Channel Title: Dr Lucy Kissick - The PhDiaries Channel Description: Hello, I'm Lucy, and welcome to The PhDiaries! The PhDiaries is a survival guide that documents the highs and lows and successes and failures from the start to end of an Oxford PhD. Come and watch relatable misadventures and hear dubious advice as I navigate my way from hapless first-year to hapless post-PhD scientist out in the real world with a title and a novel. I am Dr Lucy Kissick, I have a DPhil (PhD) in Martian geology from the University of Oxford, and I now live near the English Lake District as a nuclear research scientist. I am the author of the sci-fi Plutoshine (Gollancz, 2022), and in my spare time I am an avid wild swimmer, sea glass collector, and enthusiast of the Oxford comma. I hope you enjoy the channel :) www.lucykissick.co.uk/plutoshine <video> Cover Reveal for Plutoshine (Gollancz, March 2022) Description: For ten months during my PhD, I wrote a novel. It was a wonderful side project, exploring a wonderful world — Pluto — and what life might be like there... both our kind, inhabiting a base, but also other kinds... PLUTOSHINE won the inaugural Bloomsbury Writers & Artists' Working Class Writers' Prize while unpublished, and follows ten-year-old Nou on Pluto, mute from trauma, trying to reconcile with her estranged family and recover her voice. She is helped by Lucian, a terraformer wielding asteroids and solar mirrors to warm Pluto's climate, but with a saboteur on the loose, neither of their plans are likely to run smoothly... - You can pre-order Plutoshine here: Blackwells: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781473233140 Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781473233140 Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plutoshine-Lucy-Kissick/dp/1473233143 WH Smith: https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/plutoshine/lucy-kissick/hardback/9781473233140.html Local! https://www.newbookshop.co.uk/SHOPONLINE - Genre: Science Fiction Publisher: Gollancz, Orion Length: 416 pages Release date: 17th March 2022 Format: Hardback, ebook, audiobook - Previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7HvO9AG7BQ The video where I reveal I've been secretly writing a book: https://youtu.be/K2KIJZeNYLM Random video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALExkvE5XBQ&t=38s - Thank you so much to Gollancz for publishing me: this whole thing is still so surreal that I feel quite serene about it all because I haven't quite grasped that it is really happening. Thanks also to the post-rockers Silent Island for letting me use their song 'Dolphin Rush' as my closing credits; it's been four years and I still love its minor-chord joy. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I was until recently a PhD student at the University of Oxford studying planetary sciences, but now I'm a scientist in the nuclear industry studiously dedicating myself to wild-swimming, campanology, Iain M Banks, and Christmas wreath-making. </video> <video> How I Wrote My End-of-PhD CV | Oxford Postgrad Description: Two years ago I sent off this CV after my PhD in Martian Geology and got a job that, two years later, I still absolutely love. Let me take you through it piece by piece. Caveat: There are a million reasons why a person may or may not get a job, and the CV is only part of that… But it’s not a bad place to start. Caveat: This is aimed at non-academic jobs, since their CVs tend to go on and on and on for page after page. Caveat: There are a million ways to write a CV! Take from this what you find helpful, leave what you don’t, and make your CV work for you. - Previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1KqVOsnVJc The Applying for my PhD CV video: The Interview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA_T4tX8BmU&t=132s The I love my job! video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgS7gBEvMeQ&t=78s The Hey did I tell you I'm getting a sci fi novel published? video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWzpaZ0l2uk&t=134s Playlist of careers-y, post-PhD-y stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bky8ofaRK4&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fPCHwAv-WxKbXNBx26eL5T_ Random video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkKGVxTeb0Y&t=30s - Thanks to the ever-effervescent Silent Island, for letting me use their wonderful song Dolphin Rush as the end credits. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I have a PhD in planetary science from the University of Oxford, I'm a scientist in the nuclear industry, and have you ever heard the one about the two muffins in the oven? One muffin turns to the other and says, It's getting hot in here isn't it? And the other muffin says, Oh my God, a talking muffin!!! </video> <video> 5 Essential Mobile Apps for PhD Students Description: I hate mobile phones. I miss the good old days of Snake and 50p-a-minute internet. And so if there is an app that makes me use my phone, and grudgingly admit it is pretty handy after all, then it's got to be really really good. 5 Essential Computer Apps for PhD Students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktLPpGeP9ic Productivity playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-z6c2qK6GU&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fN6GHYQUsWhbGvN6jNYcONj Previous video: https://youtu.be/KeMq-3RLlZY Random video! https://youtu.be/EMoxgKzaEyg - Music by You Break You Buy, track is called J is for Genius - thanks for letting me use it! - Got a question for me? lucykissick.co.uk/contact - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a PhD student at the University of Oxford and a nuclear scientist in Cumbria, and is it true or