In terms of etiquette, may I wear my purple chiffon skirt, green tights and tuxedo jacket to present a seminal paper on the reproducibility of perfectly cooked chips
Sorry, this was getting very serious and I've had a good day

Hi PC_Geek: not to sound like I'm getting on your case but I disagree with your point of view. Most people do a PhD because they want to learn and (coincindently) improve their career prospects. To whit, they expect a higher than average salary comensurate with the additional time spent learning new techniques and developing transferable skills. Your boyfriend is a prime example. The fact that someone equates a BSc in the same capacity as PhD in terms of employability, I think, is wrong. Having worked in industry for a number of years (I admit it was science based) if I was offered the same salary as a new starter having finished a PhD and, as such, expected to deal with additional rresponsibilities associated therewith, I would walk out the door laughing.
Of course, I may be wrong

Mikhail, Imperial's just opened a new finace division but they get plenty of money to throw around. Warwick is very good too, have a look and see who's got the better academic credentials?

BHC - last I checked this is seriously out of order! Can anyone seriously be so stupid as to threaten a "senior" work colleague with unbased sexual harrassment claims - you need to get a higher authority in on this one!
Having said that, she'd deny everything if you made her accusation public and you'd wind up looking a wotsit-stirring tit. My advice is to tell her the next time she thinks to threaten you, you will have her up in front of an industrial tribunal so fast her head will spin. I cannot stand people like that!

To olivia - perhaps, in an effort to be more awake, your infusion of triple choc slice should have been administered by a scantily clad adonis who worships every fibre of your being?

If they said 11-18K they are lying. take your business elsewhere. You should look for anything in the region of 10-25k

I'm liking my PhD. I think I spend too much time doing not enough, hence spend a lot of time feeling guilty but I still enjoy the learning.

Knowing the great British rail company staff, don't hold your breath. What annoys me (in particular) is it costs me £290 PER MONTH to get to work in London from Surrey/Sussex border. It only costs £180 to Croydon, which is 15 minutes longer on the train. And I can't get a student discount because I'm not 18-25 or wish to arrive at work after 10am. B*st*rds! Thieving, rotten, corporate fat cat, b*st*rds! I hope their chief execs choke on their Remy Martin.

Hi Olivia, welcome to my world! Regarding your irritation (no doubt highly justified if they're anything like my rail provider), I wouldn't bother with a solicitor - it'll cost you more than it's worth. You're best bet is a strongly worded letter to the chief exec outlining your grievance and what you want by way of restitution.
Should that fail, may I suggest the Office of Fair Trading.
Have fun!

He wasn't from Imperial was he?

no trout, that's what's irritating me today. I want some damn trout.

You lot are aiming too low: I want my own academic institution that will enable me to dish out doctorates with aplomb. "Hypothesis"; PhD (cubed) with an associate professorship in astrophysics and home economics.

I find them quite enlivening!

Let me get this staight: you want to BUY a PhD; no working for it, no spending time actually doing the research, just purchace it.
Ever consider changing your name by deed poll? You could be "African", PhD?

I don't envy you! This may sound particularly harsh and I speak from painful experience: do what you dream of doing, follow what YOU want. Much as you love your fiancée, she is not you. Consider long and hard about how much you want to stay where you are and balance it up against seeing her only on weekends for three years. At the end of the day, it's only three years. Worst case scenario: (i) you split up and learn she was not the woman for you and (ii) you find your future career heading off into the great uninteresting because you gave up what you wanted most. There is always a compromise but DO NOT be a doormat just because you love her.