Beyond PhD

Beyond PhD

By Marija TrajkovicEducationSelf-Improvement
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Beyond PhD episodes

  • #40 When is a paper final?

    Writing a paper is like creating art. The artist chooses when to stop with the work of art.


    But the artist can also get trapped inside their mind.


    “Do I have the right results? Maybe I should try to get better ones. I have not done enough.”


    These questions run in our minds as we stare at the screen, wanting to do something meaningful. And we find an activity to do for half an hour, to feel better.


    Now we have a solution: we need to do one more measurement, one more simulation, one more iteration.


    We might wander, go left and right, and get more data – which is not always better. The constant search for more can be paralyzing but seems like a good idea.


    One way is to share it with someone outside of ourselves: ideally our supervisor. This person has a different view of things and can help in making the next step.


    Next step can be making a paper skeleton, instead of making a perfect paper skeleton. It can be inserting the images and writing the caption of the image, instead of making a perfect image and caption. It also can be discussing with your supervisor along the way, instead of waiting to have the perfect paper and only then presenting it.


    The paper will be final after a series of small steps and iterations. Even though we might want to make one big giant leap of a step and finish the paper in one afternoon.


    What is the next small step for you? 👣


    #phd #phdjourney #phdlife #beyondphd
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    https://linktr.ee/marija.trajkovic


    22 min
  • #39 The one person who will read your thesis

    Who are the people who will get a glance at your thesis?


    Some of the professors from the committee, because they have to.


    Some of your colleagues and friends, because they want to see if they ended up in the acknowledgments.


    Your family, who will use it as a trophy to show around.


    The one person who will read many chapters of your thesis is described in this episode.



    #phd #phdjourney #phdlife #beyondphd


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    https://linktr.ee/marija.trajkovic

    11 min
  • #38 Dialogue about your PhD vision

    "I want to create a start-up after my PhD, but I am unsure if and when to communicate this to my PhD supervisor."


    Because ... (finish with your own words)


    - I might change my mind.


    - I might not fulfill what we agreed upon.


    - I might disappoint my supervisor // my expectations of myself.


    It is perfectly fine to change your mind. It is perfectly fine not to fulfill exactly what you agree upon. As long as you are keeping the dialogue open about your experience - both the fun part and the annoying part, the journey will bring you learning that was otherwise not possible.


    Not sharing, and not daring to take a certain path keeps us where we are, and already sets us up for 'failure'. Failure to follow what we want, daring to change our minds, daring to disappoint our professor, and possibly get a very unexpected PhD outcome.


    The outcome is already set to be unpredictable, whether you try to control every step of it or not. There will be unexpected situations. And you have the capacity to deal with it. :)


    What other situations are challenging during your PhD? Write a message or book a discovery call if you want to explore working together: https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk

    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat

    16 min
  • #37 Research(er) roles /w Vlasta Sikimic

    Vlasta Sikimic is Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Science at the Eindhoven University of Technology. This interview could have lasted for hours, so we focused on topics related to the PhD and the roles of researchers nowadays.


    Here are just some of the topics we touch upon in this interview:

    - position of the PhD candidate and the supervisor

    - individual responsibility and the responsibility of the academic system

    - challenges that the future will bring to the scientific community


    If you want to know more about Vlasta, you can see more at: https://vlastasikimic.com/



    #phd #phdjourney #phdlife #academia #research #researchers #philosophyofscience

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    https://linktr.ee/marija.trajkovic

    58 min
  • #36 Supervisor asks for weekend work

    Imagine a situation where your professor asks you to do something that requires you to work over the weekend. And this weekend you have planned to go on a trip. What do you do? How do you respond?


    Are you bringing up your plans on the table, or rethinking in your head how to find a solution to do both things at the same time?


    Thinking that the professor will not appreciate if you say no, that it will be inappropriate, that you will not be held in high regard anymore.


    It might be true, but it might not be. We do not know unless we test it. The same goes for your PhD results – unless you test your hypothesis you do not know whether it is true or not.


    And very likely it will not be a problem. Saying no to the initial proposal is not saying no to the whole thing. You are willing to find a solution but under different conditions. Now you are two people working on a common solution, which sparks ideas that were not possible when one person was thinking about it.



    What did this remind you of? What other situations are challenging during your PhD?



    Write an email to [email protected] or book a discovery call if you want to explore working together:

    https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk



    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat

    11 min
  • #35 The most is up to you, but not all

    Let’s take the example of publishing a paper. The work that needs to be done is: finding a research direction, literature review, finding a missing part, aligning with the supervisor to aim for a publication, doing experiments for the paper, analyzing experiments, putting them in a publishable format, and submitting them to a research journal. Quite some steps to be taken.


    After submission, it is not up to us anymore. Now it is up to the editors to find the reviewers, up to the reviewers to accept it, take their time, and provide quality feedback. It will take weeks before we have any answer. We could keep imagining different outcomes in our head, worry if we did everything that was up to us, or we can move on to
    other aspects of our PhD and of our lives that are there for us. Research continues.