false that right now there is a half-metre long rubber eel sat on top of my kitchen cupboards staring out? You tell me. </video> <video> 10 Things to Try at Least Once in Your PhD Description: Stuff to try for increased perseverance, productivity, pluckiness, and pride. I'm so glad I tried these things in my PhD. Some I tried once and never needed to again; some I tried and realised I could try over and over again; and some I never wanted to try, but I had to when I needed it (and it helped). A lot of the things mentioned here have their own video exploring them fully, in order: 1) Try getting up at 5:30 am for a week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj__0csPmVA 2) Horrendously push yourself at something you think you really can't do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n18R-TaSN5A&t=30s 5) Just once, try biting off more than you can chew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH8f-ufe95g&t=1s 6) Take a stand and tell them no: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZAVhVdCDW0 9) Remove yourself from unfixable situations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMoxgKzaEyg&t=34s 10) Back up the back-ups of your back-ups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6FWWMttBrc&t=13s - Credit music is Dolphin Rush by Silent Island, used with permission. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a nuclear scientist and a science fiction author, and oh my god I skipped number eight in the video, I'm such an idiot, I'm such an idiot, how do I have a PhD. </video> <video> The Run-up to (and Immediately After) My Viva Description: After four and a half (thousand) years... I had my viva! How to prepare, and how to handle the event itself? You'll have to watch to see if I'm in any fit state to offer advice. - Previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h58KzbCdwEc Random video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wJlwp9mFQ - Music is by the post-rockers Silent Island with their songs: - Queen Hurricane - The Journey Never Ends - Dolphin Rush From the album Fall of Oceans, which has been a sort of anthem to my PhD -- thanks again for letting me use this music here. - Got a question for me? www.lucykissick.co.uk/contact - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a something something no spoilers from the University of Oxford, I'm a nuclear scientist, and it's the time of year where the swifts are back!!! Keep an eye out!!! </video> <video> Starting a New Job While Finishing a PhD Description: Covid has scuppered a fair few things... Like the perfectly timed onset of my new job just as my PhD ended. Yeah. That didn't work out so much. But it turns out the two are doable together: you just need to become a man of focus... commitment... sheer will. No, wait, that's a John Wick quote. Still, my point stands. Previous video: https://youtu.be/vl2nZfQUbr0 Thesis writing playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl2nZfQUbr0&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fMS82n8lmOgRCMaInJCSFac Post-PhD playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bky8ofaRK4&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fPCHwAv-WxKbXNBx26eL5T_ Productivity playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-z6c2qK6GU&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fN6GHYQUsWhbGvN6jNYcONj Random video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqoTPhXUOc - Music by the incorrigible Silent Island, song is Dolphin Rush... Thank you so much for letting me use this. - Got a question for me? A video suggestion? Just want to say hello? www/lucykissick.co.uk/contact - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a PhD student at the University of Oxford and a chemist in the nuclear industry, and it's CHERRY BLOSSOM SEASON!! </video> <video> Plutoshine Q&A for SFX Magazine Description: Plutoshine is out TODAY at all major bookstores! The magazine SFX asked me a few questions for their March issue, and I had a lot of fun with them. - PLUTOSHINE by Lucy Kissick: Blackwells: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Plutoshine-by-Lucy-Kissick/9781473233140 Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781473233140 Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plutoshine-Lucy-Kissick/dp/1473233143 SFX Magazine: https://www.magazinesdirect.com/az-single-issues/6937139/sfx-magazine-single-issue.thtml? - Music is the gorgeous 'Higher Fives than You'll Ever Be' by Waking Aida, Oxford post-rockers extraordinaire, used with permission. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a doctor of planetary science from the University of Oxford, I'm a nuclear scientist, and I'm a science fiction author. I'm also an enthusiastic collector of sea glass from beaches. Yes, I know. </video> <video> Make Your Own Piece of Mars Description: Re-uploaded from October 2017: Will I learn new skills during my PhD? Will I do cool, weird things during my PhD? Will I deal with temperatures higher than most lava flows during my PhD? These questions and others demonstrably answered here in music video format! [I was trying to explain my day to family/friends and realised it would be easier to show than tell. The above video is the result, and accurately depicts my average day for the last month.] My sincerest thanks to Bernie Wood and Andrew Matzen, for teaching me the ropes of Oxford’s Experimental Petrology Lab; and to Silent Island, my favourite post-rockers, for use of their song “Distant Land”. Find their stuff here : https://silentisland.bandcamp.com Got a question for me? Website: www.lucykissick.co.uk </video> <video> A Doctorate in One Video - Oxford Planetary Scientist Description: Seventy-five videos, five