I haven’t been very productive since last year because 1. I was stuck at a problem and had no help/ no supervision to solve that problem. 2. I was pregnant and super nauseous all the time.
So I was unable to publish anything.
I have had 1 publication so far 2 years ago. So I did feel very demotivated, and stuck because I was not moving forward at all work wise and imposter syndrome got to me.
I felt that I dont know enough to be doing this research. I am not good enough, etc etc.
Then I was on my maternity leave but I kept receiving emails that the whole group is way behind publications and we need to work harder. 2.5 months postpartum, I started spending some time in the night in between the naps and feeds. It took me 1.5 months to complete my paper. I forwarded it to my professors, who questioned a lot of things. One of them also said its not publishable. I am okay with that. But I dont know how to not take it personally. I dont want to be perceived as lazy.

I will be submitting my thesis in about 7-8 months (could be sooner if I really work hard). I'm doing engineering in the UK and will be applying for industry and postdoc roles in both UK and US. How soon is too soon to start applying to stuff? Is it reasonable to start applying to stuff now to see how I fare and get my name out there and just let the employer tell me if I'm too early? TIA

Hi

I've been acepted to start a PhD position this fall in the Pol Sci deparment. For a while I've been considering buying an IPad to use as a main hub for research as I feel it provides enough as a computer (with a keyboard case) and enough as a notebook (with a pen as a highlighter for papers and notes). I've also been told there are protective screens that feel like paper when using the pen.

Does anyone have any experience using an IPad for (almost) only research? Do you recommened it? Any models in particular (air/mini/storage?)? Any alternatives?

Thanks a lot!!

I just turned 30 this year. And I've had the goal of getting my PhD since I was 16 in highschool. But... I had some stuff get in the way. You see, when I was 16 I got encephalitis. It caused minor brain damage and retrograde amnesia. I retained and regained at of knowledge afterwards, but there was (is) still a lot I hadn't. But, with the support I had, I still ended up graduating highschool top of my class, straight A student. Even had an opportunity to graduate early but wanted to graduate with my friends.

And then college started...

I started at my community college right after highschool. I loved it. But I didn't have the support I had in highschool and also lacked a decided path (also my jackass teen mind was more so focused on dating than school at the time too). It literally took me about 5 years going back and forth in my community college to figure out what I wanted to do. But finally I did and I got accepted to a university (barely met their requirements, but got in).

And then...

I almost flunked out on my first term.

I then looked into my mental health. I had suspected myself to have ADHD for a while - It runs in my family and I literally every sign of it - but finally decided to have my mental health checked after my trouble at my university. And turns out... Yup, ADHD. As well as Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and OCD (I'm also likely autistic, but that topic came up relatively recently and I have yet to be diagnosed).

Now, this was great. Turns out my university has a program for coaching students specifically with mental health disorders such as ADHD. I was accepted to the program and my coach helped me excel for the next two years. But... For those two years I didn't take any courses in my major. I tool minor courses and other electives that interested me. I was terrified of my major because I had started to realize how behind I was in my knowledge of the subject. Very much thanks to the memory loss from my brain damage when I was 16. There were (are) literally elementary level, common knowledge facts and vocab in my major I have yet to relearn. Not because I can't, but because I'm embarrassed to admit what I forgot and don't know where to look to regain this basic knowledge (side clarification - I'm a biology major and I have a hard time identifying local common species in my area. Or my lack of knowledgeof the human body even. I couldn't tell you what a majority of our organs are, where they are, or what they do. These are just a few example of my lack of knowledge in my subject).

Then... almost four years ago now, I decided to take a break from school because of my mental health. It was only going to be one year, but financial issues got in the way and now it's been about four years.

Luckily though, over the past few years, I have got the mental health help I need. And found healthy solutions to my financial trouble. And now have the opportunity to start back at my university.

My one issue still is though, my social anxiety atop my memory loss.

I'll still be starting back towards my bachelors when I get back, but it is still my goal, FAR down the line to pursue my masters and eventually PhD.

And I think my biggest block currently is lack of reassurance from others who understand. Not necessarily someone with the same story of course, but someone who succeeded despite equivalent draw backs.

I need to know my goal is possible. I don't care how hard or long it is to obtain. I just need reassurance that it is obtainable despite my challenges.

So, as my title asks, is there anyone with equivalent stories who succeeded? And are there any suggestions to help me succeed?

Thank you so much for enduring through my short novel of a post and thank you for any relatable stories of your own and suggestions. I wish the best to all!

