Hi all

Has any one any ideas of how to raise confidence levels with regards to knowledge etc.
I am in the middle of my 2nd year and still feel like I know nothing and dont know where to go next.
My supervisor is worse than useless and is constantly saying 'oh the project students are getting results...' he has 6 undergrad project students working on variations of my project.
I had a supervision this am and I felt like he kicked me in the teeth!

Hey I cant help Im afraid but have a similar prob im 3 months in to a PhD in a subject I have no previous experience of my field at all!! Ekkkk!! So I keep finding people assume I know stuff an have no idea what there on at all!!

hi there, I posted a similar message on the forum just a little while ago. I like waterbaby am in a similar position in that I am 3 months into my phd and feel like there is too many journals to read and no matter how many I read, I still dont know whats going on!

As Donald Rumsfeld said,

As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to saywWe know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know we don't know.

A PhD isnt so much turning known unknowns into known knowns, but turning unknown unknowns into known unknowns.

So you will always end up not knowing more than you knew you knew at the begining.

If you are doing it right.

Big up Big Don!!!

I have often thought that a large part of a PhD is gaining the confidence to appear right, and believe that you are right, even if you are wrong. Bluffing, if you will. I have had many contradictory lectures from respected researchers, with differntng facts, sometimes diametrically opposed ideas, and often no common ground between them.

Aliby- u tryin to confuse even further?

The Phd is full of enough jargon. I think being more succint would help.

I am a second year too and I still feel like I haven't got a clue what is going on. I feel like my whole first year I did nothing. I want some results!

Yes, I've been at it a year now and just occured to me that I really should have figured out the answer to some of the practical problems by now...this time last year I thought I would have. Wonder if I should do what all those life coaches suggest and make a goal list for the year.

Thanks guys. I feel a little better now after talking it through with my research administrator and also my 3rd supervisor (who is not directly involved in my project) They both spoke sense but I still feel like I need to improve my confidence and am not sure how... I am booked on the UK grad school thingymajig in May but its only January so have a while yet

The Windermere one is good I hear

thats good to hear - was dreading it actually!

And not only because it is a 7 hour trek from here...

I've heard that the Windermere one is really good. I've booked my place too but not the same time as you.

It sounds like a really good experience, make the most of it and have fun!

Unfortunately, it is true that the more you know, the more you realise you don't know. You get used to it... Just remember that you are not the only one feeling like that, it's very normal.

I need to sort myself out on one of these - shouldn't be turning down free conferences and free excuses to put off even more work!