A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A CHEMISTRY PHD STUDENT | PhD vlog | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Jessica, a final year PhD student in chemistry, gives an update on her lab work, including bacterial experiments and thesis writing.

Key Insights

• ❤️‍🩹 Jessica's main goal is to finish her experiments by the end of November before focusing on thesis writing.
• 🧑‍🎓 She is collaborating with another PhD student to compare the chemistry of different sponge samples.
• 😟 Jessica is nervous but excited about an upcoming meeting where she needs to update a potential collaborator on her project.
• 😫 Setting focused work times using a Pomodoro Timer helps Jessica overcome her mental block and make progress on her thesis.
• 🏋️ In-between her lab work and research, Jessica finds time to go to the gym and play squash.
• 💆 Jessica emphasizes the importance of getting started and diving into tasks, as it helps her overcome her mental blocks.
• 🥰 She also shares her love for making presentations and getting creative with them.

Transcript

laughs Hello friends and welcome back to another weekly lab Vlog so my name is Jessica if you haven't visited my channel before I'm a final year PhD student at the University of Aberdeen and my PhD is in the field of chemistry so as you might be able to tell from my orange top and my earrings it is the 31st of October so it's Halloween today and it... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Jessica's goal for her experiments?

Jessica aims to finish her experiments by the end of November, giving her three months to complete her thesis writing and submission process by February.

Q: What is Jessica working on with the sponge extractions?

She is helping another PhD student compare the chemistry of sponges collected from different depths and locations.

Q: What is Jessica nervous about?

Jessica is nervous about an upcoming meeting with a company representative, where she needs to sell her work and update them on her project.

Q: How does Jessica overcome her mental block and write her thesis?

She sets a Pomodoro Timer and focuses on her writing for 25 minutes at a time, taking short breaks in between. This helps her break through her mental block and make progress.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Jessica is working on reviving new bacterial cultures for her experiments and hopes to finish them by the end of November.

• She is also helping a fellow PhD student with their sponge extractions to compare their chemistry.

• Jessica is preparing for a meeting with a potential future collaborator and working on a presentation to update them on her project.