years on YouTube, one completed PhD, one published novel, and you can watch the whole thing in twelve minutes. I began my doctorate at the University of Oxford in 2016 and turned on the camera in 2017; seventy-five videos since have documented my journey from Miss to Doctor, from Earth to Mars, from writer to author, and from dark hair to, in 2022, definitely greying! My name is Lucy Kissick, I have a PhD in Martian geology, I’m a scientist in the nuclear industry, I’m the author of the science fiction novel Plutoshine, and thank you for watching five years of The PhDiaries. It’s been grand. - Would you like to read Plutoshine? I really hope so! - Blackwell’s: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781473233140 - Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781473233140 - Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plutoshine-Lucy-Kissick/dp/1473233143 - Would you like to see more of my PhD journey? The gist of a PhD in a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNWiAvyKriI&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fPigENtwMqnCx997kb5k9J7 Every video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNWiAvyKriI&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fNhx2rdp9-VfXeV7yy1147w A bit of… First year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z5TVTa_AL0&t=5s Second year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ3PbmDNBw4&t=2s Third year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkuJA6Y3aYs&t=59s Fourth year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NageUOqyoo4&t=37s After! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgS7gBEvMeQ&t=78s The really cool bits: Making a piece of Mars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDXGx2DxWaM Out in the field: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilCIvt0gRAc Chemistry marathon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib4sTqZWd2c&t=2s European Space Agency summer school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO8e6CuMbcE Day in the life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqoTPhXUOc&t=1s Oxford being beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJPUetIa6HE Got a job! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA_T4tX8BmU&t=132s Submitted my thesis! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9W0HBWDfEM&t=19s My viva! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7HvO9AG7BQ Novel cover reveal! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWzpaZ0l2uk&t=8s - Music is Incandenza by the Oxford-based post-rockers Waking Aida, used with permission, and I would really recommend their gorgeous alum Eschaton. - With thanks to my college, St Edmund Hall, and my department, Earth Sciences, and my happy place, the Oxford University Parks. Thank you for watching, thank you for sticking with me, and now it’s onwards to hiking, wild-swimming, and sea glass collecting. </video> <video> How to Not Scare Your Viewers (or: Rookie Mistakes I Made as a YouTuber) Description: I talk far too fast. I sit far too close to the camera. I edit too jerkily. But at least I'm (mostly) proud of the person in these videos -- AND any other mistakes I can live with. Want to see for yourself whether I gave fair judgement of my old videos? A very dark one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ3PbmDNBw4 A very nicely lit one: https://youtu.be/uN4Ht0iEgIQ A very fast one: https://youtu.be/BsMAUOznbbk A very jaggedly edited one: https://youtu.be/U6FWWMttBrc One that's maybe too emotional: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMoxgKzaEyg One I really like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LADMebrl9NQ My previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow3W7LHO5jg A random one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYUCBY857RY - Thanks to Silent Island for use of their song Dolphin Rush for the credits! - Got a question for me? Video suggestion? Critique? www.lucykissick.co.uk/contact - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a nuclear chemist and a final year PhD student at the University of Oxford -- or, as they call us to be contrary, 'DPhil candidate'. </video> <video> In Pursuit of That Perfect Home Office Description: Today is the anniversary of the first lockdown here in the UK. Home working has been forced on us, but a better way to think of this strange situation is: now is the chance to build the perfect workspace that works for you, and for you alone. Previous video: https://youtu.be/RS_Ni8SBZ1U Productivity playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-z6c2qK6GU&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fN6GHYQUsWhbGvN6jNYcONj - Got a question for me? A video idea? Want to say hello (please do!)? www.lucykissick.co.uk/uk - Credits music by the wonderful Silent Island, the song is 'Dolphin Rush'. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a PhD student at the University of Oxford and a chemist in the nuclear industry, and I just finished reading my first chick-lit book in a decade and absolutely *loved it*, but the real question is has anyone ever thought to write chick-lit set in space...? </video> <video> Turns Out Imposter Syndrome Isn’t Chronic, Who Knew Description: Join me for a hike? I head up Nether Beck, which is a perfect stream with a series of waterfalls and pools in the valley of Wasdale in the Western Lake District, and talk about imposter syndrome. This is actually my second video on the subject: my second ever video broached how to hypothetically get past imposter syndrome (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z5TVTa_AL0) while, now out of my PhD, I have first-hand experience. Can I also say? I actually