Are these the happiest PhD students in the world?<\/p>\n
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Pushed me to face my fears<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cMy supervisor pushes me to challenge myself and my fears. He pushed me to apply for talks at conferences, to apply for grants and to step out of my comfort zone. It was extremely uncomfortable and I was stressed, but I\u2019m definitely more confident in my work, abilities and value now because of it. In hindsight, it gave me great experiences and opportunities that I would have turned down otherwise due to being timid.\u201d \u2014 Anonymous PhD candidate in Australia<\/b><\/p>\nSupported me through my gender transition<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cMy supervisor is incredibly supportive and has been wonderful throughout my transition. She\u2019s been an ally and advocate even when I haven\u2019t been in the room and understands that there is a mental-health aspect to transitioning (such as fear of discrimination) that can impact your ability to come into the office. She has been incredibly accommodating of changes in my need to work from home.\u201d \u2014 Anonymous non-binary PhD candidate in Australia<\/b><\/p>\nBacked my decision to have children<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cMy supervisor fully supported me when I told her that my husband and I wanted to have a child. She gave me a lot of flexibility for my maternity leave and keeps supporting me every time my child gets sick and I need to stay home. Professionally, she keeps reminding me to believe in myself, to push the imposter syndrome away \u2014 and I do.\u201d \u2014 Laura Lafuente Gracia, a PhD candidate focusing on computational modelling of bone-fracture healing at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium<\/b><\/p>\n
Gracia\u2019s supervisor Liesbet Geris says: \u201cWhen I started as a principal investigator, my PhD students were the age of my younger siblings. Now, the current students are slowly getting closer in age to my children, and that is probably the way that I feel about them. They are my scientific family and I treat them the way I would want my children to be treated. I love figuring out the right way to supervise a student, helping them to find out what it is that they really want out of their career, and making sure they are prepared for that future.\u201d<\/p>\n
27 things we wish we\u2019d known when we started our PhDs<\/p>\n <\/a><\/article>\n<\/p>\n \u201cMy supervisor asked me \u2018Do you trust me? If you do, then please tell me when you\u2019re struggling, and I will remind you that you are doing a good job and that I\u2019m proud of you.\u2019 It really made me feel that it was OK to struggle, and that if I was struggling, I didn\u2019t need to deal with those negative feelings alone.\u201d \u2014 Emmarie Alexander, a PhD candidate studying genetics and genomics at Texas A&M University in College Station<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cMy supervisor is the best part of my PhD. She loves what she does, and her passion for the subject is contagious. She works to create many interdisciplinary connections, both inside and outside the university, for me. These have been incredibly valuable, and I expect them to continue to be so for many years. The collaborations are built based on wherever the project seems to take us. We connect with experts in adjacent fields that our lab may not be well versed in to better our research. And, vice versa, we lend our lab\u2019s expertise to help where we can. I find having connections outside the lab, especially in different disciplines, incredibly helpful for thoroughly understanding a topic.\u201d \u2014 Maria Corkran, a PhD candidate studying cell and molecular biology and focusing on virology and host\u2013pathogen interactions at the University of Maryland in College Park<\/b><\/p>\n Corkran\u2019s supervisor Margaret Scull says: \u201cI have been very fortunate over my career to work with many phenomenal scientists, and knowing these individuals has not only influenced and elevated my own work but also created opportunities for me that I would not have had otherwise. I am intentional in my efforts to help my trainees build a broad network and interact with investigators who are either using different approaches or working in different roles or research environments. My hope is that, beyond the technical and communication skills gained, my students will have a better sense of their own interests and what they can do with their PhD.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy supervisor has consistently kept an open mind and listened to me throughout my studies, which has been the most important quality to help support me through all of the unpredictable and inevitable challenges. I specifically looked for a supervisor who had this quality and approach, and it took me years to find him, but this true support is what helps me find solutions instead of creating more problems and more stress.\u201d \u2014 Anonymous PhD candidate in Canada<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI began my PhD when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. The situation around us was terrifying; we students were kept physically isolated for many months. During that period, my PhD adviser made sure that he was available to all of his students and offered us emotional support. His office was not only a place where I could brainstorm my science but also a safe space for discussing personal aspects of my life. That really helped me.\u201d \u2014 Bharadwaj Vemparala, a PhD candidate focusing on computational biology at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.nature.com\/w400\/magazine-assets\/d41586-026-00853-w\/d41586-026-00853-w_51556604.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nTold me that it was OK to struggle<\/b><\/h2>\n
Built up my professional network<\/b><\/h2>\n
Listened when it mattered<\/b><\/h2>\n
Offered support during COVID-19<\/b><\/h2>\n
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