Does anyone else think it's kind of strange how nowadays people just record themselves daily and upload on UA-cam and, we, as random people, watch and keep up with the daily life of this guy we will never even meet. Very crazy what we've come to as far as means of entertainment and interaction.
I think about this a lot! Sometimes when you take a step back and look at what you're doing, managing a UA-cam channel, you can't help but find it strange. The way I see it, it's just an extension of traditional media types like interviews in a magazine or on tv, just taken to the nth level. Makes you wonder what comes after this!
An interesting use of UA-cam, and a great insight into your life. This from a long-time fan and subscriber. The video was very well produced, so many good moments of your week.
Aww - tear. You're making me miss my PhD years. I finished in December 2014. Believe you me, you will miss every second of the trip that is a PhD. Three and a half years of total, mad, psycho, painful, extreme intellectual self-indulgence. It is so crazy that only when you come out of the tunnel can you look back and realise how insane the whole thing was. I was so done with it, I'd curse myself and wished I had never started every 3 seconds, but the day I submitted my 95,000 word thesis I felt like I had lost a limb. Looking back now, best experience ever. Enjoy it! PS: the viva is the most anti-climax thing ever. You build up so many expectations over 3 years, and imagine to feel amazing when the examiners call you doctor for the first time. But its like fancying somebody for ages and fantasising about them, but then realising they are the dullest person in the room when you finally get to speak to them for the first time. :-)
asmrfoodieuk helped me incredibly. I got my first 'researcher' job when I was still in my third year. As soon as I completed, I got a Lecturer job which I did for a year an a half. Now, two years after completing my PhD I became a Senior Lecturer in my field at a different university, make just under 50k, am about to publish my first monograph. I understand that many aren't so lucky, but for me it was very useful and helped me get where I wanted to get quite quickly. Don't get me wrong, it's bloody hard work. It is insanely hard in fact. But if you are in it for the right reason, hard work won't scare you.
A Phd is only helpful if you do it in the sciences/in engineering, OR if you are 100% determined to stay in academia. I have a PhD in the humanities and I've been unemployed for 2 years now after being trapped in adjunct jobs with low pay for ages. I wasted pretty much all of my 30s chasing the dream of full-time employment as a lecturer - never happened. And now, most non-academic jobs I apply for I don't get because I'm supposedly "overtrained" or whatever. DO NOT do a PhD UNLESS you 100% KNOW you have what it takes to survive in academia (mostly: no private life, no problem with constant rejection, no illusions about academia being some fairy tale community where people work together in harmony), unless your degree is something like engineering or similar, where a higher degree is actually seen as an asset and not something suspicious that might make you "too smart". Otherwise, it is a waste of money. I do not regret my PhD because I made amazing friends, but I regret being too naiv about my employment chances after I finish. Should have left academia immediately and done more practical work in the real world!
@germankiwigal Absolutely spot on. But even in the sciences/engineering, a PhD has a very limited shelf-life, becoming obsolete within 10 years, and initially is of extremely limited use in the real world; most science/engineering jobs can be done by intelligent, motivated technicians without even an undergraduate degree. Companies generally want trustworthy people prepared to stay with a company long term, so the training isn't wasted on them. I don't believe you're rejected because you're "over-trained" but because you lack the necessary experience they're looking for, and long term attitude. But there are other options available to you such as teaching and especially tutoring. Even here, teaching is a talent and skill that takes years of experience to develop, and not all PhDs have the social skills to interact with their pupils confidently.
I started studying Mathematics and Physics this year and I love seeing what your week's like cause hopefully I'll be doing a PhD at some point in the future.
As a high school student I'm used to writing around 5 page essays and I can't even imagine how much content and effort you have to put in the 152-200 page thesis! Hope you get your PhD soon!
Just got this randomly recommended again and am now contemplating watching this whole "series" all over again. I watched it back in 2016 when I had just stated my physics degree one year prior. You gave me the first insight into graduate school and where no small part in me continuing and pushing through the hard parts. I am proud to say that I am now also pursuing a PhD. in physics and can relate with so much of what you are saying. This is where it all started.
Hahaha, riiiggghhhttttttt. I don't know anyone with a PhD. which makes even a million. Including professors who work at Harvard and MIT. Hell the Nobel Prize award is only a million, which isn't jack shit into today's world for the amount of work it requires to receive the Nobel prize or to get a PhD. You won't be making $10 million dollars... you may want to look back into that wage. I just think you'll be putting in a lot of work for what you think will be an awesome and rewarding job. PhD is a very stressful career, considering any school will fire you if you don't bring in any grant money, since the school typically gets half. So you always have to have research going on that's significant. Then there is fighting to be first author, how fun is that!? With the amount of work you'll be putting in, you truly could make that salary of $10 million doing something else like real estate.
Omg. All the PhDs around the world salute you for putting this up. It's so nice to know that PhDs aren't all smooth-sailing, and that you also take on side projects/hobbies while doing it! Hi from Perth, Western Australia!
I love how he talks to us like we understand anything he's saying, is it just me thats nodding my head muttering "yes, physics, stratosphere, tree to student ratio, yup, code, chapel, jesus"
Hey man greetings from Chicago. You live a pretty balanced life style with work and a little bit of fun. Im an ex community organizer and recent science convert. Im looking to get into an astrophysics program. I do indigenous martial arts as well as study meso american codexes. And also work on music. And have my job. I feel like i try to do too much sometimes and i end up out of balance. Your video proves its possible to do all the things you love all the while keeping a smile on your face. Right on brothah!
Actually they could be right in a mathematical sense if the equation is quadratic you get positive or the same negative result. Could be that his code converges to the negative solution.
If you inverse the distribution of particles in lower and higher energy states such that the higher energy state is more occupied, yet in fact get a negative absolute temperature.
