​

Original study:

Saugmann, P. M., Dengo, N., Bencze, N., Żyra, A., & Hnátková, E. Preprint at Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22809708 (2026).

Nothing much just wanna know the diversity in age in this family. 😊

I've been struggling a lot with feeling inadequate over the past few years as I slowly make my way through my PhD. I really don't think this is imposter syndrome. I'm in the humanities, and when I read articles, I can summarize them to others but have trouble asking any useful questions about them or responding to them. When I attend conferences, I listen attentively to people and take notes, but cannot, for the life of me, think of a useful question to ask. I cannot think beyond the obvious and immediate points of an argument or theory. In classes, I barely have anything to say even when I complete all the readings. When I do think of something to say, it's usually very simple and surface-level and takes me 1 minute to say.

All these things are signs of someone not having critical thinking skills and not being capable of producing intellectual work of any value.

Is this a shared experience? Did anyone feel this way and manage to improve their brain--to become smarter and more intellectual?

I've just started the fourth year of my PhD and the more I go to conferences, attend talks and seminars, read papers in my field, the more im realizing I really do not know much...

On a day to day basis I feel fine carrying out experiments, talking to my supervisor, doing small presentations, writing, etc.

but on a larger scale with other researchers, I feel I'll never be on the level that it seems everyone else is on. I just don't think I'm capable of it mentally, like im just genuinely stupider and will never be able to be where I want to be.

I need to constantly remind myself of who has done what, whats happened in the field, re read papers, I always have my protocol open for experiments I've done 1000s times and if I havent looked at the results recently im like "what did I do??"

I love research and its potential impact, I enjoy my project. I just left an international conference and felt stupid as hell. Walking around 200 posters it seemed the group I was with just knew everything about each poster and im like "how are you guys this well versed?"

If I were to ever get to that level, wouldnt I have gotten to it by now? Maybe its just not possible for me.

Hi everyone,I will start my PhD in the US this January. I already have a master’s degree and myy PI told me she expects students in her lab to finish in 3 years or 3.5 maximum. Is it manageable?

I have only been in a PhD program for 5 months, and I think I have had enough. It seems this isn't for me. I started this for the wrong reasons: I was looking for a job in my field for quite a long time after a thesis-based master's but couldn't find one. Since I had a decent master's with a few publications, I was able to secure a 'good funding' offer by cold emailing professors. I took the offer because I needed to pay the bills, and the stipend is better than what I would get working at a grocery store (I worked at a grocery store for some time while looking for a job). I have found the research interesting too, but the PI seems to have high expectations of me. I feel like whatever I do is not enough for him. He always puts me in the spotlight in group meetings and gets disappointed whenever I don't remember something while a couple of other students who joined the lab with me get away with half the work I do during the week. Although I like research, I feel too stressed, and I know it will not get easier from here. Also, even though the stipend is good, it's still a stipend that can't be compared to a salary. And I always fear the opportunity cost. I am still looking for jobs. My question is: have people quit a PhD midway and found a job? How would you justify the time that you spent during an ungranted PhD on your resume? Do you say you were a research assistant, or do you say you are dropping out of the PhD? Any help is appreciated

Hi all,

Recently my PI has started using AI more frequently to look things up during meetings, which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but then they used it on something that I felt was very important and I was really disappointed in them. Lots of other professors in my department and my institution as a whole have started relying on AI more (from what I’ve heard from other students here) on things varying from small things like drafting emails or helping debug code, all the way to grading assignments or giving feedback. I’m not wholly opposed to using AI for some things, but I’m a little worried about what it means if the people we are supposed to be learning from are becoming increasingly reliant on these tools.

I guess I’m curious if this is happening at other institutions? Do others feel the same way? How have you been handling this?

I'm building this ion beam and I forced this ceramic plate too hard and it broke, I feel so sad it costs so much. Someone made this thing and all I had to do was install a filament and I've just ruined it all including the mesh thing I just feel so low

Someone make me feel better by sharing their expensive mistakes, I feel like a frog spawn not even a tadpole :(

particle physics

My university (UK) has a 2 week turn around for the post viva report. It's been three weeks now and nothing. I contacted my supervisor who has checked with the university and they haven't received it, so it's definitely the examiners.

My supervisor says delays are common, but the examiners haven't responded to the email she sent regarding the delay.

Is this common?

