======= Date Modified 07 Jul 2011 20:38:07 =======
Thanks ... they're delicious as well!!! Mmmmmmmmmmm :p

I don't have any experience of this so I can't help I'm afraid but I would say nail him!  That's just plagiarism and there is no excuse for it. As Cakeman has said it's very hard without solid proof so I'd be careful how you do it as he's HoD so might make things difficult for you regarding your affiliation with the department as he sounds very petty. Have you anyone trusted you can talk to within your dept or academia about this?

Good luck and I really hope he gets what is coming to him! He shouldn't be able to get away with it!
:-s

haha how to keep the suspense going! Can you phone a friend, ask the audience though not a wise idea as that'd your examiners or go 50:50? I think there was some drama with it but I didn't find out until a good while later and not the full details either. It's part of the urban myth! Though it was pretty harsh leaving the poor person hanging around!

Congrats that's excellent news! (up)

Thanks JJJ ... do I get some M & Ms as well please? Those nutty ones are great! :p

I have heard it happen at my uni where the examiners went off to lunch before telling the person whether they had passed or not - not sure if the viva was continued afterwards or not or just the decision was given. I have also heard that food was brought into another one. You may get a break in the middle or yours if it's going to be long and you can request one if you think need one (but resist the temptation to run away!)

Believe in yourself - you are the expert as you have spent the last few years doing it so you know your topic inside out even if you think you don't! Have the confidence to say what you think as your opinion is valid even if it's different from your supervisor's or examiner's one!

Think of it as more like a chat about your work which is what it is essentially as your examiners are keen to find out about what you did and why.

Typical questions will include something like the following: what you did and why, the rationale and the methodology you used and your results & analysis and conclusions.

They will probably start of generally asking general questions about your topic to ease you in before getting down to the finer details. Be sure you highlight what makes your research different and why so you show that you have made an original contribution to your field of research.

Hope this helps ang good luck! You can do it! Get a good night's sleep before it really helps you focus. (up)

Mmmmmm that sounds lovely! (mince)(turkey)(sprout) Just had to get some food icons in there! I hope you had a good dinner and chilled out. You deserve it after your hard work! I got a bit done today so it's getting there slowly! I also got an unexpected offer of work (not dream job but useful for CV) today for a few months so that should spur me on to finish corrections as I'm going to be busy.

I'm glad I can help but thanks also for your support too. Mutal prodding is a good idea! (up)

======= Date Modified 04 Jul 2011 23:45:05 =======
Definitely not being sensitive - it sounds like your supervisor is just trying to cover his own back! He has ego problems and it's good that there is distance between you as it'll make the write up easier now you won't have to see him. Keep going and try not to let him get under your skin but I know it's hard given your past history! It'll be over soon so you need to focus on that and try to ignore what he says unless he suddenly decides to be helful! I would like to think miracles do happen! ;-) Good luck! (up)

I agree with the others so I wouldn't suggest it either. They are pretty easy with PhD students as they know it's work in progress so just remember to tell them that! You might meet someone/people who are able to help and it's an opening to say any help would be appreciated when you talk and meet with people afterwards.

It won't be as nerve wracking as you think as everyone knows a PhD is research training so will take that into consideration. People know that research often doesn't go the way you plan so you will have shared experiences with these people.

Good luck with it - I think you'll be able to find enough info as you'll need slides on your project intro, rationale, methodology which should take up a few slides before you get to the results. If it's a poster there will not be much room left so that'll be fine if you just use some selected data.

Congrats Beajay - keep going! It looks like you've been a lot more productive than me! I need your discipline! I've not managed any work today but I have just finished an online application so I'm glad that's done! Of course I've managed to post here today so I need to lock myself in a shed without internet access to get some work done tomorrow!!!! ;-)

I can see the point you are making but I guess it does help if you are interested in your subject though by no means necessary judging by the threads here.  I guess if you are detached from it you can know when to let go and move on as you suggested which is a good thing. What got me through my disaster of a PhD where I had so many problems I won't go into but namely supervisor and a very ambitious (if over ambitious) project is the fact that I like the subject and I saw it as a necessary step (evil!) to get into academia as most the research jobs I liked the look of wanted a PhD!  It opens doors as Scottishkelpie mentioned which is a good thing as I am sick of looking at my thesis and want to move on! I am just glad I survived in face of such adversity as many people (other PhD students) said that they would have quit if they had to put up with what I put with all for the sake of reaching my goal!  I suppose a lot of doing it depends on your motivation and reason for doing it! It was definitely character building to say the least as it was an eye-opener in many respects! Another reason I want a job in academia is that I want a job that I enjoy and stimulates me where I wouldn't dread to go to work so I would live to work and not work to live!  But it's interesting to see the other side of the coin so to speak! Thanks for an interesting post. (up);-)

