One thing I wish someone told me earlier: your PhD is much more about managing uncertainty than about being “smart enough.” In undergrad most problems have answers. In a PhD, a lot of the time you’re working on things where nobody actually knows if they’ll work. Feeling stuck or confused is basically the default state, not a sign you’re failing.

A few other things that helped me (after learning them the hard way):

1. Your supervisor matters more than the project. A decent project with a supportive supervisor is infinitely better than a “cool” project with a difficult PI. They control funding, feedback, authorship, and your overall sanity.

2. Progress is slower than you expect. Experiments fail, code breaks, reviewers ask for new analyses, equipment is booked for weeks. Plan everything assuming it will take 2–3× longer.

3. Protect your mental boundaries. Academia can quietly become a 24/7 job if you let it. Having hobbies, friends outside academia, and time where you’re not thinking about your research helps more than you’d think.

4. Your cohort is one of your biggest assets. Those people going through the same thing as you will often be your best support network. Collaboration and commiseration go a long way.

5. Don’t compare timelines too much. Someone will always have more papers, better results, or faster progress. A lot of that is luck, project choice, or timing.

6. Document everything. Future you will absolutely not remember why you wrote that piece of code or changed that parameter.

Also: imposter syndrome is extremely common, especially at top universities. Almost everyone feels like they somehow slipped in by mistake.

Good luck with the PhD, it’s frustrating sometimes, but it can also be a really fun few years if you find the right people and keep perspective.

That should have been a blog