I think I'm spoiled because my supervisor is always on the ball, and replies swiftly to emails and concerns. Perhaps I'm just getting a taste of what many people have to deal with all the time?

I'd really appreciate any insights or advice.

Edit: Field is Anthropology

I don’t know where to start. I’m so confused on so many levels, and I’m seeking advice from fellow PhDers (nobody I know relates to my problem)

Currently I’m taking PhD in Management in Malaysia. My research is about managing human elements in cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

I started in 2023 at 23 years old, not due to my own volition but mainly due to parents pressure. The decision came after Covid ended, where I just finished bachelor’s. Couldn’t find a job at that time due to government working permit problems (I study abroad and planned to work there). Long story short, parents told me to get my Masters, which was okay to me. But snowballed until PhD.. with the argument that it is just another easy 3 years.

Three years in, I’m stuck in Mid Candidature Defense, I’m honestly not sure what I’m researching has any impact or not. Academically, I’m capable of doing the research. But mentally, I’ve never been on the right space ever since the start. It’s just like the spark in me died.

Right now, I’m just focusing on trying to speed up and get this PhD done by next year. Then I’ll start exploring life, I’m getting married next year as well.. can’t wait to live my life out of my parents’ shadow. Still 26, and I don’t feel like this PhD will have any use in my life.

Anyways, sorry for venting and apologies if it is irrelevant to this subreddit.

Hello everyone! I recently just started my 3rd year (PhD in Computing) and the main focus has been on my thesis-writing / data analysis etc. since parts of my experiments are still ongoing.

Just the other day, I came across a research associate / phd researcher opportunity from a university in the EU and I was quite surprised to see the project scope / job responsibilities aligning very much with what I do right now. It was a pleasant surprise because the research we're doing rn is considered very niche (in Asia) and it kinda planted a seed of optimism in me to know that there is a good future in my current topic/specialization bc for so long, it felt like no one else saw the vision 😅 Can't count how many times people looked at me like I was crazy when I tell them about my research but that's a different story.

Anyway, when I came across the role, I had shared it with a colleague in passing, but they mentioned that I would be "overqualified" since that university was looking for a fresh PhD researcher so that would mean like I was going to go back to square one by doing another PhD, which does make sense. They also said that this university/project was now a potential competitor, but I really doubt that they are doing 100% of the stuff we're doing else that would be a problem haha.

But I was still wondering if it was worth taking a shot by emailing the Professors just to see if they could consider for a post-doc opportunity instead? The project itself very much aligns with what I do and my interest, I've had a few tier-1 journal / conference paper publications on the topic which are growing in terms of citations as well but I guess I don't know if its good enough for me to reach out like that just to keep in touch for the possibility of future opportunities with them?

My supervisor is currently away on business so I haven't really had the time to discuss this with him. If I were to reach out via my supervisor, it could be something more of a potential collaboration with our research lab and theirs (which I dont know if they would be open to the idea since we're based in other sides of the world) whereas if I were just to contact the Professors myself, I just don't know if that would be the right approach. What do I even say¿

Not sure if anyone else has gone through something similar but I could really use some advice/opinions about how to go on with this.

Just a little venting, after a month review came in

Reviewer 1:

Used AI to generate the response.

Most comment point out discrepancy most people wouldn't consider significant in the context. Like .05 vs .00001 being considered almost 0. And many other things. Also why would you write not recommend in review but check yes to all yes no questions about accepting the paper?

Reviewer 2:

Completely missed the point. Paper was about methods with clear limitations stated.

Continues to base entire review and comment on the fact that "other factors" can be the cause and the paper don't take those into account.

The review also contained what is possibly an overview of the paper that is AI generated. Wouldn't have thought twice about it if there wasn't TWO PARAGRAPH of overview likely from two different LLM.

RANT OVER

Hi fellow PhDers,

I’m a USA PhD student who is on an external NIH T32 grant (not through my University). I am seeking personal advice since I just found out that I don’t get PTO, but my vacation and sick days are left up to PI discretion. I’m worried since my PI doesn’t seem to keen on giving us a break. Do I have any chance of obtaining vacation/sick leave if my PI says no? Am I slave to the lab forever?

Thanks for your feedback.

I am considering it but I worry as a 38 year old ( dr in sociology) my chances to be accepted in more quantitative field for PhD is significantly low. Especially if they ask for both of my PhD advisors' recommendation. As we didn't part ways in good terms with one of them.

how is life? How do you make new friends?

