i have been offered a PhD position and will be starting soon. But my questions is how were the first few months when you started you PhD placements, what sort of tasks were you given and how you settled in?

What subject area are you working in?

sorry, how stupid of me not to state that lol. i'm in the biological field.

Computer science and engineering !

I found that a lot of it was attending courses and writing your proposal. I wouldn't expect too much lab time in the first few months.

It really depends. A friend of mine did nothing for the first six months (well... reading articles etc.), whereas I was working in the lab from the first week. It depends what kind of lab it is and what your supervisor is like. When you went to the interview you probably got am impression of what the place was like. Was it laid back or stressed?

i was in the lab straight away but i know other people starting didnt do any lab work for a couple of months. It depends on your own abilities i guess. I had prior experience so was able to get stuck in.

Hi I want to know about PhD prospects in Biomedical.

It depends on how your project works.I think in most cases you just 'do as your told' for the first few days/weeks until you have encountered most of the important techniques. The best peice of advice i can give you is to be inquisitive about what the first few months would entail in terms of lab work and then go away and look over the methods if you can. That way, you will be prepared to ask the right questions when a post doc shows you a technique etc. Good luck

I found I was very much left alone during the first few months to find my own way. So its up to you what you do - if you have a clear idea then just get on with it. Most people spend the time figuring out what they want to do in terms of practical work, what the question is and on literature reviews - you should expect regular supervisroy meetings in the first three months to help you on this - insist on it as you cant afford to waste a single week!