It's so odd and entertaining seeing places which I see everyday in your vlogs! I'm a first year student at Exeter College hoping to go to either Oxford or Cambridge (whenever I can finally make my mind up). I'm loving the PhD videos and I enjoyed the EGU vlogs. Keep up the good work and best of luck with your PhD!
ryeofoatmeal The last thing she cares about is intelligence. 1) It's who can provide the best gene(attraction) 2) He's smart( Potential for high income/resources). Thats what she subconciouesly meant.
There's nothing wrong with being a bit shallow during the first stages of mate searching, physically attractive = good genes. You're pretending that you wouldn't prefer an attractive smart person over a less attractive smart person.
Dear Simon, This was another fantastic video of yours! I just wanted to say I love your videos and used to watch them over the past couple of years whilst doing my A levels and I found them very motivational and useful and the advice from them helped me achieve 5A*s at A level in the end! Thanks! :) Aniket
still amazing! hey wanted to ask for some advice please tell me some of your wisdome i need some tips youve learnt im currently in A2 and wana go oxford bad, btw did you reject oxford or caimbridge? if not why dident you get in mann you worked hard for that dont they realise!?
It's very inspiring, not only the video, but also the comments below. As a third year PhD in engineering, it's a great relief to see other PhDs life! Subscribe!
Dear Simon, Thank you for sharing a piece of your PhD life. I'm also in the last year of my PhD on atomic physics and just let me say that the speech you gave around 10:00 uplifted my spirit, which I didn't know I need it. I'm gonna stop procrastinating now (which means I will no longer see the rest of the video, sorry!). Thanks for the inspo, man! All the best,
I've really missed videos like this, really hoping you do more in the future. Preferably not during exam season though because passing my degree is something I'd actually like to do :L
I loved this! I'm currently working and SO miss uni :( I'd love to continue somewhere in England (I'm from Germany) because it appears to me that the quality is higher though the surroundings are more "attractive" (does that make sense? methods, facilities, etc. just seem more efficient in GB generally). Also, you sound/look like a great guy :-) Good luck on the PhD!
Every couple of months I come back and rewatch this series and I always enjoy it. As a current PhD student (quantum physics ftw) even though these videos are old it's nice to see this struggle through someone else's eyes and feel less alone.
After watching this, I can surely say that it looks like you enjoy creating / editing videos FAR more than you enjoy Atmospheric Physics, Singing, or Tennis.
peace lover Hard to be productive when you just *can't* feels like you're being sucked into a pit of mud and everything you try to pull yourself out sucks you back in. If you do manage to get out it's beyond exhausting, before you just fall back into the pit and struggle to get out once more.
Seems very interesting and you are definitely living a very busy life. I am reading these comments though and it's like "smart people, can't wait until I'm there" seems as if some of you think your better than another based on exam results or what you are studying. Even if you are a university student or a PhD student you are no better than anyone else. I myself had a "friend" in my final year of GCSE's get accepted into a top sixth form in my area. He said "I can't wait to finally speak to people who are actually intelligent" Some of these comments remind me of that. Don't be that guy. However if you are at university doing something you genuinely have a passion for then good on you. I haven't found my passion yet and I really don't think it's at uni.
I'm rewatching the whole playlist, Let's see if Simon still looks at new comments from very old videos lol. Thanks a lot Simon for all the work ethic you have helped me build.
I've just started my Ph.D. in Computer Engineering with a focus in Soft Robotics. The candor in these videos is so refreshing! Thanks for posting them :)
Most productive person I have ever seen in my life. You're an inspiration to me to get off my lazy butt and actually start doing things instead of just procrastinating. Felt like I just needed to comment this.
Didn't understand a majority of the stuff you discussed relating to your PhD and thesis but it's entertaining watching people talk about their passions so I enjoyed the whole video. Your editing and film techniques are really good btw.
this was perhaps one of your best videos yet and i think it is quite remarkable that you can balance all of your commitments as you do. I would love you making your live streams more regular and I think you really must share your post box address you we can send you stuff.
As a person who struggled through a U.S. associates degree (blame math) I have unreasonable amounts of respect for people who are successful and choose to get a Phd. I enjoy being in a career more than I ever enjoyed school but I always wish I'd been more "scholarly". In fact, I used to think I was stupid because I wasn't great in school but being in the real world has proven that I'm actually quite smart. Luckily scholarly aptitude isn't everything but I still have mad respect for those who "get it". It's impressive to see all your hard work, great job! I wish you success in your thesis! ~Meredith
just watched this whole video, amazing that you worked with tom frank. following his videos for quite some time now and didn't know you teamed up. great work, keep on going.
Your life sounds really stressful and busy. How do you get yourself to do so much work everyday? Coding, planning your thesis, choir, managing a blogging initiative. How do you do it all? I'm a med student, and I find it so hard to work hard consistently every day. Some days, I can work nonstop for hours and get a lot done. On other days, I literally do nothing all day. For example today, I got up at 10:30 AM, its now 8pm and I haven't a single thing productive. And you manage to do so much. I'm just so lazy. Need your advice
IWillDominate By practicing. I code everyday for 12 to 15 hours (in the summer holidays!) it's all about practice. You get used to it so fast, it's just like playing games. You don't realize you're doing much but in fact you are.
Woow, it feels like just yesterday that I watched your video about your Oxford interview and you popped up in my recommended videos again. This was cool, man, thanks for sharing
your editing is top notch! And usually I don`t find vlogs to be that interesting to me, but I really enjoyed watching yours..glad I came across your channel :)
I am doing my masters right now, super scared of doing a phd eventually as it is so much work but i'm determined to stop having self doubt ^.^ Thank you for sharing :)
Ahh, thank you Simon, I needed to get on with some university work of my own, and your vlogs always get me feeling extremely motivated, if you could keep em' coming for the next 4 years of my degree I would be v grateful :)
WOAH! It’s super weird seeing someone vlog in my hometown.... I’ve been around the uni (mainly going to the theatre) a lot. This is just very very odd. I recognise where you are filming. This never happens!!!!
