GOGSoc Episode VIII: I'm a surviva!

Finally had my first (video) meeting with my supervisor! Feel so much better now I have a plan of action - I have to send her parts of my lit review every 2 weeks, each on a different theme to help draft my chapters. She also managed to remotely register me (as I've only been online-enrolled up to this point), so I am *officially* a PhD student now and have my own committee organised!

This also triggered my doctoral loan payments which I'm so happy about, as I thought I'd have to wait until September (or even later ) to register in person to get paid. Just need to work out when/how to get my student ID card now...

Yay, that's good news! Fingers crossed things go to plan from now on.

I've finished teaching for this semester online now. The last few weeks were quite hectic, with switching everything to online teaching, creating lots of new virtual materials, and many student enquiries as they couldn't access reading materials, with all libraries being closed. Now "only" some essays and then exams to be marked, and that's the end of my academic "career".

Yay, that's good news! Fingers crossed things go to plan from now on.

I've finished teaching for this semester online now. The last few weeks were quite hectic, with switching everything to online teaching, creating lots of new virtual materials, and many student enquiries as they couldn't access reading materials, with all libraries being closed. Now "only" some essays and then exams to be marked, and that's the end of my academic "career".

Are you happy to be leaving academia, or is it something you'd like to return to eventually? I know in some sectors, once you leave it's hard to wedge the door back open - that might be more of a STEM problem though.

Congrats, getting the degree conferred must be a huge relief. I was quite surprised after my viva how much admin was still left to do to actually get the certificate.

After spending 18 months in industry I've decided to return to academia for a post doc abroad. Great timing with the coronavirus just hitting but at least it gives me some time catch up with literature and to polish off my outstanding papers from my PhD. Hope everyone else is getting on ok.

Hey! Good to see you. Thanks a lot I moved with my second supervisor, we were busy ordering equipment to set up our lab but obviously that is all on hold now. Hopefully it isn't going to eat in to too much of my post doc time.

How are things with you? Hope the PhD is going well, you must be looking forward to being Dr Goatherd soon!

I posted a poll on Twitter yesterday out of curiosity, to see how many people work on their PhD at weekends (in addition to every weekday). Now regret doing so, as it's had over 1,500 votes, with more than 2 thirds of people saying that they do do PhD work at weekends.

It's suddenly made me very anxious about the amount of PhD work I'm doing - about 4-6 hours per day, M to F. I don't work alongside my PhD, have no dependants, and no fieldwork or lab-based time to account for, so my days are pretty productive. I don't feel the need to use the weekend, unless I have a sudden or pressing deadline, and prefer to keep it separate to prevent burnout. Still, I can't shake the feeling that I'm not doing enough (I do about 5 hours shy of full-time hours), as there are no guideposts for PhD study.

Can anyone else relate?

I posted a poll on Twitter yesterday out of curiosity, to see how many people work on their PhD at weekends (in addition to every weekday). Now regret doing so, as it's had over 1,500 votes, with more than 2 thirds of people saying that they do do PhD work at weekends.

It's suddenly made me very anxious about the amount of PhD work I'm doing - about 4-6 hours per day, M to F. I don't work alongside my PhD, have no dependants, and no fieldwork or lab-based time to account for, so my days are pretty productive. I don't feel the need to use the weekend, unless I have a sudden or pressing deadline, and prefer to keep it separate to prevent burnout. Still, I can't shake the feeling that I'm not doing enough (I do about 5 hours shy of full-time hours), as there are no guideposts for PhD study.

Can anyone else relate?

Tbh I think it's far more important to have some off-time and a healthy PhD-everything else balance 4-6 hours per day Monday-Friday sounds like a lot to me (but then I can go months without doing much, and I'm part-time ). In any case, people work at different rates and in different ways to one another. Consider this: if they're having to work at weekends, it may be that - rather than you supposedly not 'doing enough work' - that they are slower than you and need more time to do the same amount of work. Or they do not use their weekday study time efficiently.

In short, I wouldn't read too much into things - especially as you've only just got your supervisor back at your uni and only just properly enrolled! I'm sure if you're not working hard/fast enough, you'll soon find out from your supervisor!

