Terrifying PhD students

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posted on 2025-05-09, 08:56 authored by Matthew PartridgeMatthew Partridge

A two-person dialogue highlighting imposter syndrome in academia, where PhD students assume others are ahead while struggling themselves.

History

Creation date

2017-02-10

AltText

Two PhD students talk and secretly panic that the other is further ahead in their work.

Transcript

Person 1: Really? I'm stuck trying to write my thesis – it’s so hard Person 2 (thought): Oh god he's already writing papers – I've not even thought about papers yet! I'm so behind Person 2: I’m so busy at the moment, writing three papers from my PhD work Person 1 (thought): Oh god she’s already writing her thesis – I’ve not even thought about what to write yet! I’m so behind Text: Talking to other PhD students can be terrifying but it's worth remembering that they probably feel the same