The (somewhat) balancing act

Balancing act - appropriately defined as 'an action or activity that requires a delicate balance between different situations or requirements'. From the outside you could say my life conforms to that of a 'balancing act' - full-time PhD student, serious athlete training 5-6 times a week, working part-time in a pub/restaurant, and having just taking on a new role as a Casual Research Assistant at my university. All of this on top of social activities and having time to eat etc. I'm often asked 'how do you do it?'. And i often rhetorically ask myself this same question. Well you're all in luck boys, girls and those who identify as neither, I'm about to share my most deepest secret - how I balance my life!

Finding my PhD. Applying to my PhD. And so forth...

When I first started university in 2017 (feels like a lifetime ago) I never anticipated that five years later I would be pursuing a PhD. Never in my wildest day dreams, but here I am. Receiving the email to say I was being offered the studentship left an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment after putting in so much time and effort into finding the PhD project, preparing my application and attending my interview. Which bring me to the topic of this blog post. I am often asked, mostly by friends who are also passionate about pursuing a PhD, about the process of finding and applying for PhDs etc. because it is a bit more complex that what you would originally expect.