So interesting to see a week in your PhD life. Exeter is beaut. The choir sample was lush too! Also, yes to hair issues while vlogging (I have exactly the same problem). Embrace the unruliness!
Haha how did you even get onto the conversation topic at 19:40. Made me laugh for some reason. I'd be great if you made more of these, they're really interesting and you edited it really well.
This is so fabulous. I am also a PhD student who manages a demanding extracurricular activity, a relationship, and a social media presence on top of research (and coursework, because I'm getting my degree in the US). It was great to see someone else doing the exact same thing. Hope your code works soon. :)
This is the second time I've noticed a substantial amount of coding in physics. It obviously seems to be worth learning, but to what sort of level? Would completing a coding course be overkill?
Well it depends on what kind of research you'd end up doing - if going into astrophysics or atmospheric physics in particular I don't there would be such a thing as overkill when learning to code!
If you're going into Physics I'd say learn as much coding as you can, the amount of coding required varies depending on your type of research but it's always good to learn as much as possible
I can vouch for it's use in quantum physics and quantum engineering also. Unless it's purely analytical physics you are considering you need to learn to code. Something I neglected to realise until starting my PhD. Even a lot of analytical physics (and maths) will run simulations on a computer because it saves hours of laborious 'by hand' calculations. Essentially the reason the computer was invented in the first place. Plus it gives you a very useful and transferable skill for later in life :)
Nice video I can really relate to it especially the part with post it notes saying "The bigger I look into the problem, the bigger it seems to get." where you actually dont get anything done at all it seems that your mind is blank and just keep just staring at your computer as if answers will just pop out after doing it for long hours.
Good luck! I'm in 3rd year currently researching and analysing data using code for my dissertation, so I'm glad to see that there's another person in this universe who understands the life of researching & making code! Haha
i am currently working on my master thesis, its related to image classification.i am currently stuck on my code,found a bug after working for 10-12hr for 5 days.And the result is i correct it ,and now i am trying to find an another bug as the results are not proper. Coding is frustrating. i share the same feeling for the code as u did
Great video! Academic life is strange and quite challenging at times, but also super exciting and enjoyable :) It's nice to see you've found a balance between physics, singing, and UA-cam. I'm in Alaska working on my Master's, so whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, I have plenty of outdoor sports/activities to take a break from the lab.
The hardest bit of a PhD is finding motivation to read and write. No one is there to tell you what to do, so if you get behind, it's basically your fault in the first place and your job to correct. You can be writing your thesis, then get sidetracked on UA-cam and you've just lost half a day.
Well a PhD is really a 9-5 job 5 days a week (ish) so as long as you put the hours in, what you do in your evenings and weekends is up to you! And as someone who doesn't expect or need a social life I find that I can manage choir and UA-cam (which is less than I did before in my PhD) perfectly fine while still getting the work done. As for how long this took to make, well a week to film and then probably about 10 hours of editing?
SimonOxfPhys you evidently spend more than an 8 hour day though working on your PhD, is that due to more pressure being your last year? I'm really interested in following academia, I'm in year 12 in Haberdashers and I do Further Maths, Physics, and Literature-- and while that combination often results in a very high workload, the end goal is to graduate with a masters in physics from Imperial, and then hopefully stay on for a PhD in theoretical physics (I'm not too keen on leaving London). How did you find further maths? It's quite up and down for me as I might get stuff one lesson and be lost in another, and 15 lessons of maths a week along with hw and extra work can get quite exhausting as we go through material very fast. I joined Haberdashers this year, and I've found they definitely push students a lot harder than any other school I've been to-- it's only been about 6 weeks and we've finished c1, a few lessons into c2, and more than half way through m1 and s1. What modules did you do btw?
I did (across both maths and further maths) C1-4, M1-3, S1-2, D1, and FP1-2. And I found it incredibly tough! I only scraped As in a couple of the modules, and definitely found it disheartening some days as you just don't understand! I think the key is just to push on and work consistently - don't pause for breath until the holidays, and even then don't take too long off, you've just got to keep moving!
SimonOxfPhys how is the code going btw? Did you finally get it to work? I can imagine you've been working quite a lot in the last 2 weeks, how stressful can year 4 of a PhD get-- especially when you hit an apparent road block like the code (I hope it's been sorted by now)?
I know this is my third consecutive comment but this video was awesome. The Neistatesque style was great without copying him, and the editing/framing/music was very well done
This was good, an interesting insight and some good editing! Do you use Matlab for the computational work? I'm trying to get to grips with it at the moment for my PhD.
Thanks! I used matlab in my masters but I switched first to R and now to python for my PhD coding - personally I don't mind matlab but python feels more light weight and easier to use
... that sounds more like a (bad) computer scientist. I simply find it funny that a physicist sounds more like a (bad) computer scientist. Malfunctioning programs are the problem more times than the physics being studied.
Just because a computer scientist can't figure out why his code isn't working, doesn't make him a bad computer scientist! That's the name of the game! Whenever you write code, and it doesn't work, you keep at it and figure out the missing link. Then you experience the epic win of programming whenever you do. :)
SimonOxfPhys hahah always here for ya ;) jw can you do a video about the in depth equations you're using? Im doing second order differential equations in F maths at the minute and id love to see how the stuff is actually used in uni etc :) No videos like that on youtube that i can find :)
I am totally incapable at coding; I tried multiple classes and got my worst grades so far on them! Do I have a future in Physics or any other hard sciences? Your work is concerning me.
