
{"id":2247,"date":"2019-01-08T09:47:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T09:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:37:10","slug":"finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd","title":{"rendered":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things to do during your PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">We are Elaine and Rachel and we are PhDBuds. Pals, comrades, mates \u2013 call it what you will. But we quite like PhDBuds.\u00a0Quite frankly, we are the Thelma &amp; Louise of the PhD world. In this post, we share our story and set out the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>Elaine<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Someone once asked me to describe my ideal working space. I carefully outlined the shape and size of the room, the beautiful wooden bookcase along one wall, the scatter cushions and other soft furnishings, and the small table with a pot of herbal tea gently steaming in the corner. My questioner\u00a0smiled. \u201cIs this room going to have a door?\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0asked. \u201cDo I\u00a0<i>have<\/i>\u00a0to have one?\u201d\u00a0came my reply.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I suppose the point of sharing this anecdote is to illustrate that I am not someone who needs to be surrounded by people. <b>Given the option, I\u2019m perfectly happy getting along with things by myself<\/b>. So last year when I applied to be on a professional doctorate programme, I wasn\u2019t troubled when family and friends talked of long hours \u2018doing the PhD\u2019 by myself. \u00a0After all, wasn\u2019t that what doctoral study was all about? Wasn\u2019t I supposed to be the lone researcher on a journey of discovery, dedicated to making my original contribution?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>Well, then I met Rachel<\/b>. And I found myself talking to her about the PhD. And she talked back. And then I talked some more. And so did she. And from that point on, we\u2019ve been each other\u2019s \u2018go-to\u2019 person for all things PhD. I find it fascinating that we are at completely different points in our careers, and we have completely different life goals. In fact, we are on completely different PhD programmes. And Rachel is well into her PhD, whilst I\u2019m just at the proposal stage. But we both face the same challenges and frustrations. And we both want someone to yell \u2018yay!\u2019 really loudly in our face when we\u2019re excited about something. Quite a lot of what we talk about isn\u2019t related to the content of our PhDs at all. We swap writing and time management techniques. We share war stories about publishing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">And then there\u2019s the little things that really count. Like the other day\u00a0when I couldn\u2019t find a reference and, as if by magic, Rachel swooshed into my office, pen drive in hand with a massive list of references a mere 10 minutes after my slightly pathetic email.\u00a0<b>She works ludicrously hard and is the first person to put her hand up when people need help<\/b>.\u00a0I felt completely privileged that she took the time out of her day, at the drop of a hat, to walk over to my office to help me. Family and friends are awesome and kind, and politely listen when you\u2019re harking on about a journal\u2019s impact factor. But they can\u2019t do things like that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>Rachel<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I love my PhD. I tell myself this every day. Some days this is very true and I say it with a grin, because I do love what I do. Some days I say it to remind myself that it is true. These are the hard days which everyone faces during their doctorate, regardless of what course you are on. When I found out I had been chosen for my PhD, my first thoughts were of graduation, changing my passport to say \u2018Dr Rachel Dunn,\u2019 and flying all over the world to attend conferences. These things will happen eventually, but I don\u2019t think I really thought about the journey it would take me on to get there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">The first year into my PhD has been successful and a learning curve. I have had papers accepted, presented at many conferences, and had some invaluable teaching experience. I have also had people really hate my papers, grant rejections, and disagreements with my chosen methodology. And this is hard.\u00a0<b>When you love something so much and it occupies your every free thought, you want to protect it and yourself<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">This was when I realised that I can\u2019t go through this alone and Elaine became a big part of my support group. Even though I am further on in my PhD, Elaine has been publishing for years, is an amazing teacher and, quite frankly, works her ass off! I don\u2019t think I have ever been so inspired and influenced by someone who is always willing to listen to my woes. Elaine gives me so much guidance on every aspect of my life. It isn\u2019t just about which journals I should publish in, how I should approach certain situations, and what else I can be doing to raise my research profile. She listens to me when I feel like I\u2019m drowning with work, helping me to prioritise what is important. She helps me with my personal life, which can often feel like a disaster during the PhD journey! Elaine is just there for me and I feel very lucky. I aim to have a career as rich as hers and I know Elaine wants that for me also.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>So, on the days when I have to remind myself that I love my PhD, I no longer feel alone. I have Elaine to help remind me and I help to remind her.<\/b>\u00a0<strong>If you are doing a PhD and you don\u2019t have an Elaine, get one!<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><i>This blog post was inspired by the Research Student Blog Challenge #HDRblog15. The Challenge is an initiative created by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theeduflaneuse.wordpress.com\/\" style=\"color:blue; text-decoration:underline\">the \u00e9du fl\u00e2neuse<\/a>\u00a0that encourages research students to share their experiences. Huge thanks to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theeduflaneuse.wordpress.com\/\" style=\"color:blue; text-decoration:underline\">the \u00e9du fl\u00e2neuse<\/a>\u00a0for inspiring us to write this post.