Definitely if you can make enough to make it worthwhile it'll be good experience and you might get a permanent job as you say when one becomes available as you know a lot of depts like to recruit from people known to them! It'll give you a crucial foot in the door - the lucky break that so many of us need!

Good luck (up)

Great to hear things are working out! Have fun down under! :p

That's a tough one. It depends on how you weigh things up. Have you any interest in the subject as it's tough to do it in a subject you have very little interest in as it'll take over your life and you'll be submerged in it! Is it similar enough to what you want to do to incorporate some of your topic into the project? How much flexibility is there in the project - some people get loosely defined projects whereas others get more detailed ones with more structure.

How often do PhDs get offered in your field? Is it worth the wait even though you may not get your ideal PhD?

Good luck with your decision.
(up)

Saint Agur

Good luck Heidi, I've just read your story and feel very humbled indeed! You've gone through a lot and put up with so much that I hope you can get it finished soon and move on with your life. You give us all strength to be able to survive. Let us know how you get on. All the best and lots of cuddles to your daughter. She's very lucky to have you for her mum! (up) :-)

Good luck Heidi, I've just read your story and feel very humbled indeed! You've gone through a lot and put up with so much that I hope you can get it finished soon and move on with your life. You give us all strength to be able to survive. Let us know how you get on. All the best and lots of cuddles to your daughter. She's very lucky to have you for her mum! (up) :-)

Good luck Heidi, I've just read your story and feel very humbled indeed! You've gone through a lot and put up with so much that I hope you can get it finished soon and move on with your life. You give us all strength to be able to survive. Let us know how you get on. All the best and lots of cuddles to your daughter. She's very lucky to have you for her mum! (up) :-)

======= Date Modified 01 Apr 2012 16:06:44 =======
======= Date Modified 01 Apr 2012 16:05:17 =======
Hi Tigger,

That's great news about your conference presentation. It's good to start early and people are generally easy on PhD students especially 1st year ones so don't worry about that. You could just say that as an ice breaker before you start when you introduce yourself.

What format is your presentation - they usually specify what they want. Usually it's a 15-20 min PowerPoint presentation with 5 mins for questions.

I'd keep the format simple - intro/background, aims/objectives of study, methods, any results you have, future work.

I wouldn't worry about the exciting part as my supervisor used to say the same thing but I think that'll come across by your enthusiasm for the topic through the talk. Try to keep the text to a minimum and include pictures/diagrams etc... to break up the writing as there's not worse that reading a block text on a slide. Use bullet points that fade in when you need to use text so you're not hit by a lot of text.

It sounds fine what you're doing so keep at it.

Good luck and I am sure it'll go well.

I'm impressed you've signed up for a talk already as it took ages for me to build myself up to talks!

(up) ;-)

Hey Sparkles - I can totally relate to what you are saying!  It's difficult but just to point to you that you're doing a post-doc which means you're not mediocre as they are like gold dust and impossible to get so you must be doing something right!!!!  I've been trying to get one for ages but I've not got very far!  I got close once but the person who got it had already done one and had publications so they were the obvious choice! I don't know how I am supposed to compete as I'm trying to get my first one!!!!  I had a problematic PhD experience so that it took much longer than normal which I fear is my stumbling block!  However, as I've seen some people in jobs and heard about them and you think how on earth did they get that position and I think it's down to confidence!  If you've that it's fine but if you don't no matter how good your research is you won't be able to sell yourself! As a colleague pointed out to me an interview assesses how good you are selling yourself and not necessarily how good you'll be at the job! 

It's a difficult position to be in but do you enjoy research and do you want an academic career?  If the answer is yes I'd stick at it.  You've already got your foot in the door so you've just got to keep going! You've got to believe in yourself to be able to sell your ideas/yourself!  I've also been told by various people that by being positive more things will happen the way you want them to.  It's hard not to compare yourself to others as we all do esp in academia where it's very competitive due to the oversupply of PhD students so you need to do stuff to make yourself stand out.  As for publications - get writing as that's what I get told! It's how they assess how good you are so the more you do the higher your profile provided you publish in respectable journals but I'm sure you get told that too!

