There’s a lot of great advice out there for PhD students. Here I try to compile some of the best advice I’ve come across, along with my own thoughts on the matter. This is a living document, and I will update it as I find more advice or as my own views evolve.

Of course, I don’t fully agree with all of this (and I couldn’t if I wanted to – some of the points in these resources are slightly contradictory). However, I mostly agree with the spirit of these points, and I think that it is worth understanding the perspective they come from.

Take things with grains of salt, and think critically about what matches your system. Most of all, remember that a PhD is supposed to be fun (albeit often type two fun – not always “fun” in the moment, but deeply rewarding in hindsight). If you find yourself not enjoying it, take a step back and think about why that is.

Last updated: July 8, 2025

Stories of a PhD

People who have written about their PhD experiences (benefit of hindsight):

• Philip Guo’s The PhD Grind

Meta-PhD and Broad-PhD Advice

• Why Get a PhD?
• Managing Your Advisor
• Philip Guo’s tips for PhD students
• Cultivating Your Research Taste
• The classic Richard Hamming “You and Your Research” talk
• Research Patterns
• Alex Tamkin’s tips for researchers
• What matters in PhD students?

Persistence and Motivation

This shows up a lot in the advice above, but these are more specific discussions of the topic.

• Jean Yang’s the Genius Fallacy
• Jean Yang’s The Angst Overhead
• Jean Yang’s Five Things More Important About a Research Project Than Being in Love
• Cal Newport’s “The Passion Trap”

Writing and Communication

• Presenting a Technical Talk
• Storytelling 101: Writing Tips for Academics
• You and Your Research Proposal

Reading and Reviewing

• The Paper Reviewing Process

Interested in an Academic Career?

• Daniel Seita’s Experience with the Faculty Job Market