A busy week | Life as a PhD student #17 

I just started a PhD in physics this week, this video was a nice glimpse into what's ahead :D

Every single film: "So we're going to go do a thing." *Scene transition* *Messy hair* "So that went well."

Yay you're back! I love these PhD vlogs. I'm doing my PhD at the minute so its nice to watch someone doing similar things all week haha!

"Not much time", *video is 31 minutes*; that's why we like you, Simon. Always pushing forward!

I really like these videos because it shows the struggle behind obtaining your degree. I think often people just see someone with a PhD and instantly assume them to be some super genius but your videos show that it's just a matter of hard work! I love it! Keep it up and good luck.

Thoroughly enjoyed Baby Driver but I was deeply disappointed that it wasn't in fact a comedy about an actual infant driving a motor vehicle

I hope you never stop posting these vlogs because they motivate me so much!!

You know it's gonna be a good day when your early to a vlog! Been missing these.

Finallyyy! I love watching these. Thank you so much for posting this. The length is perfect. Gives me something to watch in between classes while Im avoiding socializing. :)

We need to see more of you and Dan singing spontaneously like that. I just love it.

I commented on your last vlog about my own study progress. I just wanted to give you a quick update that I'm now an oficial and full time math and science teacher! Still loving your vlogs, keep making them!

Since its A Level results day can you make a video on what to do and not to do in the run up and first weeks at Uni. Just a general video of what happens in this time period from getting your results to going to uni, thanks.

I could tell that the Canon 80D sounds much better straight away, it's got a much crisper sound than the previous. Good pick up.

I love your videos so much! Never stop vlogging your life!

YESSSSSS!!!!!!! the good old long vblogs best thing to end the day ...was really looking up to it

Rubber ducking is how I live my life although I didn't know it was a thing people do on purpose until now. I can't have a full thought without explaining it to myself which is fine until I actually can't stop repeating in my head until I vocalise it but not the most convenient thing when on your own in public.

Instant thumbs up, I absolutely love these vlogs. Please keep them up!!

I'm so happy I've came across your channel. For some reason, watching your vlogs make me feel happy and stress free. I thank you for that 💕☺

24:53 That was a start of something great for sure!

Good luck with finishing your PhD!! 👍😁 Any ideas on what you are going to do next? This 'PhD writing takes up your whole life' is so relatable at the moment 😂 Haven't had myself any 'me-time' in quite a while with all the writing going on. It just keeps going on. 😱

Does Dan have a RU-vid? As an English student I'd love to see Dan talking about his work!

Watching this whilst working out the final few minor corrections before re-submitting my thesis. Can really sympathise with your intro.

Good luck at your Phd, sending you positive energy! 🙂 I can't wait yo start my research on my fild, although it seems hard and frustrating but at the end the result is the most exciting thing!

So glad to see the return of the vlog after such a long hiatus! I really prefer the longer episodes - although if the shorter episodes meant they came out more frequently, however, that would be different! I do have to wonder though - as the final stages of the PhD are now taking up so much time, do you ever feel that you take on too much? Sadly it does feel a little bit like the pressure of podcasting is taking time away from videos. Podcasts must take less time (creating, editing, etc.), and obviously we as subscribers should be happy for every bit of content we get and we can't make demands on your time, but I have really missed the vlog. What do you think?

Your videos are really inspiring! I really like the longer Vlogs around 30min. I think they you shouldn't do only 15minutes Vlogs. You may split them so you can earn more money but I think these long Vlogs are typicial for you and you are really good at them! If someone new is watching your Vlog for 7min, it won't matter if the video is 15 or 30min because he already stayed that long and will continue watching! If you really want to get bigger on RU-vid you should push out more videos, but keeping up the length. And please don't get too fancy with your vlogs and effects etc. keep them simple and lovely, it makes them real and you get the perfect feeling watching them.

The end is coming & it's really exciting! Good Luck, Simon! I have been watching you for a long time now.. 😊

I m also writing PhD Thesis and watching your Vlogs that gives me motivation. I have only four months now. Keep up the good work. You are amazing!!

Really missed the old style of vlog, glad to see you are doing well, keep at that thesis, take some time off if you need! Just starting to really work on my undergraduate thesis which is already a lot of work, can't wait to (hopefully) begin a PhD next year (in physics, specifically theoretical condensed matter) so I can only attempt to imagine and get what I can from your vlogs, good luck mate!

I love your channel and Vlogs. It's so academic and good for students to watch. It's relatable and inspirational to achieve our academic goals.

