Category: Miscellany
Do you need an academic coach?
This week we feature a guest post by PhD student and Whisperer reader @cuteangel. Here she reflects on whether or not an academic coach is the answer to PhD woes. Being a PhD student and a mother made realise there can be certain similarities between being a child and a student. My kids are young …continue reading.
PhD paralysis
Where I talk about sex and writing – but not in a dirty way.
Academic digital identities
Want to start a blog which sells you academic expertise?
The stegosaurus strategy
The other day a student came to see me after his mid point presentation. He was upset because the panel chair had questioned the scope of the work and his ability get the rest of it done. The student felt the questioning was out of line. Who was this academic who hadn’t worked in a …continue reading.
Parenting through a PhD (or 5 ways not to go completely insane)
PhD students are an interesting cohort. At our university the average age of a PhD student is 36, which means you can safely bet that most students have some family responsibilities – either to a spouse, elderly parents, animals or children. Parenting is challenging for PhD students because, in addition to the caring work that …continue reading.
The loneliness of the long distance thesis writer
A friend of mine tells the story of her first day as a PhD student with equal parts amusement and horror. One day she had a busy life as an academic, working with a wide range of students and colleagues, the next she was a PhD student who just had to hand in a thesis …continue reading.
How to win (academic) friends and influence people
It is well known that professors can have favourite students, which usually irritates the heck out of the students who finally work out that they are not on the list. Being the favourite student can carry a lot of power – like access to the supervisor’s time and resources (in a perfect world, of course, …continue reading.
On life in the lab and failure
What I found out about science during a nice trip to the country
Social media and your PhD
A blog can be an archive of reflections about what it means to do a PhD. It can be a placeholder for the vignettes that build to become arguments in the thesis and, unlike a personal journal, the thoughts and arguments are open for scrutiny and feedback.
What are you learning while you do your PhD? (maybe not what you expected!)
You might be learning all kinds of unexpected things while doing your PhD – some of these ‘other’ things might help you get a job later on.