When you are up against somebody with the same qualification, but with a higher grade, the person with a higher grade is at an advantage.

As with the advantages conferred by good grades in other qualifications (A' levels, First degree), this advantage may not last beyond getting your first job, but if they start with a better first job it makes it easier to get the better second job.

In the UK there are no grades given for a PhD - you either pass or not. In this case the quality of the reference from your supervisor(s) will be very important.

If you have the relevant qualifications (as you have) then it is always possible to do a Masters degree. Funding is the difficult issue as there is very little of it available for Masters degrees. Search FindAMasters.com to find out what courses exist.

If your fellow PhD students are telling you not to panic then you should probably take their advice. Some people are lucky and find the things that work straight away, most people have to spend more time finding out which approaches don't work first. It's research - it's meant to be difficult and it's often slow. The results that take up most of your thesis may be achieved in only a few days.

The alternative is to do four or five different things per day, that way at least one of them should work.

The numbers of publications vary from subject to subject. It is perfectly possible to complete a PhD in the UK with no publications to your name (although you would probably expect to get one or two from your work after you have written your thesis). Three is a very respectable number in many subject areas. If you wish to continue in academia conferences are a very good way to get yourself known by possible future employers or collaborators. Giving a presentation will not only help with this, it may also mean you get to go there for free.

The best people to give you advice will be your current course tutors. They know the usual procedures within your subject area.

See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.

As we have already said there is no definitive answer. If you are choosing whether to take a PhD course which offers the possibility of obtaining a distinction against one that doesn't then it won't really matter which you choose.

Yes other countries do offer distinctions.

There is no definitive answer, except to say that if you took a PhD in an institution that offered distinctions and didn't get it you would be at a disadvantage against somebody who did. It's really not worth worrying about.

If you are good and you're at an institution that doesn't offer distinctions you'll have produced a good thesis, produced some good results and have good references - you won't need a 'distinction' to confirm this. Likewise if you weren't so good during your PhD potential employers will be able to spot it.

The idea that a PhD is 'at such a high level' is not always true - there can be a very wide ability range between people with the title PhD - some scrape through and others excel.

Funding from UK research councils covers 'Fees Only' for EU nationals. There is no money to cover your living expences & accomodation. As Romania is not yet an EU member you will not be able to qualify for this.

There's no reason why you can't make a second attempt at a PhD. You'll need to find a supervisor that thinks you can do the job and understands the reasons why you left the first time around. With good academic support, getting funding should be no more dificult than it is for anyone else in your subject area.

The technical skills you have learned will be important, as will good references from your supervisor. Publications can't hurt, but one good one is better than two average ones.

Yes it would improve your chances, but there's is no harm in trying to start a PhD directly after completing your MSc.

A CASE or CAST studentship is one done in partnership between a UK research Council and an industrial sponsor. The industrial sponsor provides some of the money and is required to top up the students grant by another £2000 or so. The project will usually involve some time carrying out research whilst based with the industrial collaborator.

A bit, yes - you'll be able to start applying from October onwards.

See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.