Good luck with finishing your thesis. I'm very proud that I could understand some of the code you wrote on the whiteboard (mainly list comprehensions!) Also, good luck on solving that coding dilemma. That would absolutely baffle me if I saw that but I'm pretty sure you could solve it in a matter of days (or weeks)

Yes Simon!! I'm cooking my dinner right now but I am so excited to watch one of your long PhD vlogs again!

Currently, I am in the middle of my undergraduate degree in Archaeology (in Australia) and I find your videos so inspiring! Love the vlogs especially! Good luck with completing the PhD 😊☺️

i love you and dan!! these videos keep me sane - also you three have wonderful voices

Simon, thanks so much for the video! We really appreciate. I just wanted to say, it's ok to not work on the thesis for a few days... and not even catch up afterwards. A friend who finished his PhD in history a few years back actually took a whole YEAR of a break after finishing all his research and before writting the thesis per se. Now, I wouldn't advise you to go that far, and I understand that hard sciences have a more definite limit on how long should be spent on a PhD than Humanities do (or is that only in France?). But still, don't feel to guilty, if you can help it, for giving yourself a break. My friend advocates that he needed to process all that he had discovered before writting, and, you know, catch up on life after locking himself away for quite few years too (lots of crazy happened in that year of his life, makes for good memories). Also, he got the best mark you can possibly get for a PhD in France, so... I guess he was right. Good luck! xx

I just learned a new thing about "rubber ducking problem solving method" by you. I haven't heard anything about this before. And I made a research about it. And this is very useful perspective to critize and solve the problems. Thanks Simon!

Now that I've got into uni, these vlogs are exciting me at the realm of possibilities awaiting me. Keep it up!

I'm so excited for you to finish your thesis! (For you to have some time to rest if anything, you utterly deserve it 😊)

I hope you let us read your thesis when you're finished!!

i'm working on my master thesis, and watching your videos time to time motivates me.... gl with your thesis

Love the longer vlogs covering a whole week.

Furries are gonna love your channel after this Zootropolis/Zootopia reference! I hope I'm not the only one.

Hey Simon so happy I saw this video today just got my as level results back and got two E's in law. Keep up the great content because I love it.

Yay! Another week in the life vlog!

I'm glad to see they finally put decent seating up there in the forum, outside the library. The previous arrangement with the row of tables and sofas, and high tables and stools was awful. Also, are you eating pizza with ketchup!? Unthinkable!

Holy shit the new quality is amazing! Also, you look great. No need for makeup.

YES! A 30 min long vlog.

1. refreshing my youtube story 2. realizing there is FINALLY simons new vlog up! 3. Getting almost a heart attack & dancing of joy 4. start the video 5. stopt the video @ 0:01 & like 6. write this comment 7. now, let's get the party started! 🍿

you're probably my most favorite vlogger!!!

Okay, I'm really mesmerised by the similarity of the curvatures of the two plots in your graph! (how?!) I really wanna know more details. Would it be weird if I (in spite of the risk of not understanding it) asked you for a copy of your PhD thesis once you've finished and published it?

"Try everything" with my motivational song this year !!! Go Simon GO !!!

@Simon Clarke I kinda like that you have like a regular HP computer and not a super fancy expensive one...Just finished my MA... hoping to start my PhD Next year

Good luck kid with your thesis.........much love for you...........Cheers from Brazil.

totally understandable! thank you for still uploading though! love your vids! Good luck!!

Simon, I have a few comments about your video on “Not getting a Ph.D”. I attended college for eight years; enough time to get a Ph.D but I didn’t because I had more than one passion (since age seven when I read my first College Physics text). I spent two years at GWU in DC going for a BS in Science. Not happy with their Science Dept. I moved to Cincinnati and unable to enroll at the University of Cincinnati (UC), I enrolled at Ohio College of Applied Science and received an ASTME. Then with four years of college under my belt I applied at UC. They accepted me AS A FRESHMAN😡. Four years later I received my BS in Physics. Found out there weren’t any jobs for a Physicist with a BS so got a job at an Electronics Laboratory/Manufacturing Company. In15 years there I worked my way up to EDP Mgr. and finally Engineering Mgr.when I left that company I had several great jobs in EDP. I wrote the Computer Security manual at a Fortune 500 company and then got on a seven man team in charge of supporting over 3000 Sun Work Stations running UNIX and C. I also taught in-house classes on how to use the companies computer system. The only computer class I had in college was one semester of Fortran. All of my other computer skills were self taught. So far it’s been rather a bad life right - well there is a great life story I haven’t mentioned yet; my other passions. While at UC I was also working part time and racing Sports Cars at most of the major tracks (thanks to finding a sponsor). After graduation I got married - just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. After I lost my sponsor because he didn’t want a married driver☹️ I got into flying. Earned my Private, Instrument, Commercial ratings plus lots of Aerobatic time. My wife and I are building an airplane in our garage and in our spare time we ride our Harley’s. I’m retired - feel I’ve had a pretty good life. My only disappointment is that I may have let my parents down as my father and grandfather had their Ph.D’s. After viewing your video on not getting a Ph.D I feel a lot better. Thank you. BTW: I still study Physics every day via books and videos. I have to do this because there have been so many discoveries in Physics since I graduated. I have this overwhelming need to learn as much Physics as I can even though the more I learn the more things I realize I still need to learn. I guess somewhere down deep I really am a Physicist even without the Ph.D.

