The PhD Journey: Strategies for Enrolling, Thriving, and Excelling in a PhD Program by Gladys Ngetich

Author:Gladys Ngetich [Ngetich, Gladys]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: Aviva Publishers
Published: 2022-05-20T21:00:00+00:00

4.3 Assemble crucial tools for the journey ahead

You are about to embark on a long and arduous journey. Carve out some time, in the beginning, to intentionally plan for the journey ahead. Abraham Lincoln has been famously attributed as saying, ‘If I had five minutes to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first three sharpening my axe’. Take some time in the beginning to sharpen your axe. Think of a time when you had an important long road trip. What did you do a few days before the trip? You meticulously planned for it. You packed extra clothes. You got some snacks and drinks. You packed extra tires. Similarly, the PhD journey you are about to start will feel like a long trip.

Following are eight activities you can do to prepare.

1.Take workshops on essay writing, research paper writing, research presenting, etc. The PhD journey is inherently filled with writing and presentations. You’ll be writing research papers and sometimes even grant proposals. You’ll have to orally present your research findings. And, ultimately, you’ll be required to write a coherent thesis detailing your PhD research work. Most institutions will offer these courses for free or at subsidised prices. I attended countless workshops during the early stages of my PhD journey. The workshops I took included Foundations for a Successful DPhil, Research Skills Toolkit workshops, Scientific Writing: Getting Your Paper Published, Scientific Research Writing for Non-Native English Speakers, Preparing for Learning and Teaching at Oxford: Tutors and Class Assistants, Presentation Skills for Beginners, and Science Writing for Non-Native Speakers among others. The invaluable skills—writing, speaking, presentation, project management skills—that I gained from these workshops have been so helpful even beyond my PhD that I still utilise them to date.

2.Attend some extra classes. As a university policy, some universities might require you to complete compulsory course units and earn credits. Even if that isn’t a requirement at your university, it will help to attend some of the classes related to your research. My research was in thermofluids, so I took some classes related to thermofluids: Heat and Mass Transfer, Applied Fluid Mechanics, and Engineering Thermodynamics course units. From October 2016 to October 2018, I tutored engineering undergraduate students at Oriel College (one of the University of Oxford’s colleges). Tutoring these courses boosted my foundational knowledge of thermofluids. If possible, attend classes that arouse your interest in other topics, even those not related to your work. A friend attended all sorts of lectures, including philosophy and theology. I admired that greatly. In retrospect, I wish I had stretched out of my comfort zone a little bit and attended lectures that had nothing to do with engineering.

3.Learn from predecessors. Actively network across departments/universities. Talk with other PhD students. The friendships/networks you form now might help you even after you earn your PhD. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Learn from your predecessors. They can advise you on what to anticipate in the journey. That way, you can channel your limited energies on improving the wheel instead of reinventing it.

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