How did people before Simon do to prove physics thesis? They didn't have computers or anything like it, so you certainly don't need to know how to code to do a PhD. But if you do a physics course, they will most probably have coding courses, and trust me, having a coding course at university is different from having it at school, and there are many people like you who don't know how to code and so, the course will be starting from point 0. I'm studying Computer Science at UoExeter, and there were people in my course who never coded in their lives, and that's why we started from the basics. So don't worry about it, you aren't alone for sure! I wish you good luck!
Philippe Roubert Thank you. I was not using him as the definitive example, but just as a reference point. I am doing much better in the humanities in my liberal arts college, but the sciences do excite me enough to make a go for it at times. Time will tell I guess what is better for me I guess.
It is important, but you can do without it. You will, a lot of the time, be working in research teams. It's rare that a researcher works alone. There is always going to be someone that can code in a team, and it's not essential for every single member to be proficient in it. It's obviously great if you could pick up the skill, though. Maybe try learning by yourself rather than in a course? I find I learn a lot better by myself rather than be pressured by (bad) assessments.
dipro001 I find that I can understand what's going on, but I just need a little more time. I don't do well with the practical exams, wherein we have to write a particular program under a time constraint without the internet. I find that really stupid, because programmers in real life do not remember all the syntax and stuff, and Google stuff ALL the time. The written exam is also terrible because you'd never be in such a situation in real life where you have to remember everything like that. I really wouldn't worry if you're not getting good grades in the classes - they are very bad in my experience in assessing your skills.
He is a big influence but the moment you change something its not a copy anymore. Its progress. Casey`s Vlog style + PhD = Simon Simon` Vlog Style + B = C maybe we should write a code about it ;)
I'm a software developer and I know the struggle soooooo wellllll lol After dealing with a bug for so long, I try to use a really old and unoriginal trick of mine to find where exactly the problem is. Once you find out where it is, understanding and fixing the bug becomes very easy. The trick is incredibly simple. Print text EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY. If you change a variable, print the new value If you add something to a variable, print what you added and the new variable For every line of code, print some interval starting at "1" for example and add 1 to that for every new line of code you make. By reading all the printed text you can easily wrap your head around exactly what your code is doing and that always helps me fix my bugs.
Does anyone else think it's kind of strange how nowadays people just record themselves daily and upload on UA-cam and, we, as random people, watch and keep up with the daily life of this guy we will never even meet. Very crazy what we've come to as far as means of entertainment and interaction.
xxHockeyMonkey92xx Yeah the way social media & vlogging etc have grown so rapidly is crazy and incredible all at the same time.
I think about this a lot! Sometimes when you take a step back and look at what you're doing, managing a UA-cam channel, you can't help but find it strange. The way I see it, it's just an extension of traditional media types like interviews in a magazine or on tv, just taken to the nth level. Makes you wonder what comes after this!
SimonOxfPhys Yeah, the creativity it has brought out in people is amazing. New sub here, I like your channel its very cool. 👍
K xo Aw, thank you!
SimonOxfPhys You're welcome!
things you do in a week is equivalent of what i do in a year
Kamil Hakim this is true for most of undergraduated student like us
An interesting use of UA-cam, and a great insight into your life. This from a long-time fan and subscriber. The video was very well produced, so many good moments of your week.
Thanks, and thanks for sticking around for so long!
A W 2 i agree
Aww - tear. You're making me miss my PhD years. I finished in December 2014. Believe you me, you will miss every second of the trip that is a PhD. Three and a half years of total, mad, psycho, painful, extreme intellectual self-indulgence. It is so crazy that only when you come out of the tunnel can you look back and realise how insane the whole thing was. I was so done with it, I'd curse myself and wished I had never started every 3 seconds, but the day I submitted my 95,000 word thesis I felt like I had lost a limb. Looking back now, best experience ever. Enjoy it!
PS: the viva is the most anti-climax thing ever. You build up so many expectations over 3 years, and imagine to feel amazing when the examiners call you doctor for the first time. But its like fancying somebody for ages and fantasising about them, but then realising they are the dullest person in the room when you finally get to speak to them for the first time. :-)
asmrfoodieuk helped me incredibly. I got my first 'researcher' job when I was still in my third year. As soon as I completed, I got a Lecturer job which I did for a year an a half. Now, two years after completing my PhD I became a Senior Lecturer in my field at a different university, make just under 50k, am about to publish my first monograph. I understand that many aren't so lucky, but for me it was very useful and helped me get where I wanted to get quite quickly. Don't get me wrong, it's bloody hard work. It is insanely hard in fact. But if you are in it for the right reason, hard work won't scare you.
A Phd is only helpful if you do it in the sciences/in engineering, OR if you are 100% determined to stay in academia. I have a PhD in the humanities and I've been unemployed for 2 years now after being trapped in adjunct jobs with low pay for ages. I wasted pretty much all of my 30s chasing the dream of full-time employment as a lecturer - never happened. And now, most non-academic jobs I apply for I don't get because I'm supposedly "overtrained" or whatever. DO NOT do a PhD UNLESS you 100% KNOW you have what it takes to survive in academia (mostly: no private life, no problem with constant rejection, no illusions about academia being some fairy tale community where people work together in harmony), unless your degree is something like engineering or similar, where a higher degree is actually seen as an asset and not something suspicious that might make you "too smart". Otherwise, it is a waste of money. I do not regret my PhD because I made amazing friends, but I regret being too naiv about my employment chances after I finish. Should have left academia immediately and done more practical work in the real world!
@germankiwigal Absolutely spot on. But even in the sciences/engineering, a PhD has a very limited shelf-life, becoming obsolete within 10 years, and initially is of extremely limited use in the real world; most science/engineering jobs can be done by intelligent, motivated technicians without even an undergraduate degree. Companies generally want trustworthy people prepared to stay with a company long term, so the training isn't wasted on them. I don't believe you're rejected because you're "over-trained" but because you lack the necessary experience they're looking for, and long term attitude.
