\n <\/p>\n
This article is the second in a series discussing the results of Nature\u2019s 2025 PhD survey. The first looked at key findings of the survey. The survey, created in partnership with Thinks Insight & Strategy, a research consultancy based in London, launched in May and was advertised on nature.com, in Springer Nature digital products and through e-mail campaigns. It had 3,785 self-selecting respondents across 107 countries, with 44% describing themselves as female, 25% as belonging to an ethnic minority in their country of study and 33% as studying outside their country of origin. The full survey data sets are available at go.nature.com\/4ncsuo1.<\/p>\n
Starting a PhD can feel like stepping into uncharted territory. Although universities offer orientation programmes and supervisors provide research guidance, some of the most valuable lessons come from those who\u2019ve walked the path before.<\/p>\n
Nature\u2019s 2025 PhD survey asked doctoral candidates worldwide what advice they would give to someone considering a similar degree (see \u2018Recommendations to my pre-PhD self\u2019). Many responses gave advice on what to consider when choosing a supervisor, research topic and laboratory, and the importance of scrutinizing personal motivations for doing a PhD. These quotes are taken from survey answers and have been anonymized, although they include the author\u2019s gender, nationality, location and study year.<\/p>\n
The people you work with matter as much as the project you choose.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoose your supervisor(s) very carefully. I\u2019ve seen way too many students bullied, harassed and kicked out of the programme with their confidence in pieces.\u201d \u2014 Female fourth-year student in South Africa<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen interviewing for a PhD slot, pay attention to how your prospective adviser treats others in the lab and the department. My lab ended up being really cliquey with certain individuals being excluded because my adviser plays favourites.\u201d \u2014 Female fifth-year student in the United States<\/p>\n
How money, politics and technology are redefining the PhD experience<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not go directly from an undergraduate degree to a PhD. Work for a year if possible in a job that will give you a better understanding of the problems you want to solve. That way your research can have the largest impact.\u201d \u2014 Canadian female first-year student based in the United Kingdom<\/p>\n
\u201cThe culture of the institution matters more than almost anything else. Listen to your gut when you feel like a university or lab culture is not a good fit.\u201d \u2014 Female second-year student in the United States<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the opportunity, if it\u2019s offered, to rotate through a few labs. You might be surprised by which lab you wind up feeling drawn to \u2014 I joined a lab that wasn\u2019t initially on my radar.\u201d \u2014 Female third-year student in the United States<\/p>\n
A PhD is a long commitment. Know your reasons for doing one and take steps to protect your well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting a PhD is a labour of love. Take the time to know that this is really what you want to pursue and if it is, then make sure you balance your mental health throughout the process. Burnout is much easier to avoid than to try to recover from.\u201d \u2014 Female second-year student in the United States<\/p>\n
Class of 2025: five PhD students reveal realigned priorities in wake of COVID and cuts<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBe vocal about what you want, nobody will stand up for you and give you what you want. Only you can focus on you, and that means getting a hold of what you want to progress your career.\u201d \u2014 Indian female fifth-year student based in the United States<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about what you will do after your PhD from the very beginning. Create your own path with your own decisions, create your own burning torch for lighting your way. Because it can be a bit dark here.\u201d \u2014 Female fourth-year student in Turkey<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let guilt run your PhD. Do your work during work hours and give yourself permission to disconnect afterward. Take your vacations without shame. No one finishes everything they plan.\u201d \u2014 Female fifth-year student in Croatia<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you feel like you\u2019re not doing something you really love and truly believe in, abandon it. Trust your intuition. If you\u2019re on the wrong train, it\u2019s better to realize it as fast as possible.\u201d \u2014 Female seventh-year student in Poland<\/p>\n
Choosing a topic is just the start. Your success depends on curiosity, persistence and building transferable skills along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure you\u2019re deeply interested in the process, not just the outcome. If you genuinely enjoy learning, problem-solving and digging deep into questions no one has fully answered before, that passion will carry you through the tough parts.\u201d \u2014 Male second-year student in Brazil<\/p>\n
11 reasons why we\u2019ve stayed in academia<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOwn your tasks \u2026 don\u2019t get too bogged down with the details, but see how your research develops from a bigger picture perspective. Celebrate small wins: finishing an abstract for a conference, completing literature review for a specific objective and so forth.\u201d \u2014 Kenyan male third-year student based in Germany<\/p>\n
\u201cTake every opportunity to learn how to write. Doing a PhD is an investment in your future, and the most transferable skill I have learnt is being able to communicate effectively through writing.\u201d \u2014 Male fourth-year student in Canada<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not depend on AI tools to do the critical work of reading, understanding and writing. You need to analyse the results and not allow AI to do it as it might give biased outputs.\u201d \u2014 Female fifth-year student in India<\/p>\n
\u201cTry to clearly define your personal workload limits. This will help you plan more effectively and avoid becoming overwhelmed by too many responsibilities or side projects.\u201d \u2014 Female fourth-year student in Brazil<\/p>\n
Learn how to handle lab politics, heavy workloads and cultural or institutional obstacles.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will encounter more difficult challenges on this road than in your past student career, which might be in your academic work or, more likely, interpersonal relationships. The academic community is no more harmless or innocent than the outside world.\u201d \u2014 Transgender male fifth-year student in Taiwan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nature\u2019s 2025 PhD survey This article is the second in a series discussing the results of Nature\u2019s 2025 PhD survey. The first looked at key findings of the survey. The survey, created in partnership with Thinks Insight & Strategy, a research consultancy based in London, launched in May and was advertised on nature.com, in Springer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[15769,2685,4389],"class_list":{"0":"post-26236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-phds","9":"tag-started","10":"tag-wed"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}