Struggling PhD Student

Chem PhD student in the UK. Constantly struggling. Love science. Confused about the academia. Navigating the academia, I'm using Twitter to share my struggles.

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@lkcalloway More than 50%. I wish it were lower and there were someone teaching me, but the reality is cruel - they either have no time to teach you or they don't want to teach you (apparently the competition is too high)

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@leecronin @UofGlasgow @CroninLab 'turning it’s back on EU students'?? How??

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

From the beginning of the pandemic to today, my opinion hasn't ever changed: UK govt has done a bad job dealing with this crisis. In some respects, it's been the worst amongst all developed countries.

[Prof Kamlesh Khunti @kamleshkhunti]

Don't leave home without a face covering - From President of the Royal Society

⁦@trishgreenhalgh⁩ ⁦@IndependentSage⁩ https://t.co/6AH78QrO6Z

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

Twitter and Facebook always align themselves with the White House's narrative: anti-China, anti-Russia, anti any country that doesn't agree with them...

[Alice @AliceClimbers]

Twitter is literally promoting that 1 case of bubonic plague has been confirmed in China like this doesn't happen multiple times a year in Colorado. Holy shit is this racist propganda.

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

Impact-factor-obsessed people, can you do me a favour and shut up? #phdlife

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

A friend from another research area asked me which journal I wanted to submit my manuscript to. I said JCP. He didn't know this journal, and he googled JCP's impact factor, and unsurprisingly, he was shocked and asked me why I wanted my paper to be on such a low impact journal😒

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@ZJAyres I've seen some people use their twitter accounts only for academic purposes. Their tweets only talk about their academic achievements and their twitter bios also reflect only their academic status. Maybe that's the only reason why they use twitter.

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

When you work on your manuscript for too long... #phdlife

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@OpenAcademics In most cases:
Meh, the project isn't what I want
Meh, the experiment doesn't work
Meh, too hard to interpret or visualise my data
Meh, the manuscript has been revised 20 times but still not done
Meh, hard to decide author list before submission
Meh, reviewers have said too much

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@salty_prof @ass_deans Tell them you are no longer in primary school!

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@leecronin To be honest, I find Samaritans pretty useless. They just listen; they don't give you any opinion or advice. That still makes you feel unsupported and isolated.

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@ZJAyres I've heard someone fussy say 'this journal is 0.2 higher than that one'. But even in this case, only one significant figure is being used. Who the f**k will see the other two???

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@leecronin Not only synthetic chemists, but all chemists...

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@ZJAyres "If you don't like it drop out"
She sounds like a toxic PI🤔

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@AnnaMeierPS I can relate to many of the comments under this thread. PhD programmes are supposed to teach new PhD students those rules, but they failed to do so. And some PIs even don't respond when their students ask questions.

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@AcidBurn_TD @morozcoa @AnnaMeierPS That sounds pretty much like my supervisor. Whenever I feel lost and ask him, he just laughs instead of tells me what I should do🤷

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

I'm very much looking forward to the end of the heatwave, not because I don't want any more sunshine, but because I don't want to see so many people gathering in parks and on beaches without a shred of social distancing. #Covid19UK #COVIDIOTS

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@astro_bhav @evodevoDina Even if they have female and POC editors, they're still dominated by old white males 🤷

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

@kirstygrainger @ZJAyres “Scientists think they’re too smart to be racist and so put up a shield whenever people talk about it,”

That's true🙁

[Struggling PhD Student @StrugglingPhd]

26 and 9 buildings. I hate moving, but there's always something coming up during my tenancy so I have to move.
😑Life is hard!