Edit: I will note, I have seen a few similar posts in my search, but I still felt I needed to share my personal story for a more definite sence of relatability.

Edit 2: After reading just the first comment, I realized my angst for this goal is far ahead of where I am now and my focus should be on my current academic standing (weather or not I can get even a bachelors). So I think I'll repost to a more appropriate sub. But I will keep this post here incase there are any suggestive or relating words for me here from other intelligent people. Again. Thank you all.

I'm honestly feeling quite lost and exhausted trying to find predefine/structured PhD opportunities in Europe and would really appreciate some guidance.

My field is history, archives, museums and cultural heritage. I'm specifically looking for funded, structured, predefined PhD projects, something similar to how the UK advertises them on the Findaphd portal, where you can easily find a list of relevant projects and studentships, and you know exactly what you'll be working on, where to apply and the requirements.

I'm mainly looking at Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland (and similar countries), but every website I visit feels like a rabbit hole. I've tried DAAD, DFG, university websites, graduate schools, research training groups, etc. They all seem to describe departments, research groups, or generic PhD subjects. I end up clicking through page after page without ever finding an actual PhD project or topic. It feels like I'm going in circles.

Am I approaching this the wrong way? Is this just how the system works in these countries? What I'm really looking for is a simple database or website where I can browse advertised, funded PhD projects with predefined research topics, rather than having to come up with my own proposal or dig through dozens of university pages and find supervisors.

Do such websites exist for these countries? If you've been through this process, how did you actually find your PhD project?

Any advice or recommendations would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

I am a STEM grad student, 3 full years in and currently in the middle of qualifying exams. In May, I switched advisors.

I am one of a long list of grad students who failed to be able to work with my previous advisor. (And I believe I will be the last, as he is now prohibited from taking on more students.) My department is being very supportive, and my new advisor is wonderful.

The problem is that no one at my university does anything close to the subfield my PhD project is in - so now I have a significant expertise gap on my committee and in my project supervision.

However, I love my project. It is what I came to grad school to do and the reason I didn't leave my advisor for so long. I was determined to stick it out. A key reason I decided to leave my bad situation was that several faculty told me privately that the department would support me to continue my project with other supervision (external if necessary).

But now that I'm talking to potential collaborators and looking for external supervision, I'm worried that it may have been wishful thinking. I think my department is familiar with my previous advisor's conduct and assumes everyone in his field is as well. But even if that is true, and I'm not sure it is, other PIs still may not want to get involved with me as it would cause significant tension with my previous advisor, and he is quite well known.

So here we are. My options:

- Quit/master out and start a new PhD somewhere else. I've had my master's for a year now through the same program, so I feel I would just be quitting. Starting somewhere else, I could be upfront about my extensive experience and desire for a "efficient" project. In the long run, it would set me back a few years, but I would learn a lot more. I'm increasingly thinking my old advisor may be a charlatan. He really didn't teach me enough. But I can't imagine starting a PhD over again at a whole new university. It is making me cry.

- Rush graduate with a PhD. Some faculty have told me that I am far enough along in my project that I could simply write up what I have done and graduate. It may not be a good dissertation, but it would be enough if what I decide I really want to do is GTFO. But I want a research career, and that means publications. Not sure that is feasible.

- Start a new project at my current university to add to my dissertation, strengthening it and my credentials. But like I have said, no one at my university is doing something close to what I want to do. I came here specifically to work with my previous advisor. This option feels like a waste of time to me right now.

- Continue on old project. Possibly with external leadership, but at minimum, I want someone on my committee who works in the subfield. My preferred option. I want to finish things well, tie up some loose ends, and turn my work into publications. Pipe dream? Possibly.

What would you do? Which of these options seem completely infeasible to you? Anyone have comparable experience? Please, I need advice.

I understand my career goals factor largely into this. I am looking to stay in scientific research, ideally a national lab setting. I don't want to become a professor, but I would consider working at a university in a research faculty position. No matter which option, I am probably looking to do a postdoc at an institution of greater standing than my current one.

Also maybe important to consider is that I haven't published any of my work so far or secured external funding (grants, etc.) due to my previous advisor discouraging or prohibiting me from doing so.

Previous advisor thinks I am a pawn in a political attack against him and is not cooperating (has not even agreed to meet with me since he was informed of the switch). However, I've been assured by multiple university admin levels that I have the right to proceed with my data and results.

