I’m Charles, and I am currently about halfway through my PhD in Experimental Fluid Mechanics.

I did my Undergraduate in Aerospace Engineering at Surrey, before deciding that I wanted to be able to work on own project. I saw a studentship advertised for a research topic that I thought I would find interesting, and after a few interviews, here I am!

I work in the Centre for Aerodynamics and Environmental Flow (EnFlo lab), one of our engineering laboratories on campus – a lot of my time is spent in the lab doing experiments, and otherwise I’m working in an office of around 15 postgraduate research students. Our experimental facilities are fully automated so I can do a lot of my work from home, but I try to come into the office between 9am and 6pm every day. My office is really friendly and there’s always someone looking to have a chat or help answer questions with work.

It is important to me to come in early and stick to a healthy schedule – there is a false economy in overworking yourself by staying up till to 2am. Normally after a few hours work I’ll go and have a coffee break, then lunch with other PhD students around 1pm. After work I’ll normally go for a run in the Surrey hills (campus is near some lovely countryside) or a swim at Surrey Sports Park with some friends. Whenever I am really stuck on a problem, I’ll walk down to the lake on campus and just sit on one of the benches in the trees, just to have a ‘good think’, it’s surprising how often a small change of scene like this can help!

I meet with my supervisors once per week for an hour for detailed discussion on my work and progress but also end up speaking to them and the other academics in the department quite often around the lab. We also hold an informal social one evening a week. A PhD is very much an independent project – but by being actively involved in my research group has been a great support to me and I’ve made some great friends with PhD students both within and outside my immediate group. You’ll find that there’s always someone who has solved a problem you’re stuck on and likewise someone else who can use your help. When you start, a lot of the older PhD students in your group will have been through the same process and challenges as you – and are thus an invaluable support. We really do look out for each other.

Teaching is an optional part of a PhD at Surrey, but I really enjoy the teaching I do. At Surrey you are also paid extra for your teaching as a PhD student, so I use it to earn money for holidays and other fun things! I spent about 6 hours a week teaching undergraduate students, usually alongside my supervisors but also across the School of Engineering. The Doctoral College is very supportive and provides training on teaching – you can even do a PGCert in teaching while on your PhD.

I always tell prospective research students that their relationship with their supervisors and wider research group is the most important factor in their PhD. Think about whether it is an environment which will both challenge and support you to do your best work – but also one that you will really enjoy being part of. PhDs are hard. But I would also say that I genuinely have a lot of fun doing mine (at least when I’m not debugging my own terribly-written MATLAB code).