Hello all, 

I am at the end of year one and seriously considering whether or not to continue my EngD (industrial PhD). I feel like I have achieved very little in this first year, and am still working on the Literature review.  The project scope is still undefined and I have little idea of what the end-use of the project might be.

Time seems to be moving really fast, yet progress is not.

I am reluctant to give-up as this is a great opportunity, but equally it is making me feel unbelievably stressed-out due to the constant self-doubt!

I would really welcome any feedback as to whether this is a common end of first year situation or should the alarm bells be ringing loudly. 

Any thoughts will very gratefully received!

Regards,

Don't worry, I don't think your situation is unusual - it's obviously not ideal but you are definitely not alone. I know of several people who at the end of their first year still didn't have clear research aims. Also I hope it makes you feel better to know that in my department at least there is very little correlation between stage at the end of first year and total time taken to finish. Everyone has stages in their PhD that go badly and other stages that go well; for some the hardest stage will be at the start when trying to design the project, for others it will be conducting fieldwork/analysis, and for others the write-up. I know one girl who didn't have her research questions sorted at the end of the first year but her second and third years went well with no major problems and she submitted within 3.5yrs - whereas I had clear research questions from an early stage but have taken 4yrs!

Maybe you would be best to prioritise firming up your research aims and then take it in small chunks from there. Worrying about the whole thesis makes it all seem too overwhelming (for me anyway).

Good luck

:-)

I think it is pretty normal by the end of first year not to have a crystal clear question. PhDs are like a living thing constantly changing and moving around. I spent first year mostly on the lit review and methodology. Second year will be mostly fieldwork. I will only know my research question only after I have completed my analysis! I know, I am a lame researcher

I would be more worried that you get so stressed out and constant self doubt. After all it is 3 years, and life is all about pleasure, not pain and cry!

Thanks Dr Jeckyll and Trey61, your comments are well received. I do keep telling myself that this is a (long) journey and better settle down for the trudge, and hearing your comments helps strengthen this resolve.

It's nice to hear that others feel the whole project overwhelming, but more manageable in chunks. I will start to manage my time better with realistic goals and also to look into ways of stress management.

Thanks again for the help! any other thoughts etc are still very welcome as I am sure there are others that have/will benefit from this.

Hey Milo......
I think I'm in your position +4 years!! I am handing my EngD thesis in next week and I know exactly how you feel. However, don't make the mistake I did- after my first year it was clear that my academic or industrial supervisors had no real interest in my project as there were no clear aims/ objectives and no money in my "research budget" but I thought it would work out......fast forward 3 years and I was still in the same situation. It's literally only in the last 6-12 months where things seem to have come together, but I'm afraid it's probably too little too late.
If you have a difficult supervisor as I did, you need to force someone to take responsibility for your project (or at least help). Everyone who already has a PhD seems to find it easy to say "it's your PhD, it's your responsibility". What a load of crap. I don't believe anyone can do a successful project entirely on their own. How many industrial projects would go ahead with inexperienced employees taking the lead with no support?

Do yourself a favour and get your project aims and objectives sorted ASAP, and I mean in absolute concrete, otherwise you'll end up wondering where 4 years went. Speaking from experience it's not a nice place to be! Sorry to be negative, but I wouldn't want you ending up where I did. There's a lot of other things you could achieve in 4 years instead of stress and worry over a qualification which isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Good luck!