If you don't want an academic career it would be a good idea to get out after your post doc before industry sees you as too entrenched in academia. 

Good luck and I think you're probably being too hard on yourself.  You should think more positively about your abilities and potential as if you don't do it nobody will do it for you.  That's what people have also been saying to me especially a friend who looked over a recent application. I got an interview on the strength of a proposal I wrote which I was told was better than a fair number they received though my interview skills don't match unfortunately.  Lack of confidence is my worst enemy as I'm not one of these people who can talk confidently as I'm a shy person and don't think my abilities are anything special!  However, saying that I don't think they are that bad - I just need to believe in myself and be able to sell myself. 

I hope this helps you and it's just to let you know that there are other people who have similar thoughts but we need to be more positive about our abilities!

Good luck (up) :p

Congrats Pam - it's good to hear things have improved. I'm in much the same position as you so there's nothing for it but to get those publications out as I keep getting told. Though I'm not sure how I am supposed to fit them in except during evenings and weekends!!!! It reminds me too much of my thesis!!!! Good luck with everything! We'll get there! (up) 8-)

======= Date Modified 18 Mar 2012 22:42:38 =======
Hello,

That's a tough position to be in! If you are absolutely sure then there's no point in putting yourself through more misery but there are some points to consider first. I agree with what the others have said so I won't say too much here!

Point 1 sounds quite normal as the point of a PhD is independent research but it's unfortunate that you are the only that does your specialism as that does make things more difficult. Is there anyone outside the research group that can help e.g. another academic in your dept? Training is variable between depts - I didn't get the help and support I would have expected either and it was quite tough going esp as my supervisor didn't communicate well either! This makes for a difficult time but having that I found other people were willing to help so I ended up relying on others alot more! Don't worry about feeling stupid as this seems to be a natural reaction of many who start as it's a big leap from undergrad or even Masters! There are going to be huge gaps in your knowledge otherwise there wouldn't be a point to doing it - think of it a steep learning curve and a challenge! It's like exploring the unknown - the edge of space/the final frontier! I took on a new topic area that was related to my background but a different area that I had no idea of.

Yeah academia is tough as you have to make huge sacrifices that people outside it don't see! They think it's really easy going and casual and nothing like industry which is frustrating! However, as someone pointed out if you were to get into a position of responsibility the same would apply outside of academia though they will probably pay you for it as overtime if they deem it necessary unless you are in a profession known for its long hours. The good thing about academia is that you get a lot of freedom and flexibility but you need to have the motivation and self control to keep going.

I hope this helps. Have you thought about whether this is just settling in nerves as it does take a while to settle in? You could give it a few more months and see if you've made progress at the end of your first year. If you feel the same you'll know it's time to move on before you have to write any end of year/upgrade reports. I would suggest you keep your options open and also keep an eye out for potential jobs incase as it would be awful not to have anything to go to.

Good luck and keep us updated esp if you want some moral support or just to chat!

(up) ;-)

I'm with you there - I really hope it's worth it as I've given a lot to get this far and don't want to see all that effort and pain wasted!!!! Good luck to us all! I am ever the optimist!!! (up)8-):p

I agree it sounds like a good opportunity and if you like the new place, uni that should be ok especially as you get on with your supervisor which is important. The possibility of teaching is good if you want to stay on in academia as this is a very useful skill when applying for lectureships. Good luck.

Sorry it didn't fit into one post ...

6) It's very hard to get a job in academia at the mo as there seems to be an oversupply of PhDers looking for limited post-docs and lectureships! Everyone seems to have already had a position with lots of papers when you go and apply for your 1st one! That's a real pain as you wonder how you'll ever compete and get in there! I considered other jobs in consultancies and other agencies where I could use my skills but I found them too limited so I'm going to keep trying as I'd really like to do research in academia!

