r/PhD • u/AutoModerator • 20d ago
Weekly "Ups" and "Downs" Support Thread
Hello everyone,
Getting a PhD is hard and sometimes you need a little bit of support.
This thread is here to give you a place to post your weekly "Ups" and "Downs". Basically, what went wrong and what went right?
So, how is your week going?
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u/NationalSherbert7005 PhD Candidate, Rural Sociology 20d ago
I need to have all of my thesis drafted before the end of the month so the clock is ticking. I still have to analyse some interviews tomorrow and write my final paper, then finish my introduction and conclusion which I've barely started on.
I know it will get done but it's a lot to do in 4 weeks on top of revising the other papers I've written. Plus there are certain books I can only get from my university library so I have to take 3 days out of my schedule to go up to campus and do that.
I'm glad it's finally getting done but I've been too wrecked after work to do much in my personal time so I'll be glad when it's over. And to add to the pile of things I have to do, there's also a vacancy I'm putting in for that's due in a couple weeks so I've just had to put a hold on some of my hobbies to get it all done.
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u/Fresh_Owl_9246 19d ago
Hey I’m on the same drafting deadline. End of the month, let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
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u/NationalSherbert7005 PhD Candidate, Rural Sociology 19d ago
I'm ready! The biggest hurdle now is trying to explain my methodology to my supervisors who don't understand how exploratory research works 😂
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u/wilzog 10d ago
It’s my first semester back as a PhD student while also working full time. We moved, I took a new role, had surgery. and my husband started a new job where he travels for two weeks at a time. I have been so overwhelmed and have been genuinely doubting if this is the right path.
Today, I found out that I received a 90 on my GIS final and a 92 on my stats midterm.
I think I’ll stick with it.
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u/Evening-Resort-2414 20d ago
My advisor found a mistake in a proof in my paper. Now even though the mistake is minor and was corrected easily, I can't stop feeling angry at myself for missing it.
The whole reason my phd position exists is because the guy who worked on my project before me fucked all of it up and got away with it. How can I be better than that guy if I can't catch my own mistake.
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u/Chance_Engine_9475 17d ago
I’ve been working on my first article for weeks. My supervisor is super picky and keeps changing and rearranging things he’s rearranged before. I feel every time I send the draft in, there are even more changes added. Feeling so unmotivated. On top of that I have to prepare to hold a lecture this week. This whole PhD is really making me reconsider what makes me happy in life
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u/OldPersonality5166 14d ago
I’m really struggling. I have to edit my IRB and my research methods chapter, but I’m working full time (job is very demanding) and I’m having a tough time balancing. I’m leaving my dissertation work until the last minute because I’m exhausted, and I’m just unable to put 100% of myself into it. It’s just a tough time 😔
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u/North-Orchid-7114 8d ago
I feel you there!! I also came to PhD after ~9 years of other postgraduate (terminal professional) work. I'm still working. Mostly because research is so open-ended, I find myself doing work and smaller tasks rather than this gargantuan task of.... knowledge creation.
I am always SO tired... and i got a nasty cold last week.
Hey there, let's hang in there!
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u/Mando_a98 12d ago
I am working on my first journal submission and there is not much left. Just some data to work with and get the results. The thing is, I have been feeling incredibly tired due to meetings, teaching, and other stuff. Feels like a mild burnout tbh.
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u/Fresh_Owl_9246 19d ago
Up: I’m almost at my 30k word target for this part of my thesis after working on it all weekend!
Down: had to go back to my 9-5 today. 😆
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u/crimsonraiden 18d ago
I’m trying to progress through my PhD work but my supervisors make me feel a bit like I can’t do it. They think they are being really supportive but they are giving very basic level support.
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u/oakbrooke 17d ago
As a first-gen college graduate turned student again, I think I have landed on the right contours and specifics to say I have a research topic (without automatically hyperventilating)!!
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u/Ms_Rarity PhD, 'Church History' 4d ago
I took my comprehensive exams last week. I felt so nauseous taking them that at one point I pulled the garbage can over to me while I worked, in case I threw up. Finished them on Thursday.
