1st Year PhD Handbook

Let me guess.

You’ve just started a PhD. You’re scared, but pretty hype about it.

However, you have NO idea where to begin.

• Should I be reading loads of research papers?
• Should I write my thesis now?
• What projects do I start with?

I feel you. I felt very anxious at the start of my PhD.

8 months later, I’m feeling more confident. I’ve made great progress, and I’m pretty much on track to setup a strong foundation for the rest of my PhD.

How did I get here?

It was a combination of things. I searched the internet to find useful advice for PhD students.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of it. Or at least, the YouTube videos I found were quite vague.

I wish I had something that could cover all the things a 1^st year PhD student should do, in one place.

That’s why I wrote this handbook.

The 1^st year PhD Handbook is a collection of strategies that I believe every 1^st year PhD student should implement.

It includes:

• Getting started with your literature review
• Setting up a strong foundation with your supervisor
• Identifying academic and industry opportunities

When writing this guide, I realised there really isn’t anything like this.

Many PhD guides focus on the overall PhD process, with the final thesis and viva being the core focus.

Funnily enough, there’s so much advice on getting a PhD i.e. sending applications etc, but barely anything on what to do when you get one!

Let’s fix that!

With this guide I aim to do the following:

• Demi-stify the PhD process
• Provide 10 clear strategies to implement in your 1^st year
• Share personal stories that explain strategies in detail

I’m hoping that this guide will give you a lot more clarity on the 1^st year of the PhD.

A bit more about me

I’m Demi. I’m a 2nd year PhD student currently researching how to make music venues safer for our hearing, using technology.

I have a master’s in computer science, and when I secured my PhD offer, I searched online for months to find out what to do in my 1^st year.

So many people treat the 1^st year of the PhD as like a “trial run”. They say it’s not that serious, and most people get their PhD done in the 2^nd and 3^rd year.

I want to challenge this.

I think there’s a huge benefit to starting the PhD with great clarity. That year may be the year you get the slowest results, but it can also be the year you setup a strong foundation for the following years.

With this guide, I aim to help you to do just that.

Next steps

If you are:

• A current 1^st year PhD student
• Unsure on how to progress in the PhD
• Want to learn more about PhD opportunities

This handbook is for you.

Get it here – for the price of 3 coffees.