    The outcomes can be threefold: acceptance with no revision, conditional acceptance, or rejection. The first scenario requires no further work on the paper, you go on with research and celebrate. Conditional acceptance offers ways to improve the paper, reflect on some more
    aspects, and learn. Rejection provides the most possibilities for growth, even though it might be seen as a ‘bad outcome’. It offers ways to enrich and see the paper from a different perspective.


    Next time you get your paper rejected, remember all the work you have put in beforehand to get to the point of rejection. Similar to dating and relationships, where we put the work of becoming the person who will get to a relationship, now during PhD we are putting the work of
    becoming the researcher who will get to a publication. Both scenarios will lead to rejections, but both offer lessons for future attempts. Until we get a ‘yes’, at which point it will already feel normal, as you have been preparing for it. 😊

    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd

    19 min
  • #34 Supervisor is there to challenge you

    By choosing the PhD journey, you have chosen to challenge yourself. You went out of the ordinary, out of your comfort zone, looking for ways to learn, acquire new skills, and grow.


    The environment itself can be a challenge. People at work can deliver challenges. But ultimately, there is one person whose job is to challenge you – your PhD supervisor. Your supervisor will ask you uncomfortable questions and will ask you to do things you have not done before, all to provide opportunities for you to learn from.


    We can see our supervisor as a persecutor or as a challenger. In the first case, we become a victim, running away from the persecutor, while in the second case, we become the creator who embraces the situation and
    looks for ways to learn from it. (inspired by the Karpman drama triangle, and the inverse – empowerment triangle)


    This learning can be anything from asking what you need from your supervisor to leaving the place having learned that you do not want to be a part of a toxic environment.


    This may look scary, and it is if it challenges you. Challenges come with a sense of discomfort and unease, which stays with us until we go to the other side and turn the challenge into a norm. This challenge now becomes something you are familiar with and becomes “normality”.


    This scenario has happened already so many times in your life. But most often it happens in tiny portions, so over time it seems that it was always like that. And one day the challenges that you are facing now will become a part of you that you can easily handle. Some of them will become your superpowers. 😊


    If this post or podcast episode inspired you to reach out, here is the link to the discovery call: https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk

    See you there! 😊



    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat

    17 min
  • #33 PhD is just a job

    If PhD would be just one of the jobs you will have in your life – how would that make you feel? How would you approach it?


    Would you be disappointed because for you working in academia is the highest expression you can achieve in your lifetime? Would this attitude take away the power and nobility that academic position has in your perception?


    Or would you be relieved because you can focus on other things in your life as well?


    The noble part about doing a PhD does not come from the fact that we are enrolled in one. It comes from who we are and how we behave in this position. It is not something that is earned by the title. It is earned by showing this behavior.


    What comes up for you when you read this? What would you like your PhD to be for you? I am curious to hear your answers if you are willing to share. Here is the link to the discovery call, and I will see you there 😊


    https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk



    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat 

    23 min
  • #32 Why have a life next to your PhD?

    I am just going to focus on the PhD for a few years, and then finally live my life. Then I will deserve to have some rest. Then I can focus on other activities as well.


    Life does not care if we are doing a PhD or not. Because after the PhD might come a job, a family, and more on our plate than we imagined.


    Having a PhD is not a ticket to freedom. Your thoughts and habits are a ticket to freedom. Which is great because you can have it already during the PhD.


    Instead of exterminating all other activities during the PhD (hobbies, time with friends, family time, rest), and cultivating that agenda for a few years during the PhD – you can enjoy them while you are in your PhD and get even more out of this time.


    Because you are here to do more than your PhD. “PhD” next to your name is a generic three-letter word that symbolizes your familiarity with the scientific method. But your name and surname next to that three-letter word will define who you are at work and who you are in your relationships. This is why you will get a job, this is why
    you will find friends, and this is why you will find love.


    If you do not want to wait until the end of your PhD to start living your life, individual coaching can help you with that. I will see you for a free discovery call: https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk




    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat

    20 min
  • #31 No PhD is the same

    Most of us publish papers, present our work at conferences, and defend our theses. But how we get to this point, and do each of these things is unique to every one of us.

    For someone making a presentation is fun and easy, and presenting the same work to a large audience is terrifying. While for someone else it is the other way around. Seemingly the results are the same, but the process of getting to this result is very different.
    Your weak points will become your superpowers during the PhD, because you will put more effort into mastering what you are “bad” at. Getting something right the first time often does not allow for understanding all the details about possible failures. The same goes for your PhD results, your relationship with your supervisor, and understanding yourself.
    During coaching, we celebrate failures, learn from them, and integrate them into a new way of being and doing. If you want to change the narrative around failure and find your way of doing a PhD, I invite you to book a free discovery call: https://calendly.com/phdtalk-marija/phd-talk

    #phd #phdlife #phdjourney #beyondphd #PhD #phdchat

    16 min

About Beyond PhD

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If you dream about getting your PhD and living your life at the same time, you are at the right place.