Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.

Research

PhD blues…

PhD supervision meeting today. Time to “vent” about how I’m feeling about my thesis progress to my supervisors. No writing due today just time to talk. They listen, they encourage, they offer wisdom – nice to have that sort of relationship with them. Going to take a few weeks away from the main work and clear my desk of other outstanding work – lecture prep, a magazine article and some IT work. But spend some time thinking about the thesis through skimming a couple of books (including From cells to souls – and beyond)

In their helpful book How To Get A PhD Estelle Phillips and Derek Pugh identity a series of psychological stages the PhD student goes through:

  • Enthusiasm
  • Isolation
  • Increasing interest in work
  • Transference of dependence from supervisor to the work
  • Boredom
  • Frustration
  • A job to be finished

Definitely in the boredom and frustration stages at the moment but hoping to move on to the final run to finish up by the end of next year.

1 Comment

  1. Hang in their mate…