Starting a PhD? What to Expect in Your First Year
Starting a PhD is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. One day you’re finishing your master’s degree or starting a new position in a research group, and the next you’re expected to navigate scientific papers, learn unfamiliar techniques and contribute to a project that nobody has solved before.
The first year of a PhD is very different from what many new PhD students expect. There are fewer lectures, fewer deadlines and no clear roadmap to follow. Instead, you’ll spend your time reading papers, learning new methods, attending meetings and gradually becoming more independent as a researcher.
It can sometimes feel like you’re making very little progress. In reality, your first year is about building the foundation for the years ahead. Every paper you read, every experiment you run and every mistake you make helps you develop the skills you’ll rely on throughout your PhD.
In this guide, we’ll walk through what to expect during your first year of a PhD, from finding your footing in the lab to building good habits that will make your research life much easier in the long run.
1. Your First Few Weeks Will Feel Overwhelming
If you’ve just started your PhD and already feel like everyone else knows what they’re doing except you, you’re not alone.
The first few weeks often feel like information overload. You’re introduced to new people, new equipment, new software and a completely different way of working. At the same time, you’re expected to understand the background of your project, read papers and start thinking like a researcher.
It can be tempting to compare yourself to the PhD students or postdocs around you, but remember that they’ve already spent years building the knowledge you’re only just beginning to develop.
Instead of trying to learn everything at once, focus on making small steps each day. Ask questions, take notes during meetings and don’t worry if you don’t understand every paper or technique immediately. Research is a long process, and nobody expects you to become an expert in your first month.
One day you’ll realise that the concepts that once seemed impossible have become second nature. Every researcher starts exactly where you are now.
2. You’ll Read More Papers Than You Ever Have Before
One of the biggest surprises for many new PhD students is just how much reading is involved.
Before starting your PhD, reading a paper often meant finding the answer to a specific question or preparing for an exam. During a PhD, papers become part of your daily work. You’ll read them to understand your field, learn new techniques, explore different ideas and keep up with the latest research.
At first, it can feel frustrating. Papers are filled with unfamiliar terminology and methods you’ve never seen before. You may spend an hour reading a single paper only to feel like you understood very little.
That’s completely normal.
The goal isn’t to understand every detail the first time you read a paper. Instead, focus on understanding the bigger picture. Ask yourself what question the researchers were trying to answer, what they found and why those findings matter.
As you continue reading, you’ll notice something interesting. The terminology becomes more familiar, recurring methods start to make sense and you’ll begin recognising the same authors, techniques and ideas across different papers. What feels overwhelming today gradually becomes part of your everyday knowledge.
3. Research Rarely Goes According to Plan
Many people start a PhD expecting research to follow a clear plan. You design an experiment, run it, analyse the results and move on to the next step.
In reality, research is rarely that straightforward.
Experiments fail. Equipment breaks. Reagents expire. Results don’t match your hypothesis. Sometimes you’ll spend weeks trying to solve a problem only to realise you need to take a completely different approach.
While that can be frustrating, it’s also a normal part of doing research. Some of the most valuable lessons come from experiments that didn’t produce the expected outcome.
As you work through your project, make it a habit to record more than just your results. Try to keep track of:
- Changes you made to your protocol
- Unexpected observations
- Problems you encountered
- Ideas for what to try next
These details might not seem important at the time, but they often become incredibly valuable when you’re looking back weeks or months later. Good records can save you from repeating the same mistakes and make it much easier to understand how your project has evolved.
4. Good Organisation Is a Skill, Not a Talent
One thing many new PhD students underestimate is how quickly research becomes difficult to keep track of.
What starts as a single project soon turns into dozens of experiments, meeting notes, protocols, papers, images and files spread across different folders. At first it feels manageable, but after a few months it becomes surprisingly easy to forget where you saved something or why you made a particular decision.
The good news is that organisation is something you learn. You don’t need the perfect system from day one, but you do need a system that you use consistently.
Whether you prefer a paper notebook, digital notes or a combination of both, try to keep related information together. If an experiment has associated images, meeting notes or supporting documents, make it easy to find them again. Your future self will thank you.
Developing these habits early will save you countless hours throughout your PhD. Staying organised isn’t about being tidy. It’s about spending less time searching for information and more time doing research.
5. Progress Often Feels Slower Than It Really Is
One of the most difficult parts of the first year is that it can feel like you’re not getting anywhere.
Unlike coursework, there are very few moments where you can clearly see your progress. There are no grades, no completed modules and often no immediate results to celebrate. It’s easy to finish a week feeling like you achieved very little.
The reality is usually very different.
You might have read ten papers that helped you understand your project. You may have learned a new technique, solved a problem with an experiment or had a conversation that changed the direction of your research. None of those achievements feel particularly significant on their own, but together they represent real progress.
Try to take a step back every now and then and look at how far you’ve come. Research is built through hundreds of small steps, not a handful of giant breakthroughs. The knowledge and confidence you gain during your first year often become obvious only when you compare yourself to where you started.
6. You Don’t Need to Know Everything
It’s easy to look around the lab and assume that everyone else has everything under control.
Your supervisor seems to have all the answers. Senior PhD students move confidently between experiments and postdocs discuss topics you’ve never even heard of. It’s easy to forget that they all started exactly where you are now.
A PhD isn’t about already being an expert. It’s about becoming one.
Your first year is a time to ask questions, make mistakes and gradually build your knowledge. Nobody expects you to understand every paper, master every technique or solve every problem on your own.
The most successful PhD students aren’t the ones who never struggle. They’re the ones who stay curious, keep learning and aren’t afraid to ask for help when they need it.
If your first year feels challenging, that’s not a sign that you’re doing something wrong. More often than not, it’s a sign that you’re learning exactly what a PhD is meant to teach you.
Conclusion
Starting a PhD can feel exciting, intimidating and sometimes overwhelming, often all in the same week. While every research project is different, most PhD students discover that the first year is less about producing groundbreaking results and more about learning how to think, work and grow as a researcher.
There will be days when experiments fail, papers make very little sense and progress feels impossible to measure. That’s all part of the process. Over time, those small experiences build the knowledge and confidence that every researcher relies on.
One of the best things you can do during your first year is to develop good habits early. Staying organised, keeping clear lab notes and recording your progress consistently will make every stage of your PhD easier, from planning your next experiment to writing your thesis.
Ready to Stay Organised From Day One?
If you’re looking for a simple way to keep your projects, experiments, notes and research files organised in one place, LabMemo is built to support researchers throughout their PhD journey and beyond.
Try LabMemo for free today and build habits that make the years ahead easier.