The top ten questions not to ask research students

Ask at your peril....

1. "How's your research going?"

2. "Are you writing up yet?"

3. "What is your thesis title?"

4. "How long do you have left/ How long does a PhD take?"

5. "You must love teaching undergraduates, don't you?"

6. "How long is your thesis going to be?"

7. "Why didn't you just go to medical school and become a real doctor?"

8. "You're just avoiding real work, aren't you?"

9. "You'll be like that Stephen Hawkings" (not strictly a question, but merely drawing a comparison between you and some famous, oft misnames, scientist like Stephen Hawking)

10. "Got any good results?"