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>Elaine Gregersen<span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;\"> is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><i>This story was published on November 26, 2015, on Elaine&#8217;s blog, <a href=\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/\" style=\"color:blue; text-decoration:underline\">A Law Unto Herself<\/a> (available <a href=\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/\" style=\"color:blue; text-decoration:underline\">here<\/a>) and has been republished here with her permission.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are Elaine and Rachel and we are PhDBuds. Pals, comrades, mates \u2013 call it what you will. But we quite like PhDBuds.\u00a0Quite frankly, we are the Thelma &amp; Louise of the PhD world. In this post, we share our story and set out the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD. Elaine Someone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2414],"tags":[2666,2454],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-researcher-stories","tag-phd-life","tag-researcher-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Elaine-Gregersen-Why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-during-PhD-resized_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"656\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"336\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elaine Gregersen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elaine Gregersen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elaine Gregersen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/35eddb8c6ff0ae78f678368025f67512\"},\"headline\":\"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things to do during your PhD\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd\"},\"wordCount\":1009,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"PhD Life\",\"Researcher Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Researchers and Their Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/\",\"name\":\"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"width\":656,\"height\":336},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things to do during your PhD\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":324,\"caption\":\"Editage Insights\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Editage\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/35eddb8c6ff0ae78f678368025f67512\",\"name\":\"Elaine Gregersen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a0b7d305a3b9361dc944068fdbb3ea37effa5c608fcea1877dbd5e88dd779a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a0b7d305a3b9361dc944068fdbb3ea37effa5c608fcea1877dbd5e88dd779a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elaine Gregersen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/elaine-gregersen\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD","description":"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD","og_description":"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.","og_url":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/","og_site_name":"Editage Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","article_published_time":"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":656,"height":336,"url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Elaine-Gregersen-Why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-during-PhD-resized_0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elaine Gregersen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Editage","twitter_site":"@Editage","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elaine Gregersen","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd"},"author":{"name":"Elaine Gregersen","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/35eddb8c6ff0ae78f678368025f67512"},"headline":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things to do during your PhD","datePublished":"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd"},"wordCount":1009,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","keywords":["PhD Life","Researcher Stories"],"articleSection":["Researchers and Their Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-to-do-during-your-phd","url":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/","name":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things you can do during your PhD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","datePublished":"2019-01-08T09:47:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-15T06:37:10+00:00","description":"Elaine Gregersen is an Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In this story, Elaine and her colleague Rachel share their PhD journeys and talk about the benefits of having a buddy during your PhD.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","width":656,"height":336},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alawuntoherself.com\/2015\/11\/26\/why-finding-a-buddy-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-do-during-your-phd\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Finding a buddy is one of the most important things to do during your PhD"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","name":"Editage Insights","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization","name":"Editage Insights","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":324,"caption":"Editage Insights"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","https:\/\/x.com\/Editage"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/35eddb8c6ff0ae78f678368025f67512","name":"Elaine Gregersen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a0b7d305a3b9361dc944068fdbb3ea37effa5c608fcea1877dbd5e88dd779a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a0b7d305a3b9361dc944068fdbb3ea37effa5c608fcea1877dbd5e88dd779a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elaine Gregersen"},"url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/elaine-gregersen"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2247"},{"taxonomy":"new_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_categories?post=2247"},{"taxonomy":"new_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_tags?post=2247"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=2247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}