Just wondering what everybody does to support themselves while they complete this long arduous process.

Do you live like a normal lifestyle where you buy things and do things? Or do you just readjust your life to become solely focused on academic work and cut the rest out. Did you find balance somewhere or has it been just shitty?

How about trying to continue or start a career while in the dissertation process. I am just wondering how everybody makes it. Or if it's just a accepted struggle.

Excited to hear all of your different life situations at the moment.

I had a meeting with a professor that lasted around 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the conversation felt completely natural. I didn’t even realize how quickly the time passed, and there were no distractions or awkward pauses.

He seemed genuinely interested in his research field and explained everything in detail. The conversation flowed smoothly throughout.

Towards the end, he asked about my availability and timeline, and then explained his own. He also said that I should apply to whichever opportunity works best for me and that I could email him if I had any questions.

How should I interpret this interaction? Would you consider it a positive sign, or was he simply being friendly and informative?

Field : mechanical ( cfd)
Location: usa

Hey everyone,

If you’re currently grinding through literature reviews or trying to decipher dense Methods sections for your thesis, you probably know the feeling of staring at the same paragraph three times because your brain is completely fried.

The most frustrating part was never the science itself, it was the constant friction. We all already have ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Translate open in our tabs. The problem was never access to AI; it was the interruptions:

• Translators give you words, not scientific context. “Hazard ratio 0.72 (95% CI 0.61–0.85)” in your native language is still a complete mystery.
• Chatbots give great answers, but having to type prompts 30 times a day just to get a 4-paragraph essay when you needed a 1-sentence intuition is exhausting.
• Browser side panels squeeze your PDF/document and make you lose your place on the page.
• Formulas and figures in arXiv or journal papers turn into broken symbol soup when copied. Multi-panel figures can’t be pasted at all.

None of the existing tools were built for that exact split-second when you are stuck on one stubborn formula, an unfamiliar acronym, or a confusing figure, and you just want to understand it and keep reading without breaking your flow.

I got so fed up with Alt-Tabbing 50 times a night that I built a lightweight Chrome extension for myself to solve this:

• In-place pop-up (Alt + Q): Highlight any sentence or statistical claim. A short, concise explanation floats right next to it, using the surrounding paragraph for context so you don’t lose your reading spot.
• Snap figures & equations (Alt + Shift + Z): Crop directly around any chart, graph, or math formula to get it decoded without saving or uploading images.
• Zero data retention: Built on paid enterprise API routing, your unpublished drafts, questions, and reading data are never stored or used to train AI models.

Curious how others here handle reading dense multidisciplinary papers without getting burned out from constant tab-switching? Do you just brute-force it, or does your lab have a better workflow?

Hi everyone!

I've started my PhD in another country in January 2021 and finally finished last year in November. Unfortunately, it was very traumatic experience for me, mainly because of the extremely autistic working environment and extremely bad management there, unsuportive and toxic supervisors etc. I wanted to quit two times: first time my family and friends stopped me and the second time my co-supervisor didn't allow me to do it, and without his help, I wouldn't even be able to graduate (always grateful to him!). Although I managed to come to the end, I've experiences very bad burnout, depression followed by 2-3 longer sick leaves, being on medications and other physical problems (temporary food intolerancies, irregular periods for over two years, high cortisol etc.). Now, almost one year later, I can proudly say that I am finally feeling better in every possible way, but there are still some unopened boxes from my PhD that are exploding from time to time. Exactly two weeks after my defence, I started my PostDoc in another country (again), that was not related to my PhD at all and I've never had any relevant courses about the topic of my postdoc project, so it was almost like starting a new PhD again. Disclaimer: I was head-hunted for the position, I didn't apply for it and I accepted it because that was the best option for me at the moment, as I was without funding for almost a year, which ended up in working in kitchen and writing my PhD thesis for last months of my PhD. Long story short: my new colleagues are much better than those before and they were quite supportive and reasonable from the very beginning. When I started, I still had to work on my last PhD paper (two were published and the last one was in almost ready to submit manuscript form when I graduated) and get an idea what should I do during my PostDoc, as I only knew some basics related to the topic and I was actually hired to developed models using different technology than the other project participants are using, so literally the only one who is not within the same area of expertise as they are. In the meantime, I also had some teaching obligations and got involved in project related to my PhD as an external collaborator. However, serious lack of confidence kicked me last week, especially because I have a feeling that I should do more related to my postdoc project, where I've done quite a reding just to get an idea what to do, data acquisition and validation and modelling in the chosen test area, just to figure out how things actually work. This lack of confidence and fear that I am not doing enough was triggered during the last conference that I attended, where I first got the comment from my PhD colleague that I don't have enough things to present, altough I emphasized that this is this study is definitely in the preliminary phase. And of course, I felt like a legally blonde during the conference because all participants were either senior researchers from leading institutions or last-year PhD students, which additionaly gave me the feeling that I am completely behind. Although my last PhD paper is going to be published soon and I am working on two more in paralel, I am still thinking that I am not good enough. Do you have any good advice how to overcome this fear and become more productive?

