I commenced on my PhD in August and 4 months down the line I am starting to think the odds are stacked against me. Sample this: 1. It is in a relatively new area from my MPhil (topic floated by dept) 2. The techniques/equipments we are relying on are relatively new to me and even to my main supervisor making optimisation and troubleshooting rather difficult. 3. Our lab is the first in the country so we lack experienced colleagues locally yet right now we have a dead set-up in our hands for the last month. 4. Which could well be first, I am pursuing it overseas in a 3rd language different from my Mphil yet coursework credits is a major component towards the degree. 5. The usual hurdles we discuss in this forum daily. I find myself reading the threads about quiting in this forum rather faithfully. Comrades, what do you think are the odds of pulling it through under these circumstances? I am ready for the hard naked truth!