As I am near the end of my PhD, I have edited this blog post to include some key points that I think are extremely important for new PhD students. I will be listing all of the key points in a thread and link the medium post for more details. https://twitter.com/ThinkinRandom/status/1130147773062496256

1. To enhance knowledge prefer textbooks, read “important” papers but mainly keep them as “idea generators”

2. Communicating with your supervisor(s) effectively is key

3. Take control of your project

4. Spend the very first few months reading, understanding don’t do things, don’t apply things DO NOT rush (don’t write code)

5. Appreciate that the learning curve is long and steep.

6. Your speed in reading papers and understanding things clearly will increase in time once you get enough abstract knowledge of your field.

7. DON’T BE ARROGANT

8. Know the purpose of a PhD

9. Failure is an everyday phenomenon

10. Most of the skills acquired are transferable

11. Take time off, take care of yourself mentally.

12. Doing a PhD is hard!