7) I didn't enjoy my PhD much mainly due to my supervisor who was difficult and didn't show much interest in my work. There was also a lack of supervision and support which I think would have meant some problems could've been resolved earlier than they were which hindered my progress. It was a very frustrating process especially as I had problems with data collection so things took longer than planned. On the positive side I'm glad I survived and made friends which is always good. I know how to handle things in the future and feel that anything is possible particularly flexibility within the subject.

8) I worked in various jobs before starting some researched related positions so I knew what I had let myself in for and it still wasn't what I expected! Once you get past the stage of not believing you have got onto a PhD you knuckle down and do some work it's OK and you settle in pretty quickly.

9) I didn't expect to finish within the allocated time due to the problems with data collection which became apparent quite early on so we needed to adjust the project and try to get enough data and expand it in new directions which was good as it allowed me to do more stuff I had expected to do. In science most people go over the allocated time as experiments often have a mind of own or you find some interesting data that leads you to new areas etc... It often all comes together at the end when you analyse and interpret the data which can be time consuming too.

I hope this helps. One other thing to note is the difference in income so you'll have to live like a student again unless you have some stashed away which'll help when you are writing up. Good luck with your decision.

(up) :-)

======= Date Modified 11 Mar 2012 23:36:43 =======
======= Date Modified 11 Mar 2012 23:34:40 =======
Hi Madbiscuit, I totally agree with Batfink that a PhD is nothing like MSc or undergrad which were when uni was actually enjoyable. However this is different for everyone as people have different PhD experiences. Doing a PhD is like having a job in that you are responsible for your own project and have to ensure you get the results needed to write up. You get a lot of freedom as to how you do that as research is an independent thing that you have to manage which can be very stressful. Have you thought about what it is that you don't like about your current job and how you think a PhD will compare? A suggestion could be to write a list and see what appears on it. Can you achieve job satisfaction by changing jobs or is it the whole sector you don't like? I'm suggesting this as the decision to do a PhD is a big one and you should be aware of the reasons you want to do one as you need lots of motivation for the tough times so you need to be prepared.

In answer to your questions:

1) The annual stipend depends on the discipline and source of funding. Science PhDs funded by research councils get a stipend of £12-13 k (tax-free) with more in London due to London weighing. If there is an external sponsor (e.g. another institution, industrial sponsor) besides the research council as in the case of CASE studentships you will get a few k more but they are not that common. Most unis set the uni funded studentships at the same rate but they may vary depending on the uni/dept that is offering the funding. As with the case of Sci students a lot of projects come with funding attached but there are also some where is an open competition. There is a list of projects that you can apply for or you can propose your own and one/a few of those projects will get funded so you won't know until afterwards if you've been successful. You should ask anyway as the dept/uni may try to help you get funding.

2) This depends on the dept and how much work there is available. This can range from taking tutorials, demonstrating, marking coursework, exam invigilation etc... The pay varies depending on the level of work eg. ~£25 per hour for teaching, ~£12 for demonstrating and ~£6 for exam invigilation. It's best to ask what the policy is as some depts do not give students a lot of opportunities to get involved whereas others do. There maybe other opportunities to earn money by taking part as test subjects in other research projects in other depts e.g. psychology, physiology. The other factor is to consider how much time you have as these activities ca be time consuming.

3) I did about ~9 hours of lab work and did computer work in the evenings. I also worked a lot of weekends in the lab too though not sure I could do it again!

4) The answer to this is how long is a piece of string? This depends on your supervisor, how interested they are in your work and their style of supervision! The dept put in procedures whereby we were supposed to have monthly meetings which we were suppose to minute and file with the dept! However, these turned out to be a joke as the onus was on the student so if the supervisor was uncooperative it was rather difficult. I was lucky if I saw my supervisor that often and had to get quite creative with the minutes using any contact time as a "meeting!"

5) I started off getting involved but as my workload was very heavy I didn't have the time to do so! Not many people did as someone said before they were aimed more at undergrads and PhDs seemed a forgotten lot! I mostly socialised with people in the dept which was good once it was up and running! Doing a PhD is a very lonely process and people often feel isolated esp as the start so it's a good idea to get out and do stuff.