3 things I wish I knew when I started my PhD

(and some other nuggets of “wisdom”)

Written by Mudra Choudhury

01.17.2024

Created by DALL-E

After being a year out of my Bioinformatics PhD from UCLA, I cannot help but reminisce about rewarding and challenging experiences it entailed. I remember seeking advice from PhD graduates, who often highlighted the positives, possibly through the lens of having the experience behind them. It's easy for me to don similar 'graduation goggles' and gloss over the fact that it was a profoundly demanding period in my life. To offer a balanced perspective, I want to share insights I wish I'd had at the outset of my PhD journey. These are based on my personal experiences and may not resonate with every graduate student. When I began my PhD, my understanding of what lay ahead was quite limited.

1.     Picking your PI/mentor is crucial.

I know that this is the most obvious advice out there. However, I cannot write this article without mentioning its importance. We often ask about the lab’s research and think that we can adjust into the lab’s environment. This is not like a job that can be quit if you are in a toxic environment. This is a place that will determine your graduation and will be your place of work for between 4-7 years. Think about what leadership style you need and is good for you, and make sure to ask the following questions to the lab members and/or the professor when picking a lab:

• Is the lab well-funded? Will you need to TA frequently to supplement your income?

• How often are meetings held? Do students get ample time for their projects?

• Is there support from others in the lab, like fellow students, post-docs, or scientists in your field?

• What's the average time to publication?

• How does the PI handle stress, conflicts, and issues?

• What support does the PI offer when a student is struggling?

• Is there provision for vacation time?

• Are weekend work expectations clear?

• Can you work remotely, if needed?

• What opportunities exist for career development, such as internships, courses, and leadership roles outside the lab?

For more detailed information on choosing a PhD lab and advisor, refer to this resource: Get-Advisor.pdf

2. Set yourself up for success in the future. 

This piece of advice is a lot tougher to follow than it sounds. During my PhD, I was usually overwhelmed and just trying to get as much progress as possible on my research projects. However, there is more to getting your PhD than generating results. Here are two ways that I wish someone had told me to set myself up for my future:

         Personal enrichment: Learn tools that you know are important for your career development, even if they are not directly applicable to your project. For example, in computational biology, learning to use tools like Docker and git are very important for your future success even if there is a learning curve at first and you feel like you don’t have time to put into it.

Documentation: Document your work well from the start. No matter what, you are usually just battling to understand your own work at the end of a project and when writing your dissertation. Even if you document well, it is hard to remember all the things you did, but it might make your life a whole lot easier.

3. The DARK CLOUD. 

There will be a time in middle of your PhD that some refer to as the “dark cloud”. This phase is usually after you have been through your first or second year but before your terminal year when you just feel like it will never end, and you don’t know what you’re doing.

      This time often feels very depressing, and you find it hard to motivate yourself to do research (for some, even to get out of bed to go to work). I seriously considered leaving my PhD for a long period of time while I was going through this. The most important thing during this time is just to take it step-by-step, show up, and do your best. It will pass, even though it doesn’t feel like it will. I think this is one of the biggest tests during the PhD. If you experience severe mental health issues, talk to trusted colleagues or experts on how to get professional help.

Other important lessons I learned during my PhD:

•       Your PhD is not training you to learn the topic you are studying; it is teaching you how to think and solve complex problems. If you don’t get this out of it in the end, it is moot.

•       The more you go through it, the less you realize you know. So if you feel like you don't know a lot, you are right where you're supposed to be!

•       Your perception of your PI will evolve from reverence, to frustration, and eventually to respect.

•       Just because you get paid more somewhere doesn’t mean you’ll have more money. Affordability of location is very very important. It determines your life-style and maybe even your mental health.

    Getting a PhD was one of the most rewarding experiences, partially because it was also one of the most difficult. Of course, I am only scraping the surface of my PhD experience and what I feel is helpful information. Nevertheless, I hope this article provides another resource of what to expect from a science PhD. Whether you're contemplating a PhD or currently navigating one, remember: you're not alone, you are just as capable as your peers, and it does get better.