Anyone else doing/done a PhD?

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Hey guys, I recently started a mathematics PhD at a British university in south-eastern England. I've always wanted to do a PhD and take my subject further, and I've identified an area of mathematics in which there is a high demand for research and further deepening mathematical theory (basically on the pure/applied interface studying the nature of the Navier-Stokes equations in fluid mechanics). 7 weeks in, it seems to be going okay, I get on well with my supervisor (maybe bar one or two administrative/social misunderstandings on my part) although I would say I've had quite a few subconscious personal challenges what with trying to find a good working routine and settling into a new place which I am largely unfamiliar with.

I wanted to ask around and just see if there is anyone else on here who is also undertaking (or has already completed) a PhD in any subject, and what benefits/challenges did you face as an Aspie PhD student? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I seem to have been encountering more personal challenges than I expected at first.

But how do you handle the workload? Don't you have to study for about twenty hours per day?

LOL....There are some Doctorates, especially in the Liberal Arts, where all you do is papers, dissertations, and sometimes class discussions. It's a "seminar"-type format rather than a didactic/teacher type of situation. You don't have to "study" per se--only enough to be able to do the papers/dissertations.

Yes.

I am presently half-way through a PhD in Earth Sciences (focusing on igneous petrology/geochemistry). A PhD offers an opportunity to become a world expert in a particular topic through the completion of a dissertation and related work. One of my challenges in completing this degree is that I have executive functioning issues and don't do well in very crowded settings--such as conferences. Nonetheless, I find what I am doing rewarding as I am doing a study involving rocks I collected from the Canadian High Arctic.


A PhD is an "endurance" degree. That it, one must be able to conceive significant question(s), design a study to answer the questions, execute the study and then subsequently report on the results 4-5 years from the time one starts. This is in addition to any required coursework as well as preparing for the all-important comprehensive exam.

Anyone thinking about a PhD and have further questions, feel free to ask here or PM me

~CGKings317

I first wasted four years of my PhD studies in choosing me a topic. Then I worked five years with one thesis (it's 230 pages long, 40 pages of sources) but it kind of failed and I think I would like to start from the beginning again (I did not pay attention to the coherency of the work, I just worked by writing text "blindly" (without much reflection) since the task seemed so huge). Though I'm not sure what should I really do. Making PhD for me has meant just spending all winters and summers in computer classes without contacts to other people. But I probably have no chances to get any interesting job (have no working experience). So perhaps I just try to go on with my PhD, living by the welfare grants. This way I have something to do, at least. However, now I would need some help with my new attempt but I'm not sure if my old supervisor wants to help me with a new thesis. Returning to the old one seems very difficult as well.

Without any irony I can say that that sounds exactly like my cup of tea.

Out of curiosity, may I ask what field of study your PhD(s) is (are) in?

But computer classes are often terrible, if you are over-sensitive to sounds.

And even if being totally alone was otherwise OK, it's hardly a good thing if one does not have any contact with other researchers (or wanna-be-researchers).



Social sciences, about some international matters (despite that I never travel anywhere).

I'm working on a PHD in the US. I found disability services here very helpful. I also have a very open relationship with my department about disabilities. Good luck!