Welcome in to our first episode of the PhD Survival Guide! This episode is more of a prologue, so let's just call this episode 0.  In this episode I introduce myself, Firas, a 5th year PhD student. There are many things that I wish I knew prior to becoming a PhD student that I think would've helped me immensely during the beginning of my career. As a new student, there are many anxieties and myths that we face when deciding to join a PhD. Is this right for me? Do I need a PhD to get to where I ultimately want to be? How long is this going to take me? I answer all of those questions and more! Hopefully this will give prospective students some insight when deciding what lab/program to join. If you enjoy this podcast and want to tune in as more episodes of the PhD Survival Guide come out, please feel free to like the podcast! This way, you will be notified every time a new episode airs. If you have any suggestions for future episodes or topics you would like to hear about, please let me know in the Q&A section below! A dedicated podcast instagram will be coming soon!