I’m graduating with a physics degree and have two opportunities:

A Quality Engineer position starting around $70k salary with opportunities for promotion.
Or
A fully funded condensed matter physics PhD ($22k stipend) researching solid-state batteries and quantum materials. The advisor expects students to graduate in 4–5 years, and many graduates go into industry.

If you were in my position, which path would you choose, and why? If you’ve made a similar decision, what happened?

Long story not so short: I have all my subjects in, all my years in, published part of my thesis and then... life happened. I became a double care taker and since my scholarship ended I had to take a full time job outside academia (so I could actually pay for stuff).

This was end of 2022, I hear the university could potentially "take me back" so I can just present the thesis and defend it, but I'm stuck with the dumbest paperwork there is. Of note, I was made for bureaucracy, but I'm too scared to open the damn document. I'm advancing at snail speed, with bursts of motivation at the time.

My thesis is almost complete: I have to review one pending question with my PI to debate in the discussion and then do the figures. After that, the review from my PI who is awesome and we have a nice relationship. And then the powerpoint and I'm done. How can it possibly be so hard?

I will now correct the paperwork and send it again, thank you venting. But then, it's going to be the next thing and the next... I'm AuDHD in case you haven't noticed, so some silly things may look like a big monster sometimes.

I hope to vent next time with a frog, thanks for reading!

Hi everyone! I was accepted into a few PhD programs, two in history, one in Scandinavian studies. The history program I would most be interested in would be an advisor looking at the history of newspapers across northern Europe. The Scandinavian studies advisor has written extensively on Sweden during WWII.

My research looks at attitudes towards Swedish neutrality and how it became part of the Swedish identity. Overall, the transition from a top-down government decision, to being a public desire. My overall goals are to work as a professor of history, or to conduct research in the nordics, working at museums.

My question is, would a Scandinavian studies program limit me if I want to work in the US or Sweden? Would I be able to work in a history department? Should I reach out to the Scandinavian studies program about doing a joint dissertation with the history department?

The history PhD is cheaper, both similarly ranked. I am applying for funding, but have to decide which program to list for the application.

My baby has been gestating for 5 years and she's finally here. She's frying an egg because she got fried in the defense real good but also low-key she probably cooked (so say my labmates...).

Thanks to this community for your support:)

I know how this sounds and alls well that ends well. But I am am sick of wondering.

I rambled my answer for a few questions which may be okay. But then I was asked about something related to a statement I had made in passing in the motivation section but not really addressed deeply through the results (several other motivatons were addressed). It was one of those things where as you write you end up realizing that presenting the results some other way would be better but the motivation text still had a couple of references to the original ideas. Anyway, it took me a long time to get to the right answer. I had to think my way through it in real time, even though it was potentially a simple question. Now I'm wondering if my committee thought that it was strange I couldn't answer something so simple quickly. Eta: STEM USA

Not a PhD student, but I am an Econ predoc. I have undiagnosed ADHD, so sometimes I have a tough time staying focused while doing research. Especially when I am waiting for code to run or waiting for claude to teach me how to use bash or something 😂 I tend to find myself drifting to social media or some game on my phone due to lack of stimulation.  Afterwards, I have a tough time re-motivating myself to continue my research. 

What do others who have adhd do to stay focused? What do you fill your stimulus cravings with?

This is half vent and half advice-seeking, but as the title suggests, I’m finishing (or trying to finish) writing my first manuscript. I’m a STEM PhD student and this isn’t my entire thesis project, but it has eaten up my last two years. As we inch closer to wrapping it up, I have this sense of something like, “who allowed a kid like me to do this?” My advisor is pretty involved which I do appreciate, but it’s a collaboration using a system he doesn’t know well so he generally shrugs and agrees with whatever I say. On the other hand, the collaborators will answer the questions I can come up with but haven’t been at all helpful in terms of the science and direction. In short, I feel pretty alone in the process, which maybe is good for my development as an independent researcher but bad for my sense of security haha.

When I look at my twenty-odd main and supplementary figures, the main text where every sentence represents weeks of scientific work, all the methods and code, etc… my heart starts pounding and I get overwhelmed quickly. I find myself redoing and cross-checking everything to the point of inefficiency. I’ve developed a sense of constant anxiety that everything I’ve done is wrong, and I’m about to discover one mistake that collapses the work like a house of cards. My advisor says to write down tasks and do them one by one (thanks, man), but that only works as long as I know exactly which tasks still remain, whereas I find myself discovering new tiny holes every day. All this to say -

Is there a way to keep it together in this last stretch, where it’s all about attention to detail? Any tips for how to manage would be helpful…

Thanks in advance for anyone who replies! I appreciate it.

