interesting useful courses, you might want to check?

If you really like what you are doing and you work really hard I’m sure you will be fine!

Good luck!!! (Enjoy!!)

Hello,
Stupid question: I'm looking forward to attend a very interesting symposium and they ask for abstract, which I just discovered is not related to the access to the symposium itself. Since I just started my PhD and I have still few data (moreover, even if I never presented a poster before, I don’t feel comfortable presenting in general…!) I was wondering if you think it’s worthwhile to submit an abstract in the very beginning of PhD?
Thanks
E.

Thank you both!

Hi guys! Quick question: there is a very interesting symposium I would like to take part in October but they ask for an abstract by July. Since I just started my PhD so I have only first results (even if hopefully I will have more by July!) I was wondering if you think I can apply or they usually take only older Phds and postdoc and so I should wait some other time (the second year?) before applying for conferences?
Thanks!
E.

Thanks!! Definitely I was "lucky enough": research that you like + great mentor + nice lab is a rare combination!

AMEN!

I GOT THE PROJECT AND THE MENTOR THAT I WANTED! I FEEL THE LUCKIEST PHD IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys but I don’t need anymore for your advice, I need to continue studying hard everyday focusing only on what I like and what I want to do! I spoke to lots friends of my lab who had each one his own troubles in the first six months and they did this and now they are great! I’m going to be banal: SOMEDAY WE’LL DIE, so we must fight our fears for what we really want! We have just one chance! The only real failure is do not fight!
I’m trying my best and enjoying, this is the way!
It has been useful to express all my worries here. Good luck to everyone!

Have you got any other advice/ideas, please?
I think these are the “only” problems he explained he has with me. Do you think it was a subliminal message to say that he doesn’t want to take me or it was a way to tell me to change some aspects? I really want to improve, I want to become a good scientist and be able to study what I like! I'll do everything!!! Let's go study now!!!
Thanks in advance for reading and for your help!!

1) He’s afraid that I can go down during my PhD because I’m not self confident and I’m a bit anxious, but I don’t think this is the main problem because I’m anxious just because I really want to go there and my condition at the moment is uncertain, moreover I didn’t start yet my PhD so I’m sure that it’s something that I can overcome with some experience, proving myself that I can work on my own (Unluckily my previous master project was not very useful on this point of view because I was supervised and I was just following a protocol already developed so I never found real problems to overcome on my own and so I couldn’t actually test myself and increase my self confidence)
2) He thinks that I’m scared to talk to him about things that don’t work because I feel judged. He taught me that a good scientist is not the one who doesn’t fail but the one who can go through failures! I’m sure I can overcome this problem too indeed in the end of my project I showed him what I tried in the project and didn’t work, ok I was agitated, but I did it,so I think it was fine and I will get better!
3) Finally he told me that he has problems of communication with me. I think this is the real main problem because when I must speak to Professors, even at the university during the exams, it happens that I get so nervous that I see just lips moving but I can’t connect the words I’m listening to. When I was younger I really thought to be stupid! Now I know that if I read that sentence, or a friend says the same thing, I can understand it, so at least I know it’s due to the fact that I’m nervous. I was thinking that a first solution could be to ask him if he can please repeat when I “get lost” in my own world. Then I was thinking that I could “imagine” I’m speaking just to a friend instead that to a big scientist, that could help me to concentrate and think. Finally I’m studying hard! Also a friend of mine in the lab told me that this is the best solution! Moreover I like it so I’m happy! (seriously, what’s better than to read a good scientific paper in the early morning when your mind is fresh while listening to a good piece of music??)

Hello guys,
Sorry for writing for the third time, but I’m in a very important moment! It’s more than one year that I chose a lab for my PhD and now I don’t want to lose the opportunity to study on this field and in this environment! I already had a little project there so the PI knows me, and he gave me some feedback. I thought he was not satisfied about my skills in the lab/intelligence since I couldn’t find the right solution in a project to make it work instead he told me that he liked the work I did but he has some problems with me, that I will write below in order to clarify my mind and try to solve them actively (and preferably quickly):

Hi! I don't know yet if I can join, my PI will decide, I'm preparing at the moment.Thanks for your support!! I'll let you know how it goes.

I should just image that I'm speaking to a friend about something that I like rather than a Professor who is judging me! I must do it, I will do it and then finally I will be allowed to study what I want!!!!! Yes!