But there are other options available to you such as teaching and especially tutoring. Even here, teaching is a talent and skill that takes years of experience to develop, and not all PhDs have the social skills to interact with their pupils confidently.
sphinx333 Biochemistry student, soon to start my Master's.... Can't wait for PhD hell 😅😂
Writing is one of my favorite hobbies, but wow... 95,000 words.
WOAH. A PhD student and a UA-camr. I am impressed!!
Jomie Hospital also does some choir, which may seem easy but requires real dedication and more work than you'd think
Jomie Hospital this was my first thought as well hehehe
Yawaaaa bisaya!!! Inday !!!! Hay salamat naa koy kauban na bisaya diri nga channel hahahahha
Yeah some docs do youtube not only him.
It is very difficult to juggle the two for sure! One video a month at a push is torture
not to be pretentious but this is genuinely a classic in the genre of the university vlog
I started studying Mathematics and Physics this year and I love seeing what your week's like cause hopefully I'll be doing a PhD at some point in the future.
Good luck and have fun !
Good Luck! =)
Lucia Montes is it hard? like from 10 how much is it?
T Bayer I'm only on my first year so it's all quite easy so far, but I never really found maths difficult, so it might depend on the person
First year is largely just A level stuff + a bit to make sure everyones on the same page. It gets interesting later =)
As a high school student I'm used to writing around 5 page essays and I can't even imagine how much content and effort you have to put in the 152-200 page thesis! Hope you get your PhD soon!
The amount of things you pack into one week Simon!! Keep the vlogs coming!
Jessica K ask aebbsrs gt were waiting waitingwvrDT
Just got this randomly recommended again and am now contemplating watching this whole "series" all over again. I watched it back in 2016 when I had just stated my physics degree one year prior. You gave me the first insight into graduate school and where no small part in me continuing and pushing through the hard parts.
I am proud to say that I am now also pursuing a PhD. in physics and can relate with so much of what you are saying.
This is where it all started.
I'm about to finish my Ph.D course in Astrophysics. Man, I can't wait. Because when I finish, I'll go apply for a position at JAXA
Good luck with finishing up and writing your thesis!
SimonOxfPhys Thanks very much
AlphaCentauriusX have fun doing research for the rest of your life and making a shitty wage.
+colbymchenry the position I want at JAXA is over 10000000円 a year. I wouldn't call that a "shitty wage"
Hahaha, riiiggghhhttttttt. I don't know anyone with a PhD. which makes even a million. Including professors who work at Harvard and MIT. Hell the Nobel Prize award is only a million, which isn't jack shit into today's world for the amount of work it requires to receive the Nobel prize or to get a PhD. You won't be making $10 million dollars... you may want to look back into that wage. I just think you'll be putting in a lot of work for what you think will be an awesome and rewarding job. PhD is a very stressful career, considering any school will fire you if you don't bring in any grant money, since the school typically gets half. So you always have to have research going on that's significant. Then there is fighting to be first author, how fun is that!? With the amount of work you'll be putting in, you truly could make that salary of $10 million doing something else like real estate.
You do more academic work in a week than I've done in the past year as an undergrad....
Bloody hell. You might just be the busiest man in the whole of England.
Omg. All the PhDs around the world salute you for putting this up. It's so nice to know that PhDs aren't all smooth-sailing, and that you also take on side projects/hobbies while doing it! Hi from Perth, Western Australia!
I love how he talks to us like we understand anything he's saying, is it just me thats nodding my head muttering "yes, physics, stratosphere, tree to student ratio, yup, code, chapel, jesus"
Hey man greetings from Chicago. You live a pretty balanced life style with work and a little bit of fun. Im an ex community organizer and recent science convert. Im looking to get into an astrophysics program. I do indigenous martial arts as well as study meso american codexes. And also work on music. And have my job. I feel like i try to do too much sometimes and i end up out of balance. Your video proves its possible to do all the things you love all the while keeping a smile on your face. Right on brothah!
Brand new PhD student here! (6 months in) Love watching this and seeing what other PhD students do 🙈
good luck :x
How is your PhD
@@comedyandentertainment5972 I’ve finished now and am currently a researcher ☺️
I woke up at 1:30PM, ate a bowl of cereal, and played video games.
Andrew Burnette 😂nice
Yeah.there is someone out there like me.except that I woke up little late at 5:00
This is amazing. You are literally my favourite youtuber. So motivating ^^
Casey's style!! Great video and good luck man
Glad someone picked up on the style haha! Been watching so many of his videos recently, I think it rubbed off in a big way
Negative Kelvin: seems legit 😂
Thomas B lmao too good
New theory maybe
plot twist, the answers were right, its a paradox!
Actually they could be right in a mathematical sense if the equation is quadratic you get positive or the same negative result. Could be that his code converges to the negative solution.
If you inverse the distribution of particles in lower and higher energy states such that the higher energy state is more occupied, yet in fact get a negative absolute temperature.
It's so odd and entertaining seeing places which I see everyday in your vlogs! I'm a first year student at Exeter College hoping to go to either Oxford or Cambridge (whenever I can finally make my mind up). I'm loving the PhD videos and I enjoyed the EGU vlogs. Keep up the good work and best of luck with your PhD!
The mature manner in which you reacted to your programming issue made me laugh so much! You're awesome :)
Essentially: Damn code, why is this code not working, stupid coding problem, quire, damn code...
my camera died
*Choir
ＱＵＩＲＥ
This guy's favorite game = Life
he's smart and attractive too. guys like this gets me going
bruh
Kexx Petit Actually more people don't care about intelligence
ryeofoatmeal The last thing she cares about is intelligence.
1) It's who can provide the best gene(attraction)
2) He's smart( Potential for high income/resources).
Thats what she subconciouesly meant.
But what if he's smart and UGLY fat old? Oh, now the smart doesn't sound so good now, does it?
