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£14,000 is low for London - research council funded PhDs are ~£15,500. If you are offered it and are thinking of accepting, ask why it's set at that amount and see if you can wangle some more.

I've been paid both monthly and quarterly on different funding schemes and I far prefer monthly. I think it's the university that decides.

I've occasionally heard of people with two PhDs but they have been in totally different fields. Even then it's pretty rare.

To be honest, your reasons seem a bit self indulgent. Basically you're reluctant to take on the structure and responsibilities of a more senior position. But in doing so you would be depriving someone else the opportunity to have that PhD funding who needs it to progress with their career.

You might also wish to consider that doing a second PhD may be detrimental to your career - what do you hope to do when you finish? Do you think your employment prospects will be enhanced by two PhDs? A PhD is an apprenticeship where you learn the ropes of research. A post doc is a position where you demonstrate your maturity and independence as a researcher. Reluctance to transition to the latter might not be looked upon positively.

Yes, some post docs are tied to a specific project, but it's equally possible to write your own proposal and apply for a fellowship. I would suggest that would be your best course of action if you want to direct your own research themes.

I quit because I wasn't enjoying it, it wasn't going anywhere, I'd decided I wanted to work in a different field, and the environment I was in was not pleasant. That seemed like a good enough set of reasons to move on!

Some of your other questions depend on your field. If you're a science student I doubt you'd have time to teach during an MSc but an arts timetable might be more flexible. Publish as soon as you can, but that might not happen during a masters. Really depends on your discipline.

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Wow, lots of anxieties there! Let's look at age firstly.

27 is not too old to start a PhD. I would, however, suggest that you look carefully at your field and see what the typical age for a PhD student is and get some feel for post-PhD prospects if you are hoping to stay in academia afterwards. Some fields are very much dominated by young PhD students who may not even have a masters; others appreciate the experience that may have been gained from non-academic work.

Before you commit yourself to a taught masters, consider whether getting an entry level research job may be more beneficial. It really depends on (i) what your field is (ii) how much relevant experience you have (iii) how good your bachelor's result was and (iv) how clear you are about an area of study.

If you want an example someone of a similar age, I graduated at 22, did a year's research work, then 1.5 years of a PhD before quitting, just over a year of research work in a different field, taught masters in that field, and now I'm a first year PhD student again at the age of 28. Most people on my masters were 25-35 (mine is a field that people tend to come to a bit later on) and the other two PhD students in my research group are 28-29. So it doesn't have to be an issue. But it does sound as though there are other things you need to consider carefully. Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Can you maintain the focus required for a 3 years PhD. You will have very little guidance and input compared to a Bachelor's degree, so you need to be able to find a path and stick to it to some extent (expect deviations, but not continual changes of direction)

2. If you did a masters and then didn't get on to a PhD, would that be so terrible? Make sure you choose a masters that is worthwhile in its own right.

3. There is no 'perfect choice'. We rarely have the fortune to make perfect decisions. But there are plenty of 'good enough' options that will get you to the next stage in life. Try to reconcile yourself with that and stop worrying about perfect choices.

Yes, do use them, but be careful how you use them and what kind of graph/chart you choose. Sometimes no graph is better than a badly thought out one. If in doubt, ask for advice, here or in your department.

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It's unlikely you'll be able to negotiate more money, but I guess nothing ventured nothing gained. While it is true that some PhD students work part time, check with people in your prospective department whether that really is feasible. Some disciplines are more amenable to this than others.

To be honest I wouldn't attempt to live in London on a non-London stipend, or at least not with those travel costs. There's a reason a London stipend is higher. You'll be hard pushed to find accommodation for less than £300 unless you set your standards very low. Last year I lived in London on a London stipend and spent every penny (I don't have expensive tastes, I don't smoke, and drink very little). This year I'm living up North on a smaller stipend but I live comfortably and manage to save some money at the end of the month.

How far outside London are we talking here? Might it be possible to live midway, thus reducing your rent and travel costs, but still being close to your friends and boyfriend?

I would suggest thinking very carefully about taking such a financial decision for 3 years. That's a long time to be living at such a stretch. You need to think about what makes you happy and keeps you sane, and whether that is really feasible on such a budget. That will be specific to you. Compromises may be needed, but too many could be detrimental over that time frame. Don't forget to allow for unexpected costs too.

Good luck with your decision.