Try not to worry too much! You can do this

Try not to compare yourself to others too much - first of all, on Twitter, many may just be bragging. I'm finding that for some PhD students, working at weekends is more of a performance, being seen to work really hard, than getting stuff done. Nobody I know can work more than 5-6 hours per day at the level of concentration necessary for a thesis I think. It's way more important to take breaks, to take care of your physical and mental health, as even at Full Time, a PhD takes 3 years, and over-working from the start will just ruin you, and at some point you'd come to hate the project and academia and everything associated with it.
I tried to look at the PhD like I would at other jobs, usually roughly Monday-Friday, 9 - 5. Of course when I was doing fieldwork, there were weeks and weekends where my working hours skyrocketed, or in preparing the museum exhibition, but that was the exception, not the rule - and yet, I managed to submit a rather good thesis within 3 years.
So I think if you're really working in your 4-6 hours Monday-Friday, not procrastinating etc., you'll be fine. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Some happy news: despite the lockdown here, I got the parcel with my hard-bound copies. They're so pretty! (And pretty heavy, too ... 2.6 kg each. Yes, I did weigh one.)

I have the opportunity to apply for a small grant (probably under £300) from a private company, to spend on any costs associated with my PhD. I'm still researching the company to check if it's legit. However, one of the terms and conditions caught my eye: if I am awarded the grant, I must acknowledge the company in all papers I write during my PhD, and in my thesis. I was wondering if this is a typical request? I don't know whether I'm being cynical or not, but it seems like a big ask considering that they would only be awarding me a very small amount (in the grand scheme of total PhD costs).

I have the opportunity to apply for a small grant (probably under £300) from a private company, to spend on any costs associated with my PhD. I'm still researching the company to check if it's legit. However, one of the terms and conditions caught my eye: if I am awarded the grant, I must acknowledge the company in all papers I write during my PhD, and in my thesis. I was wondering if this is a typical request? I don't know whether I'm being cynical or not, but it seems like a big ask considering that they would only be awarding me a very small amount (in the grand scheme of total PhD costs).

I would have assumed that's a standard request? Though I think that because of the way things work in the charities I've worked with in the past: even a fairly small donation has to be acknowledged on the company's/charity's main page of the website Not sure how it's meant to work in academia, but I don't think it's an unreasonable request

Glad your supervisor was surprised by how much work you'd done, btw

I don't know about your field, but in my field, 300 quid would definitely be acknowledged in the thesis or any other publication produced aided by the grant. But then, in my field, this wouldn't be considered a very small amount, either - in fact, other than my main PhD funding, the largest single grant I got was 550 pounds or so from the Royal Historical Society, and that felt like a huge sum.
Not much to report from here, still in lockdown, and from Monday, they're introducing compulsory face masks in public transport and shops. I understand the rationale, but as someone with a hearing impairment, I'm not looking forward to the double whammy of not seeing lips move and voices being muffled by fabric.

as someone with a hearing impairment, I'm not looking forward to the double whammy of not seeing lips move and voices being muffled by fabric.

Loads of empathetic hugs! Although not officially diagnosed with any hearing issues, it's strongly suspected that I have Auditory Processing Dysfunction/Disorder, so I struggle with the muffling and not being able to see lips a little too

Sorry to read that. I'm finding it really difficult - though some masks muffle voices much more than others it turns out.
I think after a difficult spell I have my writing mojo back a bit. Trying to turn some of the material that I had to cut from my thesis due to the word count into journal articles, and for the first time in ages I'm actually enjoying thinking about the material again.
Now is also exam time, so I've got quite a bit of marking ahead of me. At least this time nothing should be hand-written, which should make the process a bit easier. But the uni have decided that, despite the ongoing crisis, deadlines for marking will not be changed.

Guyssss....

My supervisor wants me to add them on Instagram (an account about my field not cat memes and breakfast pics ) and my instagram is all architecture based so nothing personal or inappropriate, but I just feel uneasy doing it but don’t want to let them down :/

Advice?