There's nothing wrong with being a bit shallow during the first stages of mate searching, physically attractive = good genes. You're pretending that you wouldn't prefer an attractive smart person over a less attractive smart person.
Dear Simon,
This was another fantastic video of yours! I just wanted to say I love your videos and used to watch them over the past couple of years whilst doing my A levels and I found them very motivational and useful and the advice from them helped me achieve 5A*s at A level in the end! Thanks! :)
Aniket
Woooo congrats on the A levels, that's amazing!!
whaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! youuu goinggggg oxford or cainbridge?!?!
Cambridge*
Mohamed Maxamed hahah no I'm studying at Imperial College London
still amazing! hey wanted to ask for some advice please tell me some of your wisdome i need some tips youve learnt im currently in A2 and wana go oxford bad, btw did you reject oxford or caimbridge? if not why dident you get in mann you worked hard for that dont they realise!?
Love how i'm procrastinating my entire coursework by watching this video.. it's worth it though!
Been rewatching all your videos and now this is the icing on the cake! Hope i can meet you one day.
Me too! Would love to go to some vidcons and conventions in the future :)
It's very inspiring, not only the video, but also the comments below. As a third year PhD in engineering, it's a great relief to see other PhDs life! Subscribe!
Dear Simon,
Thank you for sharing a piece of your PhD life. I'm also in the last year of my PhD on atomic physics and just let me say that the speech you gave around 10:00 uplifted my spirit, which I didn't know I need it. I'm gonna stop procrastinating now (which means I will no longer see the rest of the video, sorry!).
Thanks for the inspo, man!
All the best,
man i wish i was as driven as you
Nicholas Steinlage Why can't you be? Set goals, get up early, take a shower and work towards them until your super tired.
Thank you, I know I'm not who you were replying to and you didn't say very much but your reply is going to help me.
I've really missed videos like this, really hoping you do more in the future. Preferably not during exam season though because passing my degree is something I'd actually like to do :L
Alexi Draven Iya babe
I loved this! I'm currently working and SO miss uni :( I'd love to continue somewhere in England (I'm from Germany) because it appears to me that the quality is higher though the surroundings are more "attractive" (does that make sense? methods, facilities, etc. just seem more efficient in GB generally).
Also, you sound/look like a great guy :-) Good luck on the PhD!
Can you do more of these. Its nice to know I'm not alone grinding through school lol motivating indeed
Every couple of months I come back and rewatch this series and I always enjoy it. As a current PhD student (quantum physics ftw) even though these videos are old it's nice to see this struggle through someone else's eyes and feel less alone.
After watching this, I can surely say that it looks like you enjoy creating / editing videos FAR more than you enjoy Atmospheric Physics, Singing, or Tennis.
Totally agree tbh haha
fuck i wish i was as productive as you.
you can be! why not?
peace lover Hard to be productive when you just *can't* feels like you're being sucked into a pit of mud and everything you try to pull yourself out sucks you back in. If you do manage to get out it's beyond exhausting, before you just fall back into the pit and struggle to get out once more.
Privian
I see two possibilities here:
- You are depressed
- You aren't interested in the subject whatsoever.
Seems very interesting and you are definitely living a very busy life. I am reading these comments though and it's like "smart people, can't wait until I'm there" seems as if some of you think your better than another based on exam results or what you are studying. Even if you are a university student or a PhD student you are no better than anyone else. I myself had a "friend" in my final year of GCSE's get accepted into a top sixth form in my area. He said "I can't wait to finally speak to people who are actually intelligent" Some of these comments remind me of that. Don't be that guy. However if you are at university doing something you genuinely have a passion for then good on you. I haven't found my passion yet and I really don't think it's at uni.
+Pin totally agree - as is my #1 rule in life, don't be a dick!
cheers for the reply, sorry if it came across as negative. I like your videos and enjoyed watching this one, just some comments frustrated me.
I'm rewatching the whole playlist, Let's see if Simon still looks at new comments from very old videos lol. Thanks a lot Simon for all the work ethic you have helped me build.
Wow super interesting. You're really juggling a lot in your life right now haha
I've just started my Ph.D. in Computer Engineering with a focus in Soft Robotics. The candor in these videos is so refreshing! Thanks for posting them :)
This was so cool. Well edited and v insightful :)
Man, I've just done my E&M final yesterday, and am so glad I don't have to touch that stuff again. Then, i see you going for a PHD in physics. Jeepers
Just found your channel Simon and I find this video so inspiring!! Keep up the good work man!
Most productive person I have ever seen in my life. You're an inspiration to me to get off my lazy butt and actually start doing things instead of just procrastinating. Felt like I just needed to comment this.
PhD student From Australia! Loving the Content thanks heaps!
I hope you are doing well. Thanks for coming back to UA-cam!
Hey I wasn't gone that long!
Very motivational.
Didn't understand a majority of the stuff you discussed relating to your PhD and thesis but it's entertaining watching people talk about their passions so I enjoyed the whole video. Your editing and film techniques are really good btw.
this was perhaps one of your best videos yet and i think it is quite remarkable that you can balance all of your commitments as you do. I would love you making your live streams more regular and I think you really must share your post box address you we can send you stuff.
I'd love to have a postbox! Unfortunately they are very expensive to run so until I grow a bit more as a UA-camr I don't think it will be worth it
As a person who struggled through a U.S. associates degree (blame math) I have unreasonable amounts of respect for people who are successful and choose to get a Phd. I enjoy being in a career more than I ever enjoyed school but I always wish I'd been more "scholarly".
In fact, I used to think I was stupid because I wasn't great in school but being in the real world has proven that I'm actually quite smart. Luckily scholarly aptitude isn't everything but I still have mad respect for those who "get it".
It's impressive to see all your hard work, great job! I wish you success in your thesis!
~Meredith
You seem like a very cool guy dawg. Keep up the good work
just watched this whole video, amazing that you worked with tom frank. following his videos for quite some time now and didn't know you teamed up. great work, keep on going.
