PhD skills you need to have that no-one told you about

Are you in your first year of Ph.D. studies or are you considering enrolling in? Then this article is right for you. Get ready and inform yourself what you need to know in order to finish it successfully and with fewer headaches. Recent studies show that 50 percentages of grad students drop off of their programs. We will examine the skills you need beforehand so that you pursue your program with confidence and success.

Today half of the doctoral students are leaving their programs. Some of them even have perfect GPA scores. There are many reasons for that and usually, the student ends up with low self-confidence, or psychological problems such as anxiety, depression even suicidal thoughts. There can be many problems they are dealing with and sometimes they are overwhelmed with the problem they are trying to solve, with the coursework they need to do, or face a lack of support from faculty. They realize that it is a life-changing experience and they have a hard time dealing with it. We are going to review the usual problems and skills you need to have in order to adapt and transition.

Problem 1: Lack of leadership and guidance: I am stuck, and it is not clear what I need to do, and my advisor is busy so I cannot talk with him. You are your own project manager.

• Skill 1: Find a collaborator or a co-advisor in your department with whom you can work and has the time for you.
• Skill 2: Find experts that you can talk with about your work so they can give you advice and direction.
• Skill 3: Do not be scared that you do not know everything, it is a process of learning.
• Skill 4: Work on a small problem, define it well, solve it, and later on increase the complexity. Do not put pressure on yourself thinking that you need to solve a very hard problem that no one has solved before, remember it is a Ph.D. not a Nobel prize competition.
• Skill 5: Remember that the main goal of graduate school is to learn how to do research, how to think critically, how to evaluate solutions, and how to write papers.

We envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it.

Problem 2: Problems with your supervisor:

• Skill 1: Never be in conflict with your advisor.
• Skill 2: Talk with other students about how they efficiently communicate with your advisor.
• Skill 3: Schedule more frequent meetings, and always inform your advisor about your progress.
• Skill 4: Find mentors other than your advisor, and ask for advice for your research. You will also need connections for recommendations later on.
• Skill 5: Find a support group, such as friends, or colleagues.

Problem 3: Difficulty in multitasking - learn time management skills, such as:

• Skill 1: Check your emails in the afternoon for instance at 4 pm if you are more productive in the morning.
• Skill 2: Skip meetings that are not useful for you.
• Skill 3: Read one paper per day, and never skip the weekend without reading articles.
• Skill 4: Work on soft skills during the weekend. Note: Find the time management method that works best for you.

Problem 4: Problem with keeping track of tasks: Learn the importance of having a time/project management tool.

• Skill 1: Use a planner such as Pomodoro planner where every task is separated into 2 hours with 4 pause breaks of 5 min for every 25 min.
• Skill 2: Have a monthly, weekly, and daily plan of tasks you want to finish. Do not overwhelm yourself, be realistic. Separate the tasks as mandatory and optional, and when you finish the mandatory tasks and you have time then start to work on the optional tasks.
• Skill 3: Do research every day and write every single small step such as searching for a conference, or sending an email to Professor X.
• Skill 4: Separate your tasks as professional and personal.
• Skill 5: Always award yourself when you finish what you have planned even with a small gift such as ice-cream.

Problem 5: Organizing searched the literature.

• Skill 1: Use an article database software and a method to track every source you will find.
• Skill 2: Start early to build your state of the art, keep a journal, and practice critical thinking skills.
• Skill 3: Be focused on what you need ? there is always something interesting to read ? eliminate irrelevant papers.

Problem 6: I have no motivation.

• Skill 1: Do not expect others to motivate you, find a way that motivates you.
• Skill 2: Do not be hard on yourself, be grateful for the small progress you are making.

Problem 7: It is a lonely process.

• Skill 1: Get involved with the students in your laboratory.
• Skill 2: Find a hobby.
• Skill 3: Eat healthily.
• Skill 4: Maintain your friendship connections.
• Skill 5: Expand your network, get involved in the communities earlier ? and ask feedback from them.

Problem 8: Is this work relevant? We envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it. Your network and senior colleagues can help you in finding your way.

• Skill 1: Find conferences you like and apply for scholarships.
• Skill 2: Find mentoring workshops.
• Skill 3: Attend a Doctoral symposium.
• Skill 4: Get involved in local groups such as AnitaB, Women in Engineering, Systers, and so forth.

Problem 9: Do not know how to talk with other scientists and researchers.

• Skill 1: Have short presentations about your work in your team or colleagues, and ask for feedback.
• Skill 2: Listen to how other scientists talk about their work and learn from them.
• Skill 3: Ask more questions about their work, if you do not want to talk about yours. Do not be too critical about your work.
• Skill 4: Learn the skills of effective communication as early as possible.

Problem 10: Have a self-assessment tool and learn what works for you as early as possible.

• Skill 1: Based on your developed skills, and preferences find what you need to improve.
• Skill 2: Therefore, have in mind possible future workplaces. Try to connect with people that work there, maybe that can help you later on to find a job.

At the end of the session, the audience will have a more realistic and clear idea of how the Ph.D. studies can look like in practice. They will get familiar with the biggest common challenges some of the graduate students face during the studies. And some practical solutions and skills they need to develop in order to stay and finish their program successfully.

A few key takeaways and understanding, such as:

• Do not lose your self-confidence. Believe in yourself that you are smart enough and you can finish your dissertation.
• Plan your time wisely, and maintain a good relationship with your advisor and colleagues. Try to meet people you admire, and ask for advice.
• Do not pressure yourself that your dissertation and results need to be the best. There are many skills involved in the studies you can be better at.
• Love yourself, find a topic that you like to work on, and take good care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, meditate, maintain your friendship relationship.

This article was originally published by me on the LinkedIn website.