======= Date Modified 03 Jul 2011 18:19:11 =======
======= Date Modified 03 Jul 2011 17:59:21 =======
I've something to add to this thread! I'm applying for a temporary academic job and they want a high quality undergraduate degree with a PhD amongst other things. I didn't get a great undergrad degree (2:2) but then I did a Masters and a PhD. For my Masters degree I would have got the equivalent of a 2:1 but they only graded it Pass (50-69) and Distinction (70+) so it still appears a Pass. I'm terrible at exams so don't have great grades but I enjoy what I do and want to continue doing more research. My PhD was a disaster so to speak as I had so many problems but I survived which is no mean feat. But at the end of the day I seem to be held back by my mediocre grades which I do not like to mention. What really annoys me is that some places want your school grades as if they matter! Surely you are not the same person as you as you were when you were at school or even undergrad so why should they take them into account? Is it not enough I survived my PhD almost intact and not running away screaming as many have told me have quit if they were in my position? But as I don't have a spectacular academic record is this going to be held against me?

Does anyone else have a similar experience and what did they do to overcome it?

P.S. I don't mean to offend anyone with a 2:2 by saying it's awful but in the academic pecking order it's average. This is not helped by the fact that I have average school grades better at some things than others so when a uni wants them as well I start to worry as it just makes me look worse! I just thought having a PhD would override your previous results and make you more credible but I guess you can't hide average marks. I guess it's a confidence thing which I don't have so I feel unmasked when they have my marks in front of them! They might even wonder how I got PhD! I know I'm probably worrying too much over these details but I can't help it especially as competition is so tough out there so I don't have anything that makes me stand out and go PICK ME!

======= Date Modified 03 Jul 2011 16:50:54 =======
Mulling it over would seem to be a good course in action incase you decide to change your mind later and of course there is getting your own back on your supervisor!  This is always satisfying especially one such as yours! ;-)

Doing a PhD is like a roller coaster with your emotions all over the place. Being stressed and tired doesn't help as that may cloud your judgement.  I wouldn't base your decision just on your supervisor's assessment of your capabilities! It sounds like he doesn't have many social skills and is very unreasonable in that he expects you to have publishable results by the end of your 1st yr!  A PhD is research training so you have to settle into it, do your reading and set up experiments which all takes time! As you point out if he wanted instant results he should employ a postdoc!  I agree a postdoc or technician if they are trained in your specific methods would help bridge the gap between him and you so there is someone to help. This of course depends on the postdoc or technician but if you were part of a larger group there would be a better atmosphere perhaps.  At least the other students point out that they are at the same stage as you but it doesn't help you that he picks on you which must be annoying/infuriating!

I would wait until you hear back from your postgrad tutor/admin person.  Your supervisor needs to have a good reason to not pass you and it shouldn't be his decision alone. As you worked as a technician before you obviously have the skills to do it so you just need to believe in yourself and have confidence!  It's easier said than done especially as your supervisor has been chipping away at it. Does he realise it as you know they are not the most self aware people especially one with a personality like yours.  They don't think before they speak and it often comes out wrong as they don't have good social skills!

As for the upgrade meeting - find out what the procedure is so you know what to expect. There should be an appeals process or maybe if they can set a later date if they want to see more work or whatever your supervisor's grievance is.  Is you supervisor approachable? If so ask him what the problem is and how to improve - this will look like you are trying to sort out the situation.  There's no excuse for poor supervisor - is he trying to cover up for lack of help? Or take what he says with a pinch of salt (see previous paragraph!) You can never do enough work or fast enough for some people especially as they don't have to the lab work themselves! 

Good luck and hope you get it sorted. Have you a second supervisor who you can go to for help? Or another trusted academic?  Let us know how you get on (up)

Hi Beajay,

I'll happily prod you as I'm in the same position as you in that I need to write papers too and finish my corrections which are boring me to death! I am in need of papers to kick start my academic career which is not going anywhere fast at the moment. I was told by my supervisor that is the key so I need to get going! That's probably the only useful piece of advice they have ever given but that could be due to the fact they want to their name on them!!!!

My aim is to get the corrections finished at the end of this month so that is good motivation for me too!

Good luck (up) ;-)