Your life sounds really stressful and busy. How do you get yourself to do so much work everyday? Coding, planning your thesis, choir, managing a blogging initiative. How do you do it all? I'm a med student, and I find it so hard to work hard consistently every day. Some days, I can work nonstop for hours and get a lot done. On other days, I literally do nothing all day. For example today, I got up at 10:30 AM, its now 8pm and I haven't a single thing productive. And you manage to do so much. I'm just so lazy. Need your advice
IWillDominate By practicing. I code everyday for 12 to 15 hours (in the summer holidays!) it's all about practice. You get used to it so fast, it's just like playing games. You don't realize you're doing much but in fact you are.
Woow, it feels like just yesterday that I watched your video about your Oxford interview and you popped up in my recommended videos again. This was cool, man, thanks for sharing
"Are you enjoying Simon's video?"
Fucking loving it mate -cit.
your editing is top notch! And usually I don`t find vlogs to be that interesting to me, but I really enjoyed watching yours..glad I came across your channel :)
Thank you for such a lovely comment!
I am doing my masters right now, super scared of doing a phd eventually as it is so much work but i'm determined to stop having self doubt ^.^ Thank you for sharing :)
Ahh, thank you Simon, I needed to get on with some university work of my own, and your vlogs always get me feeling extremely motivated, if you could keep em' coming for the next 4 years of my degree I would be v grateful :)
WOAH! It’s super weird seeing someone vlog in my hometown.... I’ve been around the uni (mainly going to the theatre) a lot. This is just very very odd. I recognise where you are filming. This never happens!!!!
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you and good luck with solving the coding problem!
your channel is what i was looking for
So interesting to see a week in your PhD life. Exeter is beaut. The choir sample was lush too! Also, yes to hair issues while vlogging (I have exactly the same problem). Embrace the unruliness!
Haha how did you even get onto the conversation topic at 19:40. Made me laugh for some reason. I'd be great if you made more of these, they're really interesting and you edited it really well.
Amazing! Eyes were glued to the screen! Keep up the good work Simon.
Bit of a strange request; but could you do a video on integrating differential equations in python?
This is so fabulous. I am also a PhD student who manages a demanding extracurricular activity, a relationship, and a social media presence on top of research (and coursework, because I'm getting my degree in the US). It was great to see someone else doing the exact same thing. Hope your code works soon. :)
Thanks for the comment! What is your thesis in?
Neuroscience!
This is the second time I've noticed a substantial amount of coding in physics. It obviously seems to be worth learning, but to what sort of level? Would completing a coding course be overkill?
Well it depends on what kind of research you'd end up doing - if going into astrophysics or atmospheric physics in particular I don't there would be such a thing as overkill when learning to code!
That makes sense. What about in physics and philosophy? Thanks for answering by the way!
If you're going into Physics I'd say learn as much coding as you can, the amount of coding required varies depending on your type of research but it's always good to learn as much as possible
I can vouch for it's use in quantum physics and quantum engineering also. Unless it's purely analytical physics you are considering you need to learn to code. Something I neglected to realise until starting my PhD.
Even a lot of analytical physics (and maths) will run simulations on a computer because it saves hours of laborious 'by hand' calculations. Essentially the reason the computer was invented in the first place.
Plus it gives you a very useful and transferable skill for later in life :)
Thank you everyone for the advice! One last question, is there any programming language best suited to physics?
Nice video I can really relate to it especially the part with post it notes saying "The bigger I look into the problem, the bigger it seems to get." where you actually dont get anything done at all it seems that your mind is blank and just keep just staring at your computer as if answers will just pop out after doing it for long hours.
I'm glad I do history after looking at those equations
is history worth it? I'm going into collage and idk if I should take it further ?
Inspiring video! Congrats on what you have already accomplished and your future success!
Do you code in Python? Because I do and I literally want to pull my hair out every time I look at it
Yep, and I totally know that feeling!!
Good luck! I'm in 3rd year currently researching and analysing data using code for my dissertation, so I'm glad to see that there's another person in this universe who understands the life of researching & making code! Haha
Simon neistat, very nice video keep it up pal
Your David Attenborough t shirt is going straight on my christmas list
i am currently working on my master thesis, its related to image classification.i am currently stuck on my code,found a bug after working for 10-12hr for 5 days.And the result is i correct it ,and now i am trying to find an another bug as the results are not proper. Coding is frustrating. i share the same feeling for the code as u did
Great video! Academic life is strange and quite challenging at times, but also super exciting and enjoyable :) It's nice to see you've found a balance between physics, singing, and UA-cam. I'm in Alaska working on my Master's, so whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, I have plenty of outdoor sports/activities to take a break from the lab.
I absolutely loved this vlog! So many funny moments😂
Why is this so calming?
Amazing video Simon!
Giving the computer the middle finger is my entire life at the moment. Vid is so on point. Hope you worked it out in the end.
Great insight. Thanks for sharing this! :D
The hardest bit of a PhD is finding motivation to read and write. No one is there to tell you what to do, so if you get behind, it's basically your fault in the first place and your job to correct. You can be writing your thesis, then get sidetracked on UA-cam and you've just lost half a day.
How do you do all these extra things on top of your PhD, which is quite urgent now as you're in 4th year?
And the editing is FANTASTIC! How long did this vid take
you, and where did you get the time from?
Well a PhD is really a 9-5 job 5 days a week (ish) so as long as you put the hours in, what you do in your evenings and weekends is up to you! And as someone who doesn't expect or need a social life I find that I can manage choir and UA-cam (which is less than I did before in my PhD) perfectly fine while still getting the work done. As for how long this took to make, well a week to film and then probably about 10 hours of editing?
