Hello there, new PGR!! Welcome to Essex :)

My name is 

Isabella Ciuta, I’m a PhD student in the third year of my studies and a long-timer at Essex .This term, I am embarking on a little side-quest, and I will write a couple of blogs to help you better navigate your research journey and make the most of this new stage in your life.

First of all, congratulations!!!! Congratulations on starting this new degree!! Congratulations on embarking on a research journey!! And congratulations for choosing Essex as your place of study!! Whether you are new at Essex or a returning alumnus, I hope campus will feel like home, and you’ll get plenty of opportunities for growth during your time here.

With my third year of the PhD approaching its end, I’ve been reflecting on how much I’ve grown (as a person and as a researcher) since first starting as a PhD student. I’ve been reflecting on the work, my approach to it, all the great things I did, and all the things I could have done better. And with that in mind, I’ve put together a list of things I wish I knew before starting my PhD, which will hopefully make your own journey better.

Here we go!!:

1. You are new to your degree just as much as an undergraduate fresher. 

While introduction yourself as a “PhD student” or “MSD student” brings a lot of street cred (and a lot of expectations), the key part here is “student”. If this is your first week or month of your studies in this new degree, you are a fresher.

This means two things: A). You should enjoy Fresher’s Week and all the fun events just as much as everyone else (they are not undergraduate exclusive); and B). No one expects you to know everything.

Let’s unpack this: a PhD is a training programme. Remember being an undergrad? Did your professors expect you to know the module before starting it? No. The same concept works here. The PhD is a programme in which you learn how to do research. No one expects you to have everything figured out and you will make mistakes. Accept that, avoid perfectionism, and treat this as any other learning journey: with curiosity, patience and perseverance. 

1. The first few months may take some adjusting.

A PGR degree is different from a taught degree: in most cases, there are no assessments, no exams, no tick-box exercises or exact pattern and path to follow. Research is a whole different journey and requires a different approach from a taught degree. Much more of the structure has to come from you.

The aim is for you to become a specialist, dive deep into a topic and contribute to society with entirely new information! As such, most of your work will be independent, self-motivated and cutting-edge. At times, this may feel isolating or hard to maintain (especially if you need the pressure of a deadline to get any work done), but it’s an adjustment most people have had to make when they were on the same journey as you.

You will have support, and hopefully plenty of it, from supervisors, advisory boards, other staff members, peers and other teams at the university BUT your journey is your own. 

There are dozens of ways to be a good researcher (and dozens of ways to be a bad researcher); there is no one perfect way to be a PhD student. Play on your strengths and improve your weaker points. Ask for advice, do the work, and be ready to change your study and work style. Expect to be (at least mildly) confused during the first few months and (positively) challenged throughout.

1. Your supervisor will not just tell you what to do. 

This might be one of the hardest parts of doing a PGR degree (and it follows the two points above): your supervisor will not just tell you what to do.

Most of the time, you won’t have a list of things you need to solve or complete for a question to be answered. You won’t have any direct clear instructions. Why? Because the whole point of your PhD is to figure out how to do research independently.

At times, there is also no objective way in which a research problem can be fixed as you are exploring a brand new avenue. Supervisors have expertise, they can suggest paths, but they can’t give an “answer” because in many cases, there isn’t one you’re your supervisor’s job is not to fix or solve problems for you, but rather to question you, guide you to the right articles, methods and books, and help you make the decisions which will lead towards an interesting project.

1. Deadlines are flexible. 

Deadlines do not work in the same way as they do for taught degrees. Most deadlines are guidance rather than rules set in stone.

A friend recently told me “The deadlines are there to help you, but if they’re hurting you, they can be changed as long as the funding allows” (thanks Joe).

Talk with your supervisor. Ask for advice. If doing an experiment or attending lectures before writing the literature review work for you, ask for the milestones to be adjusted but do not assume this can always be the case, there needs to be a clear reasoning and you need to show constant progress.

1. Take on extra learning opportunities and use your Proficio funding

By the end of the PhD you should not leave only with a pretty thesis. You should leave with a lot of expertise in your domain, experience in writing, project planning and delivery, communication, new skills in adjacent topics and, even, publications.

During my PhD, I worked as a research assistant, general laboratory assistant, academic tutor and postgraduate convenor, and did all the side quests I could fit in (especially training courses and conferences in beautiful places – forget destination weddings, have you tried destination conferences? 100x better. Shoutout to Hong Kong December 2025). 

You can attend such courses, conferences and training using your Proficio funding, as well as additional funding pots (we’ll have an article on this later on). Find out more about Proficio funding and how to use it Proficio funding | University of Essex

But remember to choose side quests strategically, it’s not a tick-box exercise: a couple that teach you something, help your career, give you the opportunity for networking or are simply genuinely fun (like writing this article).

1. Your life is not your studies. 

You are going a research degree. You’re smart. You’re hardworking. You’d probably describe yourself as brainy. Don’t let that be your entire identity.

Making your studies your entire life will not benefit you. It can lead to burnout, frustration, general life dissatisfaction and, honestly, it doesn’t even make you a better researcher, colleague or future employee.

Some of the smartest researchers I’ve ever met also have a lot of other interests: hiking, painting, pole-dancing, collage-making, climbing, debate, or an unhealthy amount of knowledge in the most niche of topics and fantasy worlds…

Have something outside your studies that makes you happy. A good place to start is here: ( Societies or Essex Blades Sport  )

1. Burnout is real and (unfortunately) incredibly common in PhD students.

Learn to avoid burnout early. Here’s some top tips:

- Have at least 1 day a week when you don’t worry about work at all and only do things you enjoy (no chores!! It’s better to have a nice weekend and show up to work with an unironed shirt than to spend your free time constantly cleaning)

- Keep a short list of thongs you’d like to do during your time off so that, when you have free time, you don’t have as much decision fatigue about how to spend it, and you avoid doom scrolling.

- Have a cut-off time every day. My latest cut-off time tends to be 8-9 pm depending on the day (sometimes I start working late or prefer to take the morning rather than the evening off).

- Explore new study spaces (article link for this)

8.Enjoy the freedom

You are now a trainee researcher!! No longer bound by the syllabus, textbooks or 9 am lectures. Nor are there any exams or set modules.

You can follow the research topics that interest you and forge a completely unique project, and you can acquire the skills that are best for you and the contribution you want to make to society.

Your supervisors are no longer your examiners or course creators. They are there to work with you to make the best project you can create and to turn you into the best PhD graduate you can possibly be. You got this!!