The First Few Months: My experience as a New PhD Starter
Congratulations, you have been offered a place on this PhD program. Please sign your life away below on the dotted line.
And so, following the final few assignments from my masters degree, I was set to be a PhD candidate – certainly never something I would have ever imagined being a reality when I first started university!
The Initial Excitement…and Apprehension
First day at the John Innes Centre and the University of East Anglia in the Norwich Research Park, this feels incredibly surreal. Being surrounded by such talented people helping to make a real difference in the world by adding to human knowledge…safe to say, I was impressed when I first arrived. Having said this though, emotionally it was a mixed bag. I was incredibly excited to get to start working in such a prestigious research institute however, it has to be said that I was also naturally very nervous about what the future may bring. The next four years were locked in and secured with something I am deeply interested in but what those years actually would consist of was (and still is) anyone’s guess. Just like most things in life, opportunities such as this one are entirely what you make of it!
Inductions, inductions and more Inductions
Like with any job, at the very start, there is going to be a whole host of training, inductions, HR-related business, people to meet and greet and not forgetting those all “important” health and safety sessions. While some may moan, it was a great way to learn the ropes surrounding how the institutes and the doctoral training partnership work and also a fantastic way to get to know the rest of the yearly cohort. The blow of such lengthy training was also softened by numerous refreshment breaks throughout and for that, I say thank you. Your herbal tea and chocolate shortcake biscuits helped tremendously in my time of need.
In to the Lab
And so, with all the initial training and orientation carried out, it was in to the lab! I am very fortunate in the fact that I have a supportive and friendly lab and this really made all the difference in the first few weeks. In fact, this could be one of the biggest tips for people interested in pursuing a PhD…properly check out and interrogate the lab if you get a chance prior to accepting. Not always feasible I know, but if the opportunity does arise to have a chat with some of the lab members it can really give you a solid insight in to what life may be like for the next few years. While lab members may come and go, the general style and vibe of a lab tends to stick around so even if the majority of lab members will be moving on by the time you get there, having a chat is still a worthwhile pursuit.
Designing primers, initial bacterial work, media and reagent prepping, early stages of mutagenesis work – this nicely summarises my first few weeks in the lab (along with plenty of additional training sessions along with more refreshments of course). You will be pushed the first few weeks as it is a new unfamiliar setting with new unfamiliar people but in my case, I felt my confidence growing as time went by fairly quickly.
Alongside this, I engaged in plenty of social and extra-curricular activities. From official institute organised events such as scientific seminars to nights out at the site bar (yes…we really do have a bar at the research institute!) to society events at the UEA, pretty much every evening had something going on. This really helped me make friends and feel at home here in Norwich very quickly and would be a strong recommendation for anyone just starting their PhD .
Learning the Ropes…and Making Mistakes!
Over the next few months, I continued with a strong emphasis on mutagenesis work creating the constructs I need in order to eventually collect the bulk of my thesis data. With the first year of virtually all PhDs, don’t expect to achieve much data-wise…in fact, most, if not all of the data you do collect may never even go in your thesis. It really is a learning year where you get the materials and skills needed to get the real data later down the line.
As the weeks went by, my confidence and experience with the topic and the techniques began to grow. I engaged more and more with scientific communication-based outreach events (which is another blog post in its own right) and pushed myself to go outside of my comfort zone to make me a more well-rounded scientists. This blog is a great example of this! A good scientist should be able to conduct convincing research but equally they also need to share the research and reach out to those who may not be familiar with the research area or science in general.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say I have made silly mistakes or that I would do it all exactly the same way if I had been given another chance, but if I did know all the answers first time….well then, I wouldn’t be a PhD student would I? A PhD is a research-degree where you learn the ropes of research. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes as they are often one of the best ways to learn.
I still think back to one of the very first days in the lab where I turned on the gel electrophoresis machine to run my samples. I come back 40 minutes later only to realise the tank cables aren’t even plugged in! There’s a mistake I won’t be making again in a hurry.
Here’s to the Future
So, here’s to the future. I am enjoying my PhD so far and feel like I am making good progress. I am learning a lot about the field and the techniques and have managed to maintain a sustainable and balanced approach to work so far. I feel like I really do work hard each day and that I am growing as both a person and as a scientist.
Although come ask me again in 4 years…I may be pulling my hair out by that time!
DANNY WARD.
This article was originally wrote by Danny in his first few months of his PhD. He is now in his 3rd year and still has plenty of hair which has survived the whole ordeal!
To find out more about Danny, his research and how he is getting on with PhD life, visit his website or follow him on social media:
Website: https://dannyjamesward.wixsite.com/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DannyJamesWard
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyjamesward/
[This PhD is being funded by “the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership”]