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So I hosted a Q&A panel today w/ fellow @Swansea_AppLing PhD students about what it's like to do a PhD - it went so well, thanks to @TesniGalvin @LinguaCelta & others. The talk may be publicly available to watch soon but for now I wanted to post some key thoughts... #phdchat
1 - A PhD is unexpected, unpredictable, and brings a lot of surprises. Often to do with accountability and independence. If you come from a taught MA especially, you can experience a lot of culture shock!
2 - Work/life balance is IMPERATIVE. One of the best things about doing a PhD is the flexibility it brings, but you have to draw strict boundaries between work and life. It's important to carve out time for hobbies, friends, etc.
3 - I see a big trend, notably in the US, where they expect their graduate students to devote what seems to be their entire life to their PhD. 12 hour days, 7 days a week can be the norm. THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. It is not healthy. #AcademicChatter #phdchat
It leads to burnout, depression, and worse. A big thing that popped up in the panel today is how important it is to step back from your studies. I'm grateful for my university for encouraging us to take our annual leave (4 weeks) and work 40 hours a week MAX.
5 - A PhD can be all-consuming and sometimes that's good. We have passion. But it cannot consume your very essence. It's so important to step back and enjoy time away from the screen, and supervisors/universities should encourage this. It leads to more ideas & often, better work!
6 - Another point is to not value yourself based on the amount of hours you work. More hours =/= better work. See @ithinkwellHugh golden hours - sometimes better to get better quality work out of fewer hours. We will not all conform to the typical 9-5.
7 - Finances are important. Secure funding, do your PhD part-time, or wait until a time when it's more practical for you to do a PhD without stretching yourself thin struggling to make ends meet. I appreciate the privilege that exists in being able to secure funding, however.
8 - Importance of a supportive environment. I thank my supervisory team and department as a whole for encouraging me to be my very best and achieve highly... so important to choose the right place and people 
9 - My final thought is just the variation present in how we all approach our PhD. Whether we set strict hours, work freely into the night, etc. Every day is different, there's no typical routine. Often work comes in waves. This works for some, not for others...
10 - Interested to see others thoughts on this. How do you approach your PhD? What are the best & worst things about it? What was the biggest surprise? #phdchat #AcademicChatter