Honestly, the AVPM moment had me having a mini bop around my room.

OMG IVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOUR VLOGSSSSSS THANK YOUUUU

Yes! Back to looong vlogs!

I ve been waiting here like hachi, every single day

loved the quality upgrade! I'm a film making geek too

CHICHESTER PSALMS! - WHAT A CHOON

Where did you get that death star tshirt? I must have it in my life!

8:27-8:50 basically sums up everyone's tertiary level education in a nut shell.

Just wondering if you did any internships as an undergraduate? I live in Ireland and am finding it hard to find relevant ones! Any advice on where to look? Thanks :) Also! It's so helpful to see what phd life is like! :)

great vlogs really enjoying them ...do more of the phd work and research

When your overworking so much that you don't care if a spider kills you 😂

your vlogs are getting better :>

I'm very happy that you're going to be finishing your PhD soon. Then I realise that I'm starting university for the first time this September. -_- Much cry, much sadness.

Hey Simon, what programming languages are useful for an aspiring physicist to learn?

8:51 I shouldn't laugh, but adding the classic British understatement that was damn funny!

Cheeky bird flippage at 4:50

You look you've lost weight from when you started your 'Life as a PhD student' series. Keep up all the hard work big man

Doesn't look like you have the stabilizer on the Canon 80D

I study all day and I still feel lost deddddd. Uni struggles.

Love the into Simon !

YaaY a new vlog!

27:47 "They have no faith in the Fuehrer." Someone has some explaining to do.

Simon, you've got to fix your posture while editing videos. Your neck is going to get hurt. :)

"Poof levels are so high!" Said Simon Clark with regards to himself.

Finally!! I'm saved. Thank you Simon :)

so much intelligence in a vlog

Wooooo new vlog

Yes!

You need to work on the optical image stabilization on that 80d ;)

When you ate the packing peanut I died xD

Thanks for the pixalation there...

Just saw you went to my climbing centre in January which is weird.

Such a daddy 💓

Love is all you nedd (Beatles) Love, love, love Love, love, love Love, love, love There's nothing you can do that can't be done Nothing you can sing that can't be sung Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game It's easy Nothing you can make that can't be made No one you can save that can't be saved Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time It's easy All you need is love All you need is love All you need is love, love Love is all you need All you need is love All you need is love All you need is love, love Love is all you need Nothing you can know that isn't known Nothing you can see that isn't shown

Hey Simon, at 1:30 I see a timer...are you by any chance using the pomodoro technique?

Hey #Simon, what are the course books you" recommend"/ "read" for university physics from beginners to advanced?

6:26 for a moment i thought you will gonna be the next Spiderman. you are good at science and there was a spider in your neck.

Why was 'dan and I are doing a pilot' wrong? 'dan' is the subject of the sentence, so you need to use 'I'. Don't you use 'me' when the person is the object of the sentence? In this case the 'pilot' is the object. I don't get it.

Hey Simon! I just wondered if it would at all be possible for you to release your final thesis to your RU-vid community once it is finished. I do not know any of the rules on doing a PhD and if doing that would be breaking any of them but if you could i reckon there would be quite a few people, including myself, who would love to read through it.

Simon Iv been watching you since my year 10 Board exams. I'm in year 12 my last year(senior year in india). iv actually improved in studies. just want to say thank you. and I'm only 6 months away from coming to England for UNIVERSITY AND STAY THERE AND MEET MY FAM again. yee haaaw

14:15 dat eyebrow raise

This music makes me feel I'm watching a x-file ep. Between Simon and Dan, who's Mulder and who's Scully?

Have u considered unit testing your code ?

24:30 so this is the origin story of the wikicast?

anyone else notice the moving rock in the beginning?

Publishing ur thesis, or bits of it, wiggles out most mistakes, if ur not doing that already.