======= Date Modified 01 Nov 2012 16:44:34 =======
i would say.. an interval of two weeks between communications is reasonable. but make sure you don't look desperate - like they are your only option. be indirect. say that you are really excited about their next issue and you are wondering whether being a contributor you will get any copies ;).

obviously if they have changed their mind they will tell you at this point.

i submitted one in June and have heard nothing tangible from them yet. i wrote and asked for an update as i was considering withdrawing my submission. hopefully that'll jolt them to action. worst case scenario, i'll submit elsewhere to a more time conscious journal.

all the best.
Dr. J (never thought i'd ever use that :) )

thinking of you Pineapple. fingers crossed..

have you tried looking for an alternative? if you can find one who agrees to take you on in advance of your approaching HOD then a change will be easy. if not, to find someone who will take on an extra load will be difficult for any HOD. so make it easy for the HOD.

what eventually worked for me is that i decided i was tired of the phd process. it was not only becoming costly financially, emotionally but also healthwise.

so i decided to get over and done with it. i came up with timelines. it took me about three months to write my thesis. i'd done all the reading that was possible if i was ever gonna get a phd - i did mine in 6 years - so i decided reading anymore wasn't going to help. i decided to think more of what i was saying and put it down.

i hibernated from life during those three months and just wrote my thesis. i told myself that after the three months life would not have gone anywhere.. i could go out and do things that i enjoyed then, but at this point i was tired of the phd. i needed an end to it: a successful one or not. i needed an end either way.

to finish.. you need to get to this point. the reason you freeze is because you have time - at least in your subconscious mind. you need to get to the point where you decide you've had it and you need to see an end to this phd.

a certain author - who i can't remember.. lol - says with regard to writing up that when you know you've only got two months left before the hang, your mind concentrates wonderfully. try to get to this point where you concentrate wonderfully. where only your thesis is on your mind.

you can do it.. if you can overcome yourself. its not the mountain we conquer. we conquer ourselves.

use all techniques you can to conquer yourself - pomodoro, splitting tasks, get a support group, counsellor, do whatever you have to do to finish.

decide to be done and you're 90% there.

J.

@pineapple - it'll all end when you get that email or call saying you've passed! woo hoo! :) who cares about graduation??? as long as you have the papers, trust me you couldn't be bothered if graduation was ten years from now.

thanks guys. wishing you all a good day.

am up early (4.30am!) preparing for a class that i'll take this morning then i'll try to do revision for the exam during the day. i've read through one of the nine subjects. on my second one. its tough reading for exams after so many years in research. cramming just stops being your strong point. lol. but anyway... i'm trying to think of them as journal articles which makes nine a small job lol. am hoping early mornings for the next two months save the day!

re publications: a certain journal has been reviewing my paper since June! and still no word from them. am starting to get concerned but keeping my fingers crossed for the best.

wishing all those writing up a good day!

"just keep going." everything is ok as long as you don't stop.

congratulations on submission!

congratulations! :)

sorry to hear about the way you've been treated. i was treated so badly during my phd at my university. but i persevered with them, they refused to pass me at the first viva and eventually passed me second time round.

my advice would be since you've done two years.. stay for the last if there is a chance you will finish within the required time (am assuming its three years). but from the sound of things, the department won't pass you easily. so if i were you, i would tell the current university that i will stay to buy time to look for a place to transfer. the effect will be that to them you are still with them. in the next month or so, concentrate on finding a place to move that will allow you to transfer your two years. don't take the decision to move before finding a place to go!

when you get accepted at the other place in writing, simply drop your supervisors an email saying you have quit. ofcourse you will try to write it as politely as possible but the point should come across.:)

A bit late this - but,

I passed!!!- 8th May 2012.

:)

my tip would be: keep going!

Pineapple - are you still planning to register on the clinical phd you mentioned a while back?

hi Pineapple!

great to hear from you and many congratulations on submission!!! am so happy for you, knowing what you've been through. :)

its October tomorrow so the wait'll soon be over.

saying don't worry is like saying don't breathe lol. but try not to worry yourself sick. keep busy.... doing any and everything. lol. go to all the places you wanna go, see friends (am assuming you don't have to defend it?) soon it'll be over. am keeping everything crossed that it'll go well - pass without corrections.

as long as you address most of the examiners corrections you should be fine. that's i think what saved me. i didn't manage to do them all but at least i did 95%.

best of luck.

will be thinking of you.

J.

hi all..

my name is Jojo - anyone here remember me? i had a disatrous phd process: 6 years full time, 3 sets of supervisors, one terrible viva with a resubmit result and finally a pass. i just stopped by to see whats been happening on the forum and noticed that a few people are struggling. Don't give up! I'd like to help where i can.. i might not have the answer to everything, but i can share my experience and how i survived it. i finished my final write up (the third one in those 6 years!) end of January and graduated this last July.

I'm currently a Lecturer at a decent uni. So you can make it even if it looks like you'll never finish. if you're struggling with your thesis, feel free to post on this thread and together we'll see how we can help in terms of moral support and whether your thesis is redeemable.

I plan to be here a lot as I have postgraduate diploma exams (nine papers) in about 40 days - and i'm yet to open the reading pack we got in February.. but 40 days is a long time if you put your mind to it (learnt from phd-experience. lol) so i can still do it - and I plan to do a series of publications in the next three years - if only to keep the job! the phd-process never quite ends if you choose to be in academia, but at least the blackmail of a viva and a MPhil goes away after the Phd.

Don't give up. you can do it! Together we can!

J.

======= Date Modified 23 May 2012 16:52:49 =======
HOW IT ALL ENDED :) Yap! it ended -.... at least the worst part of it anyway.

First apologies for my silence in the last year. I've been thro a lot after my Wacko viva recorded in this thread.

So things even went from bad to worse after I had been told its a pass with major corrections. Examiners later wrote asking me to resubmit thesis. Needless to say, I was beyond devasted. This after 5 years of hard work was not easy to take.

I was in denial for some months - somewhat grieving and coming to terms with the fact that the examiners now wanted a new thesis from scratch.

I went through 4 months of depression, after which i moved in with my parents for two months - for moral support to start writing again.

Everything was ok, til i went back to uni and morale was low again but i pushed on. my supervisor was aloof as usual and despite my sending numerous drafts, he never ever gave me feedback.

So eventually what i submitted was a first draft with the last chapter and abstract written in 3 hours on the day before submission and lists and tables done on the day of submission. my sisters helped with bibliography and that way i was able to hand in a thesis 6 years in.

i then moved back with parents - thats where am staying for now - to rebuild the person i am and recover from the experience. i have been waiting for the viva date - as i was told i'd have to redo it - and guess what? examiners wrote waiving my viva. ((celebrations!))

its a pass with minor corrections! :)

finally! 6 years on! + snobbish supervisor and no feedback.

all am saying is you can do it!!!!!! hang in there.

prayer worked for me. that's my top tip. it kept me going.

i now got two teaching jobs at pretty reputable unis. am working full time at one and part time at another. waiting for examiners report to finally address corrections and move on with my life! Teaching is hard - preparation and all. but its nothing compared to my phd experience. am working late preparing for a class tomorrow..

Pineapple - this is for you! You can do it!

cheers everyone!

Jojo.


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