SimonOxfPhys you evidently spend more than an 8 hour day though working on your PhD, is that due to more pressure being your last year? I'm really interested in following academia, I'm in year 12 in Haberdashers and I do Further Maths, Physics, and Literature-- and while that combination often results in a very high workload, the end goal is to graduate with a masters in physics from Imperial, and then hopefully stay on for a PhD in theoretical physics (I'm not too keen on leaving London). How did you find further maths? It's quite up and down for me as I might get stuff one lesson and be lost in another, and 15 lessons of maths a week along with hw and extra work can get quite exhausting as we go through material very fast. I joined Haberdashers this year, and I've found they definitely push students a lot harder than any other school I've been to-- it's only been about 6 weeks and we've finished c1, a few lessons into c2, and more than half way through m1 and s1. What modules did you do btw?
I did (across both maths and further maths) C1-4, M1-3, S1-2, D1, and FP1-2. And I found it incredibly tough! I only scraped As in a couple of the modules, and definitely found it disheartening some days as you just don't understand! I think the key is just to push on and work consistently - don't pause for breath until the holidays, and even then don't take too long off, you've just got to keep moving!
SimonOxfPhys how is the code going btw? Did you finally get it to work? I can imagine you've been working quite a lot in the last 2 weeks, how stressful can year 4 of a PhD get-- especially when you hit an apparent road block like the code (I hope it's been sorted by now)?
I know this is my third consecutive comment but this video was awesome. The Neistatesque style was great without copying him, and the editing/framing/music was very well done
This was good, an interesting insight and some good editing! Do you use Matlab for the computational work? I'm trying to get to grips with it at the moment for my PhD.
Thanks! I used matlab in my masters but I switched first to R and now to python for my PhD coding - personally I don't mind matlab but python feels more light weight and easier to use
Now rewatching these videos. Massive foreshadowing when Simon says he thinks he has fixed the code, time and again.
Life of a physicist - "My code doesn't work and I don't know why", wait a minute ...
Sercan A wait a minute what 🤔
... that sounds more like a (bad) computer scientist.
I simply find it funny that a physicist sounds more like a (bad) computer scientist. Malfunctioning programs are the problem more times than the physics being studied.
Just because a computer scientist can't figure out why his code isn't working, doesn't make him a bad computer scientist! That's the name of the game!
Whenever you write code, and it doesn't work, you keep at it and figure out the missing link. Then you experience the epic win of programming whenever you do. :)
Sercan A If that’s what a bad computer scientist sounds like, then I guess there are no good computer scientists.
Haven't even watched and already liked - i know this will be amazing as usual! :0
Dat faith! I appreciate it haha
SimonOxfPhys hahah always here for ya ;) jw can you do a video about the in depth equations you're using? Im doing second order differential equations in F maths at the minute and id love to see how the stuff is actually used in uni etc :) No videos like that on youtube that i can find :)
The Life of Adam I'll see what I can do!
ahhh!! loved this!
Coming back and watching all of these now that I'm in the final year of my PhD
I am totally incapable at coding; I tried multiple classes and got my worst grades so far on them! Do I have a future in Physics or any other hard sciences? Your work is concerning me.
How did people before Simon do to prove physics thesis? They didn't have computers or anything like it, so you certainly don't need to know how to code to do a PhD. But if you do a physics course, they will most probably have coding courses, and trust me, having a coding course at university is different from having it at school, and there are many people like you who don't know how to code and so, the course will be starting from point 0. I'm studying Computer Science at UoExeter, and there were people in my course who never coded in their lives, and that's why we started from the basics. So don't worry about it, you aren't alone for sure! I wish you good luck!
Philippe Roubert Thank you. I was not using him as the definitive example, but just as a reference point. I am doing much better in the humanities in my liberal arts college, but the sciences do excite me enough to make a go for it at times. Time will tell I guess what is better for me I guess.
It is important, but you can do without it. You will, a lot of the time, be working in research teams. It's rare that a researcher works alone. There is always going to be someone that can code in a team, and it's not essential for every single member to be proficient in it. It's obviously great if you could pick up the skill, though. Maybe try learning by yourself rather than in a course? I find I learn a lot better by myself rather than be pressured by (bad) assessments.
***** Very much agreed. I perfectly understand what is gong on behind the scenes, but I fail to keep up with the class. Lets see what happens.
dipro001 I find that I can understand what's going on, but I just need a little more time. I don't do well with the practical exams, wherein we have to write a particular program under a time constraint without the internet. I find that really stupid, because programmers in real life do not remember all the syntax and stuff, and Google stuff ALL the time. The written exam is also terrible because you'd never be in such a situation in real life where you have to remember everything like that. I really wouldn't worry if you're not getting good grades in the classes - they are very bad in my experience in assessing your skills.
I just found your channel, and couldn't be more happy about the discovery! Very interesting as a whole this vlog so far! Keep it up! : )
Caseys legacy will live here on youtube :)
ikr!!!! Simon's literally patterning Casey's vlog stlye
He is a big influence but the moment you change something its not a copy anymore. Its progress.
Casey`s Vlog style + PhD = Simon
Simon` Vlog Style + B = C
maybe we should write a code about it ;)
this guy is so genuine, im subbing
What keeps you sane
+Ben Kloke who said anything about being sane? 😜
I’ve been watching your channel since your time at Exeter and love your content!
You know he is making a PhD in physics when he is watching Hearts of Iron 4!
I'm a software developer and I know the struggle soooooo wellllll lol
After dealing with a bug for so long, I try to use a really old and unoriginal trick of mine to find where exactly the problem is. Once you find out where it is, understanding and fixing the bug becomes very easy.
The trick is incredibly simple. Print text EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY.
If you change a variable, print the new value
If you add something to a variable, print what you added and the new variable
For every line of code, print some interval starting at "1" for example and add 1 to that for every new line of code you make.
By reading all the printed text you can easily wrap your head around exactly what your code is doing and that always helps me fix my bugs.