My apologies, all of the academics whom have ever acted as references for me would email me a draft for my "approval", but I am not from the UK so I did not account for cultural differences :P Sounds like you have a plan and TreeofLife gave you excellent advice.

Ok lets chop it up (discuss it)

For the first reference, I'd go with the research internship PhD student (which you have completed). Why? Well as a PhD student they would be capable of wording your reference letter in a research oriented vernacular pleasing to the persons reviewing your PhD application. PhD title would be nice, but not a deal breaker in my opinion.

As for the second one, I think you should get a reference from BOTH the Post doc AND the literature review Prof. That way as you tailor your application according to how a particular university weighs certain skills, you can choose which one is more appropriate for said application.

Question: Have any of your MSc Lecturers / Professors moved on from your university to other posts elsewhere, be it academia or private sector / industry? If so you could get a reference from them and their current posting would reflect some diversity in your references if you are concerned about that.

What year are you in? If its your first year "together" you will get over it. Trust me. Professional "flames" die out rather quickly, especially when they are not fanned ;)

P.S. Thread of the year so far :D

In most instances in life, when I get no satisfaction over the phone / email. I just set aside a day, and I literally just turn up in the reception area of your office. You would be AMAZED at how much more attention you get when you demonstrate that you wont be ignored.

Hi MoC,

I completely understand your dilemma and agree with you about the value of truth these days. Fortunately for you, it does not sound like you intend to stay within Academia as a career path, so any repercussions from someone who may feel slighted by your resignation is extremely limited, and will probably not extend beyond the musings within your (former) department.

Which brings us your point of possible financial repercussions. Once again fortune is with you as these kinds of policies are usually a black and white affair with very little room for discretion. If there were any alternative exception to the rule, it would be clearly outlined in the clauses or subsections under that particular policy rule. I' m sure it would be easy to discreetly inform yourself of all the details with the appropriate office at your University. Be on the look out for phrases like "...or any other action which the University deems appropriate..."
However I suspect you would be in the clear. So ask some questions, without giving away your intentions until you are ready.

Unfortunately the ill health of your supervisor is beyond your powers, and is an unfortunate circumstance. His reputation subject to you leaving falls in that same category unfortunately. I may sound harsh, but you are not the first and you wont be the last candidate to leave a programme. You cant realistically stick around for his sake. Thats life unfortunately.

Take care now.

MoC, it has been my experience that people of average intelligence will usually see through a "cookie cutter" resignation of any kind, and it usually has the double effect of coming across as sudden and vague "circumstances beyond my control" kind of thing if you follow me.

For anyone who has invested in me at any level, in my humble opinion, I owe it to them to be honest about my reasons for parting ways and thus the incompatibility of academic research with your long and short term goals is perfectly acceptable and above all decent.

Life is messy, the planets never align, and there is never that perfect congregation of favorable circumstances. You thank your peers for the trust, time and effort they have invested in you, you explain frankly and tactfully that you can only follow your good conscience after experiencing a taste of the academy, and you wish them well in life and all other endeavors.

This is my personal style of doing business, take from it what you will. All the best with your future, and trust me, processes like this is all part of the refining process of becoming who you wish to be in life.

I think at some point every academic loses their appetite for their PhD research, and is to be expected. You are closing on your final year (ideally), and logic would suggest you stay the course.

However have you lost interest in the field in general?
Do you want to be an academic at the end of the day or apply your technical expertise in the industry? What is your end game?
The guys who currently have your dream job, what do their CV's look like?

Look at the long game. Rely more on your vision (the future) than your sight (current job). Economies shift, industries collapse and rebuild, and companies restructure. Your job might be great now, but tomorrow is not given. If however, you don't need a PhD to get to the next level in your vision, and you are doing it more for your hometown than yourself, then you have to make that final decision.

Hey Sue, I am not sure but I have heard some Uni's consider any research done under a PhD programme as their property. However, this may not be the case at your institution. If it were me, I would anonymously call the department / office which handles these issues, and ask in a very general manner who in fact owns the IP rights to a PhD candidate's research? Seems like a pretty straight forward question. If you end up owning the IP rights, then you will know how to go about protecting it.

Applied for 10, got 1 in my first round of apps. The plan was to keep moving down the league tables till someone bit :P

Was wondering the exact thing, except I was afraid 30-45 mins away would be too far, especially the first year when you want to "get familiar" with everything and everyone in the department. The upside of living in a "commuter town" as they call them is that I can knock £100-200 off rent :P

Congrats to all Dr.'s in this post, and a special thanks to the OP for creating this thread. I was afraid it was the weekly "I did so horribly what shall I do?????" post, however I was pleasantly surprised and thankful to have a fresh critical framework, with which to challenge my own research.

A+ would read again ;)

I bet if he told you they were paying 1 million pounds you'd be done. Procrastination is a myth. If it were of critical importance, it would be done.

Do you plan on having an academic career?
Do you plan on getting a postdoc post-graduation?
Do you intend to be competitive in this ruthless academic job market?
If the answer to any of those was yes...get writing.

Do or do not. There is no try. Get writing. Even if it sounds like junk. Thats why we have a backspace key.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly--until you can learn to do it well.” ― Zig Ziglar

Thats it. You have used up all my Jedi wisdom for the day.

Get writing.

Speaking in more abstract and anecdotal terms (from my experience), I find that shifting majors can be part of the refining process in pursuit of a genuine interest. I went from BA Theology, to M.Sc. Intl Trade Policy now to a PhD in Environment & Politics at a top 10 uni (depending on who you ask LOL). A slight shift in interest at PhD level is expected since the research is so specific, you may find yourself pursuing a tangent rather than staying in the general field.

I was never blessed to know exactly what I wanted to do until I was about 36, I just knew a few things I was good at, and I honed those skills until the thing I was best at / most interested in revealed itself.

I'm biased, but I think a diverse background makes you a more interesting individual and provides you with more tools to operate with within your environment also making you more capable (read well rounded).

Well...first question I would ask is what happened with the D? Which is a reasonable one I think.

You said it all HazyJane. I guess that's the price to be paid for that 1st permanent Lectureship.