What you need to know before starting a PhD: A checklist
You've decided you want to do a PhD – Fantastic! However, before you begin there are several things you should consider to improve your experience. In this short blog, Dr. Aaron Elbourne outlines things you should consider and/or check before you begin (in no particular order).
1. Funding
Are you planning to do your PhD full time? If you don't have funding: stop now, do not proceed! You shouldn’t be working full time for free for what will be many years of your life. You should ultimately be seeking a PhD scholarship, stipend, or living allowance (unless you have other means of financial support). Make sure that the monetary value allows you to live, including paying rent, food, other essentials and some leftover for leisure activities.
2. Supervisor vetting!
More than anything else, your supervisor will make or break your PhD. You should be looking for a supportive supervisor, who has time for you and your project, and is interested in your development as a young researcher.
How to check this:
1. Speak with them and gauge their demeanour.
2. Speak with previous students that are no longer in the group - check publications for names of people to contact, and do so. Basically, ask for references.
3. Visit with the group (if you can) and observe the group culture. Is it supportive or toxic?
4. Speak with current students and find out what sort of supervision style the supervisor has and if this will work for you.
In a follow-up blog I will outline this process in more (excruciating) detail. I cannot stress enough how detrimental a bad supervisor-student relationship will be for your career, PhD, and general well-being. Watch this space.
3. Your research topic
Are you excited about the project? Is it in an area that interests you? Can’t wait to get started? If yes, then that’s a great start. If you aren't, then you might find yourself struggling to finish. Motivations will always fluctuate during a PhD (and most people are thoroughly fed up with their thesis topic by the end), but disinterest will last and make life difficult.
4. Institution
Is the university ranked well? It doesn't have to be a huge or top-ranked university (not everyone needs to attend Harvard), but the university/institute needs to be appropriately well-funded and resourced for your research, this may include instruments, infrastructure, amenities among other things. If the research group is functioning well and the resources are available, then you will be fine. However, it's best to know this before staring.
5. Peer network
What is the larger group or faculty like? Does your supervisor have a group, or will you be the only student? If you are, are there other students in the faculty or department? Like your supervisor, your peers can have a huge effect on how you get through your PhD. Having a supportive network of PhD students and early career researchers to work with will be a huge help with your studies.
6. Do you have an exit plan?
What are you going to do once you finish? You may see yourself pursuing an academic career and becoming a professor. But as we covered in the last blog, that’s unlikely. You might even decide not to finish your PhD; plenty of people who started their PhD with every intention of completing it make this decision for a range of reasons, so don’t assume that this won’t be you. In any case, you should have at least an idea of what you want to do once you either finish or leave your PhD.
7. Location
If you are moving cities or countries make sure that you can 1) Easily travel to the country of study (check visas / travel restrictions) and 2) can you afford to live in the city of study i.e. major cities can be far more expensive to live in than more regional university locations.
8. Main take-away
Conducting a PhD is a large investment of time, effort, and brain power. Think about these things before starting, and don't jump in prematurely.
Note: This is advice from someone who started a PhD without any thought because it was on offer! I had no plan, and in retrospect should have thought about several of these point for longer (or at all).
