How I chose my research field (PhD)

I arrived at my PhD in atmospheric physics after a series of events that led me, very specifically, to quasi-geostrophic stratospheric dynamics. In this video I talk about why I chose this topic.

You asked on twitter, so I delivered! The basic advice that I give is: follow your gut. Get exposed to as my sub-fields in your area as possible while at university/college, but ultimately go with what you find instinctively most interesting. This is somewhat easier if you're not required to submit a research proposal I will definitely admit.

If you are a researcher, please comment with your story of how you decided on your field!

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[SimonClark]

Just to reiterate the advice from the video:
- Get exposed to as many sub-fields as you can
- Trust your gut instinct
- Choose a research project that balances your personal interests with the supervisor's ability (and how well you can work together) - this last step is very important for your sanity!

[InvasiveWargaming]

It would not be untrue to say that my PhD was and current research is largely determined by questions developed while staring into the mottled shapes of a shower curtain.

[EuskaltelEuskadi]

Very similar story to mine! I'm currently midway through a PhD in cosmology. I've always loved space and looked forward to the physics lessons at school where we learnt about space, so I decided to do a degree in Astrophysics.

After learning a heck of a lot of astrophysics, I took a General Relativity and Cosmology module in my 3rd year and the simplicity and beauty of the mathematics just blew me away. To think, we can describe the entire Universe with about 3 equations!

So, my Master's project was in cosmology, specifically the behaviour and evolution of a dark energy model called quintessence. I wanted to stick with my Master's supervisor for my PhD but I got an offer from another department and he advised me to take it (bigger and much more well known department, more opportunities etc).

And here I am now, still working on dark energy :) I even used a bit of code today that I wrote exactly 2 years ago when I was just starting out on my Master's project! I should also emphasise that I didn't do any summer research projects or placements, so these aren't essential when applying for PhDs. Enthusiasm and evidence of hard work/ motivation are much more important!

[ImmieHands]

I'll be going into my second year of my PhD in environmental analytical chemistry in a couple of months, and I think the advice of just follow your gut it so accurate. When I was a kid I always loved swimming, and being in water in general. I used to want to be a marine biologist, but then (same as you) I realised biology isn't where the really interesting stuff goes on, and that chemistry is what I liked. So all the way through school and then undergrad I just kept choosing subjects and modules that interested me the most, and then by the time I got to 4th year and looked back at my module transcripts and my dissertation research topic, it was glaringly obvious that there was a very distinct pattern of what interested me. So I applied to my PhD last year and now I work on novel ways to detect and monitor pesticides in surface waters (working under a brilliant academic in the field) so I get to combine my love of water with my enjoyment for chemistry :)

[carlosbornes]

Last year I've started my PhD on Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, what is a strange topic for a chemist like me but since I'm really bad at synthesizing molecules and I usually break a lot of glassware I've decided to change and study something more theoretical that does not require me working with glassware

[adamjbatten]

Another current PhD student here and I can definitely recommend going with your gut.

When I enrolled at my University, I believed that I wanted to study particle physics as I kinda thought it was the most fundamental of the sciences. But on the day before starting I changed my major from 'Physics' to 'Astrophysics', not for any major reason but since that way it would be the easiest way to study GR, which I also wanted to do (Quantum Mechanics + GR pipedreams probably).

This decision was the best one I could have made as the Astrophysics courses were way more exciting and fun than a lot of the Physics courses. And the fact I got to travel to a few telescopes for my degree added to the fun.

This led to me doing a Masters in Binary star evolution and now I'm currently doing a PhD using hydrodynamic simulations to study the Intergalactic Medium and how the elements form in this medium.

[DerFrischkopf]

Hey Simon, I'm currently in high school and I've read all of your book recommendations because I too want to become a freelance weatherman

[Khawlalhasan]

You know the one field that you really want .. when you stop looking for other alternatives. If you are really interested in something you will feel OBSESSED with it that you wont search anymore for something else to replace it and you will stop asking yourself hesitation questions.

