The big question. The question my mum, dad, friends, randoms on the street have started asking me… “So what are you going to do when you finish your PhD?” .…
Written by Heather Doran
I am a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen. My PhD is Molecular Biology and Pharmacology based. I studied Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with a year in Industry at Durham University. I then went on to work in research and development in the consumer goods industry for 12 months. I decided for my long term career and for my own personal interests I wanted to pursue a PhD – so I went for it and I am enjoying (nearly) every minute! I am really passionate about science communication and I get involved in lots of different activities that are available through the University and through being a PhD student. I hope my blog will be useful for people who are thinking of doing a PhD in any subject and also for those that are studying for their PhDs at the moment.
Keeping up to date
When in the middle of the ‘research’ part of your PhD it difficult to keep up to date with what is going on outside your own research bubble. I know I struggle.…
Pregnancy during your PhD
What happens if you or your partner becomes pregnant during your PhD? The first thing to do would be to speak to the HR department at the university, research your…
What does it mean to be a PhD student?
I posted some time ago about my typical day as a PhD student but what does it really mean to be a PhD student? The project starts with a plan, …
Funding Travel During Your PhD
A couple of weeks ago I posted about travel during your PhD. So, you have found the perfect travel opportunity that will get you some amazing results/information for your thesis, but…
Dealing with Monotony in your PhD
Repetition after repetition after repetition. Although studying for a PhD involves investigating a subject you love, it can become incredibly monotonous. Repeating experiments, trawling through endless data sets… My PhD…
Why Study for a PhD?
Wanting to be titled ‘Dr’ is not a good enough reason for becoming a PhD student. Nor is it a good reason to do a PhD because you hate your current job or cannot get…
Travel During Your PhD
I love traveling and going to new places. On the very first day of my PhD I met a guy that was going to be researching whale mating around the world and…
Diving In
I tend to throw myself into things at 10000 miles an hour. Sometimes this can be good (I also have a small problem saying ‘no’ to things) and it has…
How to Communicate Your PhD Research
One of the gripes many people have with their PhD is that they think no one else is interested in it (and therefore the PhD is a pointless waste of…