Brianna Le Busque

PhD Candidate in Conservation Psychology

PhD Candidate in Conservation Psychology; BPsych(Hons)

Second year of PhD: You are nowhere near finished!

The second year of my PhD taught me that the 'mid-PhD' lull really exists. It has also suddenly dawned on me that I am actually doing a PhD, something that requires hard work and resilience to accomplish, and this is a big deal. But, most importantly, I have learned that despite all the work I've done so far, I'm nowhere near finished!

The PhD slump is not a myth

When I first started my PhD two years ago, I heard whispers about a so called “PhD slump.” About how in the middle of the PhD journey, people want to scream, and cry, and give it all up. I thought it was a myth, something that happens to a few people, something that would never happen to me.

The 7 lessons I learned during the first year of my PhD

The first year of my PhD taught me 7 important lessons. I learned that being passionate about a cause can sometimes be very exhausting, I easily began to understand why PhD timelines don't work out as planned, I learned that I absolutely love the flexibility my work gives me, and had several other revelations.

Reflections: Why I chose the PhD life

When I first starting blogging, I wrote a post about why I chose to start a PhD. I wrote this post when I was 6 months into my PhD and in the proposal stage of my research. Now that I am almost ‘half way’ through, I thought it was time that I reflected on my choice for starting a PhD and discuss whether it has lived up to my expectations.