Q&A | PhD applications, time management, finance, reading papers

To celebrate two years of vlogging I’ve given my first Q&A answering questions from recent videos on my channel! Questions about:
. The PhD application process and interviews
. Preparing for PhDs before starting
. Getting past difficult training courses
. Managing time for study and self-care
. Money matters
. What to buy (and not) before a PhD
. Tips on taking effective notes
. Tips on writing a literature review
. Tips on reading papers faster
. Writing a thesis plan
. Struggling to write and staying motivated
. What are you going to do after your PhD?
For further discussions on these topics I’ve gone into a few of them more in other videos:
. Effective note-taking: • 5 Essential Apps for E...
. Staying motivated: • When Motivation Runs O...
. Managing finances: • Saving for a House on ...
. Starting thesis-writing: • Taking the plunge into...
. Applying to PhDs: • What I did in the year... and also • Choosing a University ...
. Getting past the hardest parts of my PhD so far: • The Hardest Parts of M...
. Back up your data cautionary tale!!!: • True PhD Horror: Hard ...
The coding book I mentioned is called Getting Started With MatLab by Rutra Pratep, and I heartily recommend it.
The favourite character of all time I mentioned is Michael Scofield from Prison Break (2005), created by Paul Scheuring.
This is a good time to say please comment here if there’s a question you’d like answered or something you’d like to see talked about in a video. I try to get a video out every (other) Wednesday, but at this stage of my PhD this is likely to get more sporadic..!
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Get in touch:
Twitter: @LeKissick
Website: lucykissick.co.uk
Email: lucykissick.co.uk/contact
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Credits music by the ever-talented post-rockers Silent Island!
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My name is Lucy Kissick, I’m a fourth and final year PhD student in Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, and does anyone ever read this far down? If so, go watch Prison Break. A rewatch is one of the first things on my post-PhD list.