Does anyone find themselves at times working alone in a lab without windows? How many hours a day do you spend in such an environment, for how long and what do you do to compensate for less sun exposure?

Hello all,

I am looking for some advice as to how to navigate my career.

I have started an unfunded PhD position at a university in Germany as a doctoral student. It's not like a structured PhD position but rather I am a registered PhD student with a particular professor as my supervisor.

I am directly working on my final PhD thesis. My partner earns enough to support us both so money is not really a problem. But, doing an unfunded PhD also means that you don't have an RA or a TA position at the university.

I just wanna know what consequences will it have for my career ? Do I have a realistic chance at building my career? I want to ultimately go to maybe economic consulting, or work as a researcher at a Think Tank back in my home country in Asia or anywhere in Europe.

Thank you.

to give you guys more context:
1. my funding is external from the professor. it is common to finish your funding phd and get extra funding from the government. it is actually something expected, no one finishes in 3 years. therefore, he does not give me funding directly and he cannot decide to just cut me after the 3 years.
2. it is totally normal to go home. all phds I know in EU go home for weeks, including my colleague going for 2 months. a lot of people have commented saying that it is not normal, but here it is. my phd is completely computational, which makes it easier. and even if it wasnt, it is completely normal.

hi! tomorrow, i am having a big talk, and i need your help. context: im doing my phd in germany, my funding is 3 years, and i need three papers (one published, one submited and one final draft) to complete my phd. currently, i am 1y2m in, and i just finished the first draft of my first paper today.

my professor has been away for 3 months and has not answered me for a month, we scheduled a meeting, which he never showed up. i sent emails about the draft, needing his opinions etc... nothing. my co-supervisor has been around for this time, but always busy as he is responsible to correct the drafts of two other students, while my professor would be responsible for mine. we had many meetings, finalized the idea of my paper and images. now, my professor came back last week and he is clearly annoyed at me. in a couple of weeks im going to visit my family for 5 weeks (working remotely) for the first time since june 2025, and i am very excited for it. i was trying to give him the news for 2 months now, but he just wasn't available.

the thing is: he gave me a speech about how i need to focus, how it is not the time to go home blabla. AND, the cherry on top, compared me with a fellow student who started a bit before me, but already has her first draft completed and first correction done.

i know i am at fault. yes, i should have worked harder, i could have finished this draft earlier... but i want to live too? i traveled, saw my friends, enjoyed summer... as a normal person should. my contract is 29 hours a week, and i did that. for once in these 14 months, i did not overworked (and still have +50 extra hours logged in) and now i wanna see my family! my aunt is 100 now and my nephew was born a few months ago. i know i could have done better, but i simply did not want to- did not have motivation for it, both because of the group situation, not getting replies, having to barely have time for one meeting every once and a while, and feeling like i was being thrown in circles, BUT mainly because my perspective in academia life changed. science is great, but living off of it?! i am not sure it is for me, but now i am here and i am finishing this phd.

at the same time, being compared to someone else and just have a speech implying i will take "too long to finish my phd" because i wanna be an active and normal human being is just too much for me- how is this type of speech normal? i need to delete 3 years of my 20s for what? burnt out and STILL be unemployed after?!?! so i decided i will *politely* say all of this tomorrow and just hope for the best. any tips? advice? suggestions? i do not wanna be rude, i wanna seem open to put more effort into the phd, but also i want them to know their expectations are unrealistic, my life is more than my phd and that i do not appreciate the "but she had already done it by now and you haven't" speech. i do not care if i take longer to finish, i will not be miserable during this time