[lukehebert]

I got into biology probably because it was the field that most resembled the magic I read as a hobby. Now I do genetics research and I love it. Genomes might be the closest real world things to ancient spellbooks. Some spells are billions of years old. String them together and you can summon an organism from the elements. Changing the details yourself can either do great harm or great good. Many people dedicate their lives to studying the spells and some of us get so far into it that we grow long beards and find it difficult to explain our research to others. And some people distrust the wizards, thinking that they hoard the secrets for personal gain (like people who suspect cancer has already been cured and is just hidden by pharmaceutical companies). But in the end, the old wizards are only trying to understand how the spells work before they themselves return to the elements...be right back, I'ma go write a book real quick.

[robinwing]

This is an awesome video! It really closely mirrors my academic journey.
I started doing a biology degree because I was passionate about the environment but I found that I liked physics better as it was more rigorous. I loved QM and particle physics for the wave equations. I just thought that it was so cool to decompose waves and find field solutions. Then I took a fluid dynamics course and I was hooked! The math was very similar to QM but there were so many other cool aspects to play with (shear, turbulence, external forces, etc).
I then went to my QM instructor and he proposed a senior project for me of resolving stratospheric gravity wave spectra from balloon data. It really clicked with me. One of the jury members for my senior project asked me to join his group for a MSc to do a project with stratospheric water vapour measurements using Raman lidar. Turns out that I love spectroscopy as well lol.
I developed a deep appreciation for the lidar technique during my MSc so I went on afterwards to work on a wind/wave/turbulence project involving a lidar in Alaska. Then I went to France to do my PhD with the guy who originally developed the lidar equations in the 1970s. I did my thesis on stratospheric and mesospheric temperature retrievals.
Now I divide my work between projects on ozone tends and forcings, winds from Aeolus, other satellite validation, and gravity wave studies. I'm just starting to get interested in Arctic clouds as well ;)
Thanks for making this video!!!!

[bitstarted]

On the flip side: how I realized that I DON'T want to do a PhD.

I grew up always wanting to do a PhD. Like Simon, I knew I wanted to do something about the environment and I always liked science. In high school, I really enjoyed biology and chemistry (physics is cool, too, but doesn't tickle me in the same way), so I went into undergrad with the plan to earn a biochemistry degree. My idea for a PhD was to use biochemically inspired systems to inform the development of greener technology. After my second year of undergrad, I landed a summer research assistant job in a synthetic chemistry lab that focused on the development of greener catalysts. I hated it, but I chalked it up to the way the PI ran the lab (super didn't click with me). So the following summer, I got another research job in a polymer chemistry lab. This time, I was working on the development of biodegradable materials. It was fine, but I didn't love it (and this time, the PI & their management style worked for me and my lab mates were fantastic). Also worth mentioning that I switched to being a chemistry major -- dropped the bio part. After a lot of soul searching and long conversations with my university professors/advisors, I decided that a PhD isn't right for me - at least, not right now. It's really hard to let go of the idea of a PhD when you've gone your entire life thinking you wanted one, but a PhD is going to be miserable if you're not 100% sure and 110% passionate. Right now, my plan is to take a gap year to gain more experience in data science, and then maybe get a masters in data science or epidemiology down the line.

tldr: I worked in a few research labs that afforded me a lot of autonomy (aka I was not just a lab tech) and I didn't love it.

[BeautifulFreakful]

Fusion student here. Very interesting video. Just wanted to point out that I think it's unfair to say the fusion is a solved physics problem and that it's just engineering. There are many interesting engineering challenges, but the understanding of plasma instabilities in the case of magnetic confinement fusion or proper modeling of radiation hydrodynamics or warm dense matter in inertial confinement fusion are as physics as it can get. There are also some even more interesting more fundamental open problems like spin polarized fusion for increased cross section or in situ production of mesons to catalyze fusion in warm dense matter targets. I'm sure you would have loved all this since it's basically heating a fluid so much that it becomes a plasma and suddenly you have to use what's basically Navier-Stokes but with time dependant EM fields :D It's great that you could find something you enjoyed either way!

