Guest Blogger Charlotte Lauder writes about her decision not to pursue a career in academia after her PhD. Being accepted onto a PhD programme feels like an extraordinary moment. Not everyone gets to do a PhD, or gets funding, or is even allowed access to the world of academia. Right now, it feels as if … Continue reading Accepting You’re Ordinary and Saying Goodbye to the Academic Career
Although at times it feels like I’ve been doing my PhD for years (usually in the days just before a deadline…) I recently realised it hasn’t even been six months! The first few months of a PhD have been a whirlwind of new experiences, so I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned … Continue reading Reflections On PhD Life So Far
When it all becomes a bit much and the thought of reading or writing another word becomes nauseating, there’s a whole host of ways in which PhD researchers unwind… It’s 11am. The morning has crawled by in a series of difficult contract law terms I need to get my head around. An imposing Word … Continue reading Running from the PhD (Literally!)
It’s all getting a little bit fraught in the UK at the minute. There’s a general election happening in three weeks. The media and government are at each other’s throats. Fake news abounds. There are strikers outside nearly every HEI in Scotland right now. And I’ve run out of milk. If you're doing a PhD, … Continue reading Politics.
This week's guest blog is on a subject I've wanted to see more of on the SGSAH blog. It's from Jessica Secmezsoy-Urquhart, a first year PhD student at the University of St. Andrews. They are autistic, chronically ill, have anxiety, ADD, OCD, etc. Their research focus is the role of neurodiverse and bodilydiverse disabled entertainers … Continue reading PhDs with a Disability
I recently read a comment about the stress of a PhD, which personally hit me to the core: “If you’re emotionally unstable or vulnerable, it’s not a good idea.” This was me, 3 years ago. Or in fact, 5, 8, or 10 years ago. I’ve lived with depression, anxiety, and OCD for a decade of … Continue reading Starting a PhD with existing mental health problems
When you start a PhD, you’ll often hear that your research should be treated like a 9 to 5 job. If you’re like me, this will probably cause you to panic and question what on earth you’re doing – don’t a lot of us start PhDs because we secretly didn’t want a 9-5 job?! I … Continue reading How many hours should you spend on the clock, and when should you spend them?
There are many struggles you’ll encounter during your PhD experience, two of the major ones being feeling overwhelmed, and feeling completely stuck. Both are things I’ve come up against quite a lot over my 2 and a half years of being a PhD researcher, especially the former due to my depression and anxiety. So, in … Continue reading What to do when you feel like you just can’t do it anymore
The end of the year approaches! I cannot believe it's already December, I swear it was just October yesterday...where did November go?? If you're like me, you may have been too busy this past month to take much notice of what was going on in the SGSAH community and beyond, so I'm here to help. … Continue reading MONTHLY ROUNDUP: NOVEMBER 2018
A lot of people assume when you're doing a PhD you came up through academia always planning to pursue this path. I have rarely found this to be the case. I've spoken with incredible women who have gone to University, left, had lives and families outside of academia, only to choose to pick it … Continue reading From Disney to PhD
