Tales of a First-Year Research Student: Getting Started

There is a distinct feeling when doing something that many have advised against, a mixture of anxiety and the strange unbridled confidence of defying your parent's wishes as a kid. The more I met face-to-face with various established academics recommending the delay or reevaluation of pursuing a PhD in this competitive and under-funded section of many academic departments, the more I developed a strange Han Solo-Esque stubbornness in pushing my proposal through countless revisions. "Never tell me the odds" was the philosophy of the drafting process. Yet, as the picture of post-PhD life became clearer, finding out just how high the odds were stacked against me

became the motivation I needed to continue.

Let me stop for a minute, as it is important for me to recognise the lucky privileged position I find myself in being able to take part in such an opportunity at all. The purpose of this short article is not to throw a self-serving pity party, rather it is to begin a reflection on the process of a first-generation academic balancing full-time study with part-time work commitments. I hope this can help current or future students in considering similar studies and maybe offer insights into such processes for established academics. 

Like many, I applied for AHRC funding for my project to no avail, an unfortunate but expected set back considering the minuscule funding opportunities available. But that is a rant for another day. Rather than wait another year I decided to crack on and find other means of funding. Alongside my studies, I've built a career in creative recruitment, a job that couldn't be further from hardcore academic study. Luckily I was able to find a synergy between both my research work and "work work", an experience that can appear rather unorthodox and inconvenient. In a strange way, it actually played out better than ever expected as the immediate fast-paced work of the office provided a much-needed distraction from the long quiet library sessions and heavy theory readings of the rest of the week. By having "work work" commitments my research remained refreshing and exciting throughout the year.  The proposal and application process can be one of the most daunting parts of the research journey as you reach out to busy academics with your rambling research proposal and academic pick-up lines, "I just LOVED your journal article on the ontological reflections of postmodern identities in TikTok culture". Especially, if like mine, your research topic is alien to the discipline or subject area it falls within. Attempting to market the combination of artificial intelligence technology and film production was a hard sell considering the early formation of my arguments and the lack of existing literature. Lucky enough I made some great contacts at innovative universities including Goldsmiths, Birkbeck, and Royal Holloway who helped me clarify my ideas and gave invaluable advice. 

After some initial complications, I was paired with my supervisor James who has been a tremendous help throughout my study so far. I had read many articles and blogs about the importance of supervisor relationships but it wasn't until after our first 2–3 meetings that the value of having someone with similar research interests and personalities became apparent.

As I finish off my year one submission I'm pleased to say that the first year of my research has been a smooth enjoyable process where I've met some great people and attended some amazing seminars and events. Networking with other academics and students has been one of the best parts of the experience so far and has offered some great opportunities including organising the postponed 2020 Gold on Film festival and working alongside screen studies academics to organise events for current and future students. If anything has become apparent from meeting and speaking with academic staff is the abundance of ideas and ambition to create new events or research initiatives. Unfortunately many grapples with issues of limited funding and crowded schedules but despite these issues, it is still extremely reassuring to see the proactive nature of some academics that push and deliver their ideas by coming together with other like-minded individuals. I like to think that such perseverance can achieve almost any ambition, something I've seen first-hand working in "ambition driven" industries such as recruitment and media. I hope by transferring the good qualities of my working career to a future in academia I can stand out as someone not afraid to push the issue or commit to causes where others can't or won't. It seems to have got me this far so why not keep going! 

Going into year two I am excited at the prospect of gaining some valuable teaching experience across the department, something I've been looking forward to for a long time. I hope this short piece holds some value for either further or existing academics, there will be plenty more similar articles on more specific topics on the way especially as my publishing and teaching experience grows but for now I'll leave you with these initial impressions.