First day PhD?

I know someone studying for PhD and teaching as well... He researches and does project on his own but also a guide who sees the progress...

Cheers, but I mean, initially, what is the process? I know you have a mentor, and you can ask questions etc, but I don't get how you start off.

Cheers, but I mean, initially, what is the process? I know you have a mentor, and you can ask questions etc, but I don't get how you start off.

My friends in science started at the same time I did for my masters. They then spent the first few weeks reading until they could start working in the lab. They are now honing their lab skills (one friend, for instance, is practicing PCR) and reading, with them hoping to start their 'proper' research in January.

Usually you'll get some papers to get to know the field, you will probably have to do some boring safety inductions before you're allowed to work in the lab. You might have to write a little literature review depending on your supervisor. Then you'll jump in with some experiments, depending on the project you may just stuck in during the first month, or you'll have to design some experiments, do some testing, etc.

Whether or not you have guidance depends on you and your supervisor - if you're super confident and your supervisor is more 'hands off', you're probably free to start proposing experiments. Most of the time, you'll have some guidance from your supervisor to tell you where might be a good place to start, depending on the lab size you might have a postdoc to help you along. You might shadow an older PhD student/postdoc/your supervisor while they do some experiments if you don't have the lab-based skills already. They'll show you the ropes, the methodology, then you have however much freedom you want, depending on your personality/confidence and your supervisor's personality.

In a science PhD you're not necessarily expected to devise your own experiments, unless you want to, so if you don't feel comfortable about it, there should be enough work that needs to be done that you don't have to.