Episode 116 - Listen To This If…You’re trying to choose a PhD topic

Transcript

Jen (00:00:12)

Hello again everybody. Welcome to another episode of Listen to This If…. from the Let's Talk SciComm team. And in these episodes, Michael and I tackle just one issue, one challenge, something that's going on for you at the moment in your work or your study or your research.

So I'm Jen. And Michael, the topic we're going to talk about today is what's your advice for someone who is trying to choose a PhD topic?

Michael (00:00:40)

Hmm, yeah. Well, congratulations that you've decided you want to do a PhD.

Jen (00:00:43)

Yes, exactly.

Michael (00:00:47)

Join us...

Jen (00:00:47)

And are you really certain? No, just kidding.

Michael (00:00:50)

Yeah, look, I think you... Well, you kind of do need to be really certain, right?

Jen (00:00:54)

You do.

Michael (00:00:50)

Look, I think my tip is a lot of people focus on the topic, but I actually think the supervisor's more important than the topic. Of course, it's really important to pick something that you do have a genuine curiosity about because that curiosity is going to be what motivates you through the challenging parts of it.

But I really think what really helps even more so than that is being surrounded by people who you can work with. I mean, you're doing a PhD for I don't know, four years? About four years? You know, if you're very efficient, maybe less.

And the relationships that you have with your supervisors and the other people in your lab, I think are the most important thing for how you are [going to] get through that.

So if that is the most important thing, you really need to get out there and talk to people. When you're talking to supervisors, you're also assessing them as much as they might be assessing you.

I mean, you want to ask some questions like, "How many other PhD students are you supervising at the moment?" If they're supervising 20 other PhD students, how much time do you think they're going to have to give you in, you know, when they're supervising you?

Talk to other people in the lab if you can as well. What's the culture like? Those are the really important questions that you need to try and answer. Yeah.

Jen (00:02:24)

Yeah, I completely agree with all of that. And I think you're right, that picking a topic that you are fascinated enough by, that you're going to be still wanting to read about it and write about it and talk about it in three or four years' time, I think that's really important. But absolutely, it's all about the people.

But my suspicion was Michael, would be that you were going to say those things. And given that we never cross-check beforehand, I thought, Ooh, I need to come up with something else. So I was thinking about kind of thinking about where you want your PhD to get you to.

So obviously, for some people, there's a really clear vision that they would like to stay in research, and that absolutely could be possible. But I don't think it's goning to be news to anybody that there are many, many more people coming out with PhDs these days than there are jobs in research, and you may end up doing something completely different.

So my suggestion would be, in addition to thinking about topic and supervisor and research team or lab and all of that, is to think about what new skills you'd really like to learn? What skills do you think would set you up well to be doing the sort of work you want to do in the future? And also to think about how you want to build your network.

So we know that jobs very often come from our networks and come via word of mouth rather than advertised jobs. So if you can think a bit about the sort of work that you might want to do in future, whether that's consulting or working in government or working in research or teaching. Or you know, there's any number of jobs, industry roles. There's any number of jobs out there that you might be looking at next.

Who are the people that you need to start connecting with and developing relationships with now, so that in three to four years' time, they kinda know you. They have a sense of your work ethic. They have a sense of your skills. They feel as though you're kind of part of their, part of their professional network.

So that's what I would be thinking about. What can you do now to set yourself up for the sort of future that you're thinking about? And you may say, Look, I have no idea what that future is, and that's fine. But being clear particularly on networks and skills I think is really useful.

Michael (00:04:38)

Yeah, I think that's really helpful. Thinking back to my first year as a PhD student, or maybe in my entirety of my PhD, I couldn't imagine life after a PhD.

But you know, it happens. So I think it's really good to be thinking long-term early on. Great advice.

Jen (00:04:54)

Yeah, absolutely. And it doesn't really matter if you don't have a strong sense of where you might like to end up. It's always useful to build networks.

It's always useful to go to events, to go to talks, to chat with people in your field, to just find out what other people do. To spend some time on LinkedIn and find out what sort of jobs other people do. See if you can organise to have a quick online call with someone or buy them a coffee.

Like, it's just, it never hurts to get to know more people, even if you're not certain which people might be the most, you know, strategic for you. Just yeah, just spend some time building those networks, I think it's really useful, so...

Michael (00:05:32)

Yeah.

Jen (00:05:32)

So good luck.

And yes, if you've committed that a PhD is your next big step, we wish you the best. And how exciting!

Michael (00:05:40)

Yes. Good luck!

Michael (00:05:40)

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