I have graduated from my program but still I have to revise parts of my dissertation. In other words, I was allowed to walk after my successful defense.

Here's the issue: I have to provide a reason on a form explaining why I was UNable to complete everything in the allotted program maximum. This is because I still have revisions.

There is no specific reason other than the same issues many of us have--procrastination, personal issues, grief, experiment revisions.

What can I say that sounds like I am not making excuses, sufficiently vague, but still answers the question? I usually think the LESS information the better when it comes to most administrative type forms in general.

Honestly very sad.

Due to issues with funding I do not have a lab to land in as a second year in the program. I will be mastering out with a degree in computational chemistry.

Bittersweet but alas there are good job opportunities out there for me. Wishing you all the best!

I moved to industry after my PhD. Recently I prepared the final paper to submit. However started to miss the research life. Immediately I have a thought: maybe I should go back academia starting from postdoc? Then my brain kept replaying the miserable moments during PhD like modifying and rewriting the paper again and again.

Is this sort of Stockholm syndrome? Do you have the same experience? Should I seriously consider to find an academic position?

I’m not hating, but referencing every sentence seems a bit crazy to me. They continue in the main body with this as well.

About me:

Male

Bsc economics from Copenhagen Denmark

MSc machine learning and Ai from Germany Darmstadt

1 year work experience in data analytics

I'm contemplating doing a PhD in AI and energy economics but I'm concerned I'd be too old and would fall into the "overqualified & inexperienced" category by the time I'm done with the PhD and that's making me reluctant given how fanatic companies are about corporate experience.

I also do not have a very good idea how transitioning to academia works, benefits compared to industry and how competitive it is to join academia.

Been stressing about making a decision for 2 months now. If being 36 inexperienced wasn't a problem I would definitely pursue the PhD but we live in a sick world getting sicker everyday and I do not want to end up stressing out about profession in my late 30s because someone thinks I would be overqualified & inexperienced

I never imagined I'd end up doing a PhD. When I was a kid (around 2006), my dad came to the U.S. to do his master's degree, and our family lived here for two years. I loved it, when we moved back to my home country, I always dreamed of returning one day, but I thought it would be impossible because of how expensive it would be.

Fast forward to 2020, I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Geology. Finding a job back home was very difficult. I eventually found one, but I wasn't happy there. Then, in 2022, I was offered a fully funded graduate opportunity in the U.S. It was originally supposed to be a master's, but my current advisor told me she only had funding for PhD students.

My first thought wasn't, "I want a PhD." It was, "This is five years in the U.S., the country I've always wanted to live in." So I accepted without knowing what I was getting myself into.

Now I'm in my fourth year of a PhD in Energy Engineering. I don't hate research, but I've realized that I don't enjoy my specific research topic as much as I thought I would. Some people seem genuinely passionate about their work, while mine often feels like just something I have to finish.

To graduate, I'm expected to publish 4 first author papers. One is under review, the second is with my advisor, and I'm currently working on the third. Over the past year, my mindset has changed. My goal is not and has never been academia, I want to stay in the U.S. and build a career in industry. Because of that, I don't care about publishing in the highest impact journals, chasing citations, or building an academic reputation. I just want to finish my PhD, graduate, and move on with my life.

Sometimes I wonder if that's the wrong way to think. I'm still working hard, I'm writing the papers, doing the research, and putting in the hours and effort. But my advisor is extremely busy, doesn't seem very invested in my project, and my research is not in her area of expertise.

When I compare my experience with other engineering PhD students, I notice that many of them have advisors who say, "Here's your project, here are the goals, now go do the work." My experience has been way less structured, and I've had to figure everything out on my own.

Eventually I stopped comparing myself to other students. Instead of thinking about whether my research will have a huge academic impact, I started looking at each paper as a project that demonstrates technical skills I can talk about during industry interviews. That mindset has helped me keep going.

This year, my advisor also allowed me to claim my master's degree while continuing toward the PhD. I considered leaving after the master's, but because I'm on an F1 visa, it wasn't a practical option given the current visa situation. There are nights when I go to bed crying and wishing my advisor would just fire me.

The best part of this journey has been meeting my fiancé. He's also a PhD student in the same field, but he has a different advisor. He's doing really well and will graduate next year. We're planning to apply for the green card soon (under his profile bc it is waay better than mine), and hopefully everything works out. If I become a permanent resident while still in my PhD, I might just quit and go work in industry.