really, really enjoyed the filming, editing, and uploading process of this whole thing. Oftentimes it's a worry and struggle; the lighting's rubbish, I'm fuzzy knowing what to say, I'm making a million takes. Please let me know if you'd like me to make another video like this - I certainly would, but might depend on sound quality! - Previous video: https://youtu.be/cWzpaZ0l2uk Another mental health video: https://youtu.be/MP7eIJ7REpM Random video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9W0HBWDfEM - Music is called 'Billy and the Cloneasaurus' by You Break You Buy - thanks for permission to use and for being catchy! - My name is Lucy Kissick, I have a PhD in planetary science from the University of Oxford, I'm now a research scientist at a national laboratory, and my god, any day now I'll have to take the Christmas tree down. I'm so sad :( I mean, it's artificial, so the exact same thing is coming out next year, but still. </video> <video> The Goldilocks Job Between Industry & Academia Description: It turns out there's a sweet spot between academia and industry: somewhere you can still be a scientist *and* get to do fascinating research. I've been there for more than a year now, and can safely say... I love it. Here's why. Also, I love doing these new hiking videos! I live in the Lake District in the UK and I'm so lucky. - Previous video: Imposter syndrome: https://youtu.be/Z0zjxSdn8Ec Stay or Go from Academia: https://youtu.be/-Bky8ofaRK4 Post-PhD careers playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bky8ofaRK4&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fPCHwAv-WxKbXNBx26eL5T_ Random! https://youtu.be/kfUIvPhmFqI Also, I've got a novel coming out and I'm really really excited: https://youtu.be/cWzpaZ0l2uk - Music by Waking Aida, the song is called Jilted Surfers and always makes me feel kind of sad-nostalgic for PhD summers weekends. Used with the band's permission, thank you! - My name is Lucy Kissick, I have a doctorate in planetary science from the University of Oxford, I am a chemist at a national laboratory in the nuclear industry, and there's a track from the Equilibrium soundtrack called 'Hidden Souls' that I would highly recommend you go and listen to right now, and I mean right n o w . </video> <video> "How to Write Your Thesis in Two Weeks", Please, No Description: So many videos about writing your thesis/dissertation in under two weeks! Please, please no. You do not need to do this. You have time, both during your PhD and at the final write-up phase. My new playlist of all writing up videos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl2nZfQUbr0&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fMS82n8lmOgRCMaInJCSFac Productivity playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-z6c2qK6GU&list=PLhtQXLFIu9fN6GHYQUsWhbGvN6jNYcONj Previous video: https://youtu.be/vl2nZfQUbr0 Lucky dip video! https://youtu.be/DJ-xlG6FNSg - Credits music by the eternally beautiful Silent Island; the song is Dolphin Rush, kindly used with their permission. - Got a question for me, a video suggestion, or would like to say hello? (please do!) www.lucykissick.co.uk/contact - My name is Lucy Kissick, I am a PhD student at the University of Oxford and a chemist in the nuclear industry, and I am in love with the armchair in the background of this video, I have always wanted a wing-backed armchair and now I have my very own... in green velvet! Joy joy so much joy. </video> <video> How to Write a Book Around a Full-Time Job Description: Nobody has time to write a book! But if you're anything like me, you desperately wanted to for years and it never happened. This is ten minutes on how I wrote (and later sold) my novel while a full-time PhD student at Oxford. PLUTOSHINE is published TODAY by Gollancz and is available in hardback from all major bookshops (boy, that's overwhelming to write). Also, the Guardian called it a 'rousing good read', and New Scientist said it's 'worth the admission fee for the fantastical depictions of Pluto alone', also Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter said some really nice things, it's all on my website, and damn, but I'll take that and run. - PLUTOSHINE by Lucy Kissick: Blackwells: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Plutoshine-by-Lucy-Kissick/9781473233140 Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781473233140 Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plutoshine-Lucy-Kissick/dp/1473233143 - Credits music by the ever-ethereal Silent Island, the song is called Dolphin Rush and I'm a sucker for it, used with their kind permission. - My name is Lucy Kissick, I have a doctorate in planetary geology from the University of Oxford, I'm a nuclear scientist, and I'm a science fiction author. But more importantly I collect sea glass. I did warn you I had no life. </video>

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Description

Hello, I'm Lucy, and welcome to The PhDiaries!

The PhDiaries is a survival guide that documents the highs and lows and successes and failures from the start to end of an Oxford PhD. Come and watch relatable misadventures and hear dubious advice as I navigate my way from hapless first-year to hapless post-PhD scientist out in the real world with a title and a novel.

I am Dr Lucy Kissick, I have a DPhil (PhD) in Martian geology from the University of Oxford, and I now live near the English Lake District as a nuclear research scientist. I am the author of the sci-fi Plutoshine (Gollancz, 2022), and in my spare time I am an avid wild swimmer, sea glass collector, and enthusiast of the Oxford comma.

I hope you enjoy the channel :)

www.lucykissick.co.uk/plutoshine

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