I could do with some suggestions too. I'm very much at a loose end, waiting for approvals for access to data, waiting for feedback on my literature review. I have further literature I could read, but I've pretty much done nothing but read for the last five months, and as a hands on person that frustrates me. I feel as though I should be busy doing academic things like writing papers or learning how to programme in multiple languages, but I'm more motivated by tasks that are goal driven and I don't have any goals right now, outside of the things I can't do due to external constraints.

I'm getting worried that the time is just slipping away, but I can't work out how to productively use it right now.

Ho hum.

Here's a previous discussion of Open Access publishing with some further thoughts from me and other forum users:
http://www.postgraduateforum.com/threadViewer.aspx?TID=15971

Not vanity publishing at all, just a different model of publishing.

Whether it's worth it depends on your field and the quality of the publication. In my field, open access journals are increasingly popular because:
(i) They enable wider dissemination of findings, particularly to resource-poor settings where knowledge is needed but hard to pay for
(ii) It's considered good practice given that the money that funded the research came from the public purse, so the public should arguably have access to it.

In my field there are some high quality, high impact factor open access journals which I would be delighted to see my work in (e.g. PLoSMed). These days it's common to write into grant applications money for publication costs. In fact some funding councils require that the work is accessibly published. But things may be different in your field, so you need to weigh up the reputation of the journal and how important it is to you that your work is widely accessible.

If you take something, is that really going to address the underlying issues? It might mask them for a while, but what if you become dependent on that as the fix to this issue?

It sounds to me like something that would be aided by time management/project management training, a good chat with your supervisor or other students to find out how they approach such periods, and an evaluation of how you go about your work to see if there's anything that isn't conducive to concentration. I really don't see how amphetamines are going to improve this.

Thank you to everyone who replied. Compelling reasons, all of them, though if there were a prize I think it would go to annabd.

I got it finished in the end. I made a big breakthrough when I decided to change the focus from my supervisor's suggestion (for which there wasn't enough literature to form a comprehensive narrative, to a slightly broader remit. It came a lot quicker after that.

For others who have trouble getting on with tasks, I came across this article which I found very interesting:
'The cognitive costs of doing things' http://us.lifehacker.com/5798202/the-cognitive-cost-of-doing-things

Tallies a lot with some of my experiences of procrastinating. Any thoughts?

Sorry to hear about your disappointment. It's often the case that applications to a few places might be needed however.

You are not in the wrong for aiming for a top university, although it's worth bearing in mind that there are excellent groups/departments in other universities.

I think you really need to think first and foremost about why you want to do a PhD though. You say your parents really really want it for you, but is this what you want? A PhD is tough and you can only get through it if you're motivated for YOU, not for what others want. Similarly being in a prestigious institution will be little comfort if it turns out the research environment you're in is not supportive and nurturing.

I would classify the considerations you need to make as follows:

(i) Priority considerations
- Does the project sound like something that would interest you for 3+ years?
- Is it (adequately) funded?
- What is the supervisor like? What kind of support might you get?
- What is the department like? Good reputation?
- Will this actually help you find a job afterwards?
- Wider opportunities (training, conference attendance etc)

(ii) Secondary considerations
- Reputation of the uni (within reason). There are a lot of excellent institutions you don't list which might be more accessible


(iii) Things to avoid
- Letting your decision be influenced by other people's ambitions for you
- Taking on a PhD without an idea of how it might help you reach the next stage in your career

Same reason commercial sites hide prices too (e.g. if you're trying to get a quote for a service, you often have to email). They want you to be enticed by the 'product' first so that by the time you find the cost you've already been enticed.

Why would they make it easy to find these things when there's so much competition?

I'm also sorry for making suggestions of things you've already tried and not had any luck with, but it wasn't initially clear what the circumstances were. All I can say in that regard is to keep trying. One question - you say there are few 'decent' jobs in your field - are there any that are less decent but worth maybe applying for as a stop gap.

One thing I do think you need to do asap is to try to separate the practical problem from your self identity. To be rejected from 3 jobs doesn't make you 'worthless' - rejection is an unfortunate part of the current job market and many excellent candidates are being turned down for things just because of competition. Also, try to ditch the guilt. It's not helping. I'm sure if the tables were turned you'd be treating your boyfriend and buying things for him even if he couldn't reciprocate. So don't add to the negativity you're experiencing by beating yourself up about things. Although it's not helpful to hear 'something will come along eventually' it does at least suggest to me that your boyfriend and parents are not viewing you as a burden but rather that they are understanding that you are trying and have been unfortunate not to have found something yet.