Has anyone else started a PhD just leave their country and for better opportunities? Did you lose interest in academia but decide to finish anyway? Or did you leave before finishing?

I'd like to hear from people who've been through something similar.

Hey all, I guess i’m looking for a time you had to do something like this and maybe some advice to help me out of this funk.

I’ve been working on this project now for 2 years. I’m trying to finish the paper and really struggling to find the motivation to write. I’ve been invited to present at a conference in November and I’m supposed to present at a huge conference in my field early September.

I’m freaking out about presenting in September and feel that my work is garbage. I’m not sure why i feel this way. I just cant face it. It’s like i’m afraid to write it up. I wish it could all be better than it ended up being. I don’t know why people even invite or let me into the conferences.

Anyway, any advice to overcome this fear and absolute hatred for my own work? How can i talk about it well at the conference? There’s gonna be some seriously big people in the field there. I feel like i shouldn’t be among them or that they will try to embarrass me publicly or something.

How did you finish writing something you hated and felt wasn’t really good enough?

Thanks in advance.

PS part of this is also because I’m technically supposed to be on a 6 month break to do my internship but because the experiments weren’t complete, i work on my PhD on the weekends.

Question for people that use reference management software and frequently deal with importing papers without DOIs, or where paper information does not autopopulate.

How do you handle this? It feels like such a pain in the middle of a lit review to stop and manually input citation information, but if I don't do this then my library quickly becomes unmanageable.

Lately I've been updating the citation metadata only before I use it in a reference, but this makes it difficult to relocate the paper when I need it; impossible even if the documents don't have OCR.

Hello! I am curious if any other PhD's have included a chapter or section in their dissertation on work outside of their core experiments. I've come across two examples of this - one where someone discussed the importance of open science and how they incorporated that into their thesis work, another where someone discussed how their trans identity affected their experience as a PhD student and some personal writing they published on the subject.

My defense date is coming soon (September!) and I'm just considering whether this is something I want to do on science outreach/policy efforts. Also, they're just so interesting to read, so I would love to see more examples!

So I submitted a pre-print, which is publicly available online.

That paper has now been rejected.

I made edits and submitted the revised version to a new journal.

How do I list this on my CV?

Do I move the pre-print from “under review” to “published” and leave it labeled as a pre-print?

Do I leave it as “under review” just with the updated journal name?

Do I remove any reference to the pre-print and only put this new submission?

Very confused, and Google has not really had an answer I found…

EDIT: Thank you for all the replies, and in case anyone reads this and wants to know - the consensus is that while the advice is bad, it is up to me to decide whether to take my PIs advice, leave it, and/or push back when necessary, as part of a PhD is learning how to advocate for yourself.

I've posted here before but I'm looking for advice once again 😅. For context I am a North American student doing a PhD in Europe, and my PI is European. Overall my PI is very sweet and nice, and I really love my work, lab and personal life. However I've noticed a few things that concern me, and I dont know if my PI has my best interest or wellbeing in mind at times. A few things:

1. We were discussing moving samples from one city to another (2hr train ride). There were almost 100 falcon tubes that needed to be transported in dry ice; think 2 10kg boxes. Her solution was to have me transport them on train since I dont have a drivers license. I asked about someone driving but apparently no one could. I didnt think this was feasible or safe for either me or the samples, and I tried to negotiate down to taking 10-20 tubes over a period of days. Two other people (my co supervisor and a senior lab tech) were in the room and looked a bit uncomfortable but didn't say anything. In the end a lab tech offered to drive me when I told them about the situation thank God.

2. I am scheduled for an internship in Germany from November to January. My current apartment lease ends in January so I'm starting to look for housing, but it can be really hard in this city at times. Just in case the worst happens, I asked to come back in the middle of January so I would have time to house hunt again. She instead suggested I store my items while I was in Germany instead of finding a place, but that would leave me homeless if I came back with no lease lined up.

I think both of these could be chalked up to not thinking things through, but considering shes a physician clinician I doubt it? She also has a few other habits I dislike (like asking me simple questions such as "Do you know what a control group is?" in front of others, but I try not to mind). However the 2 issues I pointed out above have got me wondering if I should trust her in the future with information about myself. Everyone here is insisting that I should trust my supervisors but I've been burned by that before (my last PI kept asking about my financial situation and tried to convince me not to work as a TA and just try for scholarships I wasnt even eligible for).

Any advice is appreciated!