[davidgerard]

I started with Biomedical Science (super broad degree), now I’m working on a Neuroscience research project (Honours), but my childhood love of Physics is re-emerging, I guess inspired by the awesome equipment I get to use (e.g. confocal microscopy, fMRI). So I plan to do a Graduate Diploma in Physics then likely a Medical Physics Masters. Not quite sure where my PhD might fit yet, but we’ll see what happens!

Great video :)

[elfariligon]

This was really helpful Simon! I am doing a PhD in molecular genetics and I have been having troubles in finding motivation, an ultimate driving force within me that will help me dive in fully into my PhD. Your words in this video has somehow helped me think and renew the love I feel for my subject. Thank you.so much and keep up the good work with your videos, for your content surely has helped and will continue to help many people!

[zIHaXSaWIz]

I applied for a PhD yesterday studying the ionosphere of Mars. I basically ended up here because on our integrated master's course all the lectures give a presentation in 3rd year of what project they had and then you went to them and say you wanted to do it and I was instantly interested in a polar ionosphere project. I was drawn to it from a random lab we did on similar and interesting everyone else hated that lab but I found it interesting.

[SyedRizvii]

Listen to this guy kids or you'll struggle getting a thesis out in time like myself! It's really the love for your research and mental strength that'll get you through to the finish line. Starting is the easiest when it comes to PhD in most cases; wrapping it up in an academic format is the hardest!

[lgbb]

I'll be doing my PhD next September 2020 have to get the undergrad done (cleared for funding yesterday woo!). I originally was a researcher in fluids, thermo and nuclear field. Mainly heat transfer fluids.

My PhD supervisor I have now was actually totally unexpected. There was 3 researchers who wanted me. 2 where thermo and fluids experts and I could continue my current field and be a mechanical-nuclear engineer (the first in Ireland) but the third the one I chose was doing data centre energy management and recovery so I kind of wrote it off but I met with the supervisor and we clicked instantly the topic was in electro-thermo field which I wanted to move to but later in my career but after meeting the third supervisor he was nice had excellent expertise and was just funny. Judging off your videos saying a PhD can be lonely I went with him. Now I'm super excited for it, we're presenting both (separately) in September this year for my first conference as a third year.


But the gut never lies. It made my decision too.

[jokeplan]

Awesome video as always! I agree with all the things you said in the video, especially trusting your gut feeling and exposing yourself to a lot of different areas within your field. My story goes like this: 10 years ago in highschool when I was confronted with chosing a profession I wanted nothing more than becoming a draughtsman specialised in building construction and that's why I only looked into this job. I did some days of internship and was convinced that this is the right thing for me. I then started an apprenticeship, however six months in I realised that I did not want to do this job for another four years at least and quit. I then went to grammar school and started at university to study biology in order to become a teacher. During my Bachelor's I purposely chose courses from all different fields of biology (from funghi, over cancer into computational biology) just to prevent focusing only one thing as I did in the past. I then found a field (Systems Biology) which I was really interested in and chose it as a major for my Master's. During this whole time I always said that I'm not going to do a PhD because I wanted to become a teacher after I graduated, however I then got offered a PhD project in the field I graduated in and here I am now just started my PhD in September. So I guess the most important thing I learned during this journey was to not only focus on one thing and be open to take unexpected opportunities. Sorry for the long text :D

[nc-broadcast]

I’m a third year chemistry student in the states, still trying to exactly figure out where I want to go post undergrad, but i will definitely apply for a PhD. My heart is drawn to physics, especially quantum systems. I came across this out of curiosity, but my gut feeling was set in once I attended an amazing talk on exploring physics outside the standard model by way of finding the electron EDM. This talk also exposed me to this idea of quantum control through Ultracold temperatures. It was “cool!” So my advice is, go and listen to as many lectures as possible that you find interesting, and get to know people in that field the best you can!

[steffliot]

Hello Simon,
I am a high school student and I want to do physics Ph.D. Earlier I was also interested in biology but found out that physics is much more fun and interesting. I love cosmology. Your videos are flawless and are helping me a lot to deal with my goal. Thanks a million.