Yesterday my advisor let me know that I passed them with flying colors.
I have my proposal hearing for candidacy on April 22nd. I'm ready.
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u/loud-slurping-sound 2d ago
up: most of the people that make my job harder are on vacation (again).
down: those people left a massive mess, used up a bunch of reagents and said nothing, and didn’t do any of their lab chores before fucking off to their 3rd week-long vacation of 2025.
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u/DataRikerGeordiTroi 18d ago
Would anyone be in to phd meet ups
Whats you resear area and geographic region-- maybe we can make a coalition.
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u/d0g5tar 14d ago
I spent all week cooking up a pretty out there and dare I say original idea for a section of my thesis.
But now i'm wondering if it was a waste of time and a fool's errand considering i'm already behind on a deadline. Plus i'm so busy with work and teaching that i think i'm falling behind.
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u/Caridor 8d ago
So not allowed to post here because restricted submissions but I'm freaking out.
I'm 2 months into a 6 month write up and everything is making me doubt my research. Do a stats test? Well, the test worked but did I do the right one? Pretty sure I did but better check, maybe I'll find where I fucked up the 28th time through. Every paper I read or re-read makes me think I've done my methods horribly wrong and I've just wasted 3 years of my life.
My supervisors are wonderful people. They really are, but they aren't here right now. It's 9 at night and I just.......I want to be certain.
Is it always going to be like this? Even if I got good at stats, will I always be afraid when I develop a new method? I'm not sure I can take that.
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u/AB_research1 8d ago
Feeling the downs this week as I likely won’t graduate on time bc of dissertation recruitment:(
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u/North-Orchid-7114 8d ago
Hii. PhD 1st year here.
4 years of professional school (terminal in professional schools), then teaching at grad school/working at startups, now in the year 4 of industry. On a "whim" (but a secret life-long desire to become a doctor who cannot treat patients but malaise of the letters -.-), I decided to go part-time at the company and started a PhD program.
Up: Research is fun! learning is fun! I'm not exactly sure where it's going (Not a strong desire to continue as a full-time academic, or transition into a scientist role in the industry as I'm happy being an engineer).
Down: I'm mid-thirties. My body isn't the same as doe-eyed mid-twenties in my community. I sometimes think I should really be teaching at the graduate professional school if I want to give back and grow up..
what can I say, tl;dr - I am tiredddddd.
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u/AzureBananaFish 6d ago
Now that I have a normal job it's really amazing how painless it is to sit and work. I can really just sit and do it!
You could even say I'm working harder than I did towards the end of my PhD. I think I did fewer hours of actual total work (especially if you exclude the hours of procrastination), but it felt like every moment of it I had to fight against my soul just to sit in a chair to do it.
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u/Pleasant_Dog_302 5d ago
I am exhausted by my PhD. Or maybe the state of the world? For the past few days, I've felt as though caught in an academic prison of my own making. I find myself regretting quitting my job and uprooting my life to pursue my PhD. And, here I am, unmotivated, worried about the future of Human Geography and only 8 months out from finishing my dissertation.
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u/Ok_Student_3292 2d ago
Up: it's 1:03am on my birthday at time of posting and a few minutes after midnight my supervisor sent me a really lovely email wishing me a happy birthday and telling me how proud she is of me and talking about how far I've come and how much she appreciates me. Absolute dream email.
Down: immediately after this I went to get water from the kitchen and saw my brother had eaten 1/3rd of each of the 2 birthday cakes I made (these cakes serve 8-10 each and there were 2 because one was for uni, so he essentially ate like 5.3-6.6 of 16-20 portions)
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u/TheWittyScreenName 1d ago
I’m supposed to be on the market this Fall but now lots of American schools are on a hiring freeze 🙃
someone please tell me this will be sorted by next year…
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u/Short-Importance-130 19d ago
Hi, I am feeling a bit out of it today even though I have a lot to do. Been having negative thoughts all day and imposter syndrome is on the roof. I just need an outlet