That's a classic, HazyJane; they do tend to treat PGRs like morons. A personal favourite is "You need to set aside chunks of time for your PhD to do it effectively" - really!?! I thought it would magically appear to me one day all bound and everything!

...the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft "Thesis" from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence, that I, Sleepyhead was to carry the title "Doctor"...

If i can give one piece of advice it would be to not wait until the last minute to read literature on your subject, it helps alot to start reading and writing a lit review early on. Also try not to waste your first year, the time flies in PhD land! If you don't understand something there is no such thing as a stupid question, we are trainee researchers, we need to question things

Good Luck from a final year PhD student :-)

Lilbopeep just to say your name reminded me of nursery school awww! The one about the lost sheep.... :-( :-)

Hi all!  Just joined the forum, this is the first thread I've read and I think it's a really great list. I definitely agree with starting the lit review asap (even before you begin), not just for productivity reasons but to make sure you know what you're really getting into.  I loved the undergrad version of my field, and my specialty sounded really interesting in theory, but I've gone through lots of periods of questioning whether I made the right decision when it turned out that behind the scenes my work can be less than enthralling at times. So that brings me to my tip:

It is definitely important to do all the right things in terms of research (keep a notebook, write every day, ask questions, etc) & I wish I would have had the list of those tips when I started because I think they would have helped me get out of the gate faster.  But I think that no matter what you do (others can correct me if I'm wrong, but the evidence of attrition rates suggest to me that I'm not) there will come a time when you feel lost and hopeless and in the midst of a PhD Depression. I can't tell you what decision to make there, but I can tell you to take care of your mind, body and soul in those times.  Don't forget that there's life outside of Grad school, don't forget about the relationships that exist outside of it, or the things you used to do before you got sucked into the vortex. There's a lot of pressure and suggestion that you should do nothing but work, and it does require hard work, but you have to be the number one advocate for your own mental well being.  Finally, even though most people don't talk about it, remember that everyone goes through this.

As you might guess I've recently been in a real slump - approaching the end, but not sure if I can make the last mile. I've been writing about this final journey and my struggles to the finish line in a blog I started a few months ago http://www.phddepression.com/2009/07/phd-depression.html if anyone is interested in checking it out.

By the way, happy to report I think I'm slowly pulling out of it, as many have before me :-)

For me, this thread, is now slightly nostalgic! I started it at a time last yr, when I was venturing out into this scary forest like thing called a Phd, and I requested those ahead of me to advise on absolutely anything :-) Soon it became such a lovely collaborative space where everyone contributed and now it's another year of new Phds coming and contributing too!

:-)

Don't know if this tip has already been given or not, but maybe I'll bump it up. I am almost half way through with my PhD. After a 2-3 weeks of scary demotivation and denial, forced myself out back to work and started keeping a PhD Accountability Diary, following the great advises in this forum. It's been 10 days and so far I really like it - you keep track of your progress, keep motivated with everything new each day and SEE your progress, the latter significantly reduces anxiety issue.

Sue and PhDepression (can you change your name?;-)),

Thanks a lot for your replies! You guys are awesome. I remember during Masters the girls I studied with kept wondering why some pretty young PhD students who gave us tutorials were married and had kids so early. Now it seems to makes sense to me, smart guys:-)

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My one tip would be to stay on your supervisor's good side. When I received criticism I had a tendency to defend myself instead of just graciously accepting it; it wasn't very good for our relationship.

Also don't wait for your fortnightly/monthly meeting to update your supervisor on what you've been up to. The time I got on best with my supervisor was when I would just knock on his door with a new graph in hand. I guess every supervisor is different but sharing your excitement over the little results, and showing that you value your supervisors ideas without him/her arranging formal meetings really worked for me.

Just be like a dog and wag your tail when you see your supervisor. Seriously. :p

ONE central advice ha?
- choose your advisor wisely.

ok, one more:
- think of every year as the last year and as if you are behind and need tons of catching up (because you will).

there are many more to address, but i've already gone over the limit of ONE central...


Good luck
-vak
http://opal.biology.gatech.edu/~vardges/

I agree with Vak

CHOOSE SUPERVISOR WISELY

unfortunately, when you start PhD you're not very wise. Nevertheless, signs of an ego maniac supervisor are someone who talks non-stop about how great their research is and how rubbish everyone else's research is! Someone who never listens! Someone who can't not take criticism! Someone who must be in control of everything! Someone with zero publication record in past 5 years! Someone with zero PhD student completions! Someone with zero grants in past 5 years! Don't be a fool and avoid these supervisors or be prepared for the rollercoaster ride. If you do happen to get a ego maniac supervisor, then my advice is massage their ego and agree with everything no matter how crazy. Make sure you get advice on your project from others in the department who have normal sized ego's.