Arts vs Science: How to Survive the First Year

The first week

Jennifer: On that memorable Monday morning I was sat at my desk at 9am ready for my first day as a PhD student. It was nothing like how I had pictured it, largely because I was actually at home and all of my meetings were online due to COVID-19!

I’m on a doctoral training programme (DTP) so the first day was made up of lots of introductory talks, setting us the task for our first week: a piece of group research (all over Zoom, of course). For me, this experience was pretty terrifying. I didn’t know anyone, and I felt like they were suggesting better experiments and just all-round better scientists than me. Basically, classic imposter syndrome.

My tip to survive this week: talk to your peers. After the first day everyone became more friendly as I got to know them better, and this really made me realise they weren’t perfect research machines, they were just people like me!

Hannah: My first week was a memorable one and I even wrote a whole blog post on it not too long ago. In summary, I spent most of it setting up for the years ahead. I grabbed a desk and piled up some books (unlike Jennifer, my first year wasn’t online). I also had my first meeting with my supervisor which didn’t go exactly to plan.

Everyone’s first meeting will go differently but mine was spent overhauling my research proposal, concluding that I needed a different angle. I wont lie, it was a lot to process at the time, but nobody said it would be easy. Now looking back with hindsight, it was something that needed to be done. My project is a lot better because of it.

One month in

Jennifer: As part of my DTP training, we had no independent research for the first few months. Instead, we had taught modules, including maths, statistics, data science, programming, and modelling. I thought this would be just like the few modules I had during my Masters. It wasn’t. It was much harder and more intense.

How did I get through this? I didn’t panic. I had to put the hours into working on the coursework for each module and try not to get bogged down with the worry I wasn’t going to pass them! I know this is a totally different scenario from most PhD students in their first month, but I can imagine it’s an overwhelming time for most of us. The best thing we can do is not panic.

Hannah: I basically spent the first month reading constantly, looking for a new research project. I felt a lot of imposter syndrome during this time as it seemed like most other students were ahead of me. But it’s no use comparing your progress to someone else. We all face bumps along the road, mine just came early.

In fact, having the opportunity to read widely and explore interesting tangents helped keep me inspired and motivated. Instead of being in the hole of a niche research project, I was able to look around for a bit and smell the roses – remember what it was that I loved about History. That’s an important thing to do every now and again. Come to the surface and remind yourself what it is about your subject you love.

Three months in

Jennifer: My independent research began in the form of a three-month mini project. This felt like my real ‘first day’ as I was finally allowed into the lab. It was challenging to suddenly be in control of a project and have to plan and perform experiments. I managed the shock by doing some extensive planning! Since it was such a short project, I planned out the experiments I hoped to do each month (roughly) then made a solid plan for the coming week.

I met my supervisor almost every week, and if I started to go off topic for a bit too long, she’d pull me back on track. Having a good supervisor to chat to when experiments failed was so helpful. I’m sure I would have had a breakdown otherwise.

Hannah: By this point I was pretty settled on my research themes, so it was time to buckle down. My supervisor was keen to get me in the habit of writing early. He had me regularly producing book reviews, short literature reviews and written analyses of primary sources.

I found that writing often in my first year really benefited me. Initially I was cautious of sending any piece of written work to my supervisor that wasn’t of the highest possible quality. But that soon faded as I didn’t have the time to polish everything, nor was it necessary if it wasn’t going in the thesis! Now I find it a lot easier to give him unfinished or flawed work, which at the moment is most of the time as I am currently producing chapter drafts. The sooner you can get over the idea that everything you produce must be perfect, the better.

Six months in

Jennifer: This was the submission date of a thesis I had to write based on my three-month mini project. It was a super stressful time for me as several of my experiments hadn’t gone to plan and I had no idea how I’d get 6,000 words out of it.

I did survive this (though at the time I was sure I wouldn’t!) and I did it by having weekends off. Honestly, taking a break for two days makes so much difference to your concentration and mental health. In the end I managed to hit the word limit no problem.

Hannah: Six months in and the confirmation review was looming. I had struggled with imposter syndrome throughout most of the year, so this felt like the ultimate test to determine whether I was worthy. It’s fair to say I was nervous.

I put in a lot of time and energy into producing the literature review and thesis outline that my university requested and thankfully it all paid off. In the end I actually enjoyed the review experience because I got to talk about my project with other academics who were genuinely interested. I think that taught me the biggest lesson. Academics aren’t there to catch you out, they’re there to support you and are often interested in the work you’re doing.

One year in

Jennifer: I’m not there yet, but I’m getting close! I’m currently eight months in and am out of the lab (again) and undertaking a three-month work placement. When I do reach one year, I have a qualifying report to submit – fingers crossed it goes well!

Hannah: At the end of the first year, I felt pretty exhausted. It was quite the emotional rollercoaster. But I feel it prepared me for the rest of the PhD. It’s not an easy ride, but it is a fun one. Just remember to take regular breaks and you’ll be fine!

It’s safe to say that the first year of a PhD can be difficult for anyone, no matter their department. There’s a lot that you wont know starting a PhD meaning there’s also a lot to learn. But it’s the ups and downs that make it such a unique and meaningful experience.