business... i'll have a number of shops by now. i'd be working towards a mortgage.

i start at 11am on good days... can start as late as four. i love my sleep. am happy to stay up late. however, if i need to i can wake up really early - only if i have to.

rick - jobs in the legal sector in london pay on average 70k post qulification and at least 50k, usually 60k outside london. am applying for solicitor jobs.

do you know other well paying jobs. this time next year i will be applying for jobs in auditting firms as a consultant. keeping my options open. those should pay about the same or more.

my back up is teaching.... and research jobs - which i absolutely loathe at the moment.

thanks cc and oz for the advice. will take it into account. am definitely spending some decent time on those applications. trying to make sure i sell myself well enough to get an interview.

meanwhile my supervisor meeting went well. i can move on to the next chapter, but i have minor revisions to do to my current chapter.

oh, other well paying jobs include those people with MBAs do. on average they earn about 122K. am still trying to figure out which jobs these are.

all the best everyone.

sorry guys. i was away. am taking two weeks off from my work. they end today. tomorrow, i'll be meeting my supervisor. i'll be back here answering your posts later today. thanks once again.

wow, thanks! knew i had got my figures wrong somewhere. thanks fatbob.

i get to be served by him at my uni lib on a regular basis. shame he's gay. great to look at tho.

re taxes, a lot of the companies am applying for are offering a starting salary of 30k in london and 20k outside london. in the second year, this rises to over 35k in london and in the third year to 70k. my problem is, as far as i know, when you earn 33k and below, you are taxed, 22% and then 40% when you start earning over 33k. is that true? coz if it is, its no point taking a 35k job in london to be left with 20k after tax and spend half of it on the rent.

i'm applying for jobs and the deadlines are on the 31st. very last minute. am really hating the why do you want to work for us question. partly because i hate to waste time researching a firm and not being offered an interview. i tend to research once i've been offered an interview. however, am loving this new form of productive procrastinatng. questions i dread include:

Q. 1) introduce yourself to A & Co.

my name is J. am a PhD student at the university of x. erm... am 24, nah, not right. erm, i like horses... no really.

Q. 2) what attracts you to a career in the city.

the money. lol. the social life. not much else.

Q. 3) why are you specifically interested in this company.

they pay a great salary and i have a clue about what the do.

Q. 4) Give us details about your extra curricular activities.

can't remember the last time i had a life away from my thesis.

Somebody help me! looks like am gonna take a week and do the actual research!!

mine is five. purely accidental! actually, decided by my supervisor.

that's only the case when you limit yourself to history related jobs. secondly, everything you spend a penny on is an investment. so even if you work part time, to pay for your full time, you are investing. if you invest more than you eventually make out of it, monetary and otherwise, its not a good investment. currently you don't have a life - which i've been through trying to keep up with jobs and a phd none of which was working, with a possibility of spending seven years like this... its up to you. its your life. mine is to tell you what i know. yours is to decide what you do with the information. all the best.

5 years is based on a monetary return from investing in a PhD.

juno - like i said, am not up for offending anyone. am only stating my sentiments based on my experience and my perception of life. and i have a right to respond to any thread on this forum, just like you do. so.... am not gonna go down the road of what's wrong with x. if you read my posts again you will see what is.

gamba - in life, you achieve only as much as you allow yourself to. only £200 more shouldn't stop you. don't aim low. take a risk and aim high! people who earn 70,000 + salaries don't just stumble upon them. they aim for them. don't limit yourself. age is in the mind. its nothing but a number. you still have 40 + years in your life to decide if you wanna earn 20k a year. it's up to you.

juno - on why anybody might be bothered - because this is a student who is clearly struggling with a part time PhD and looking for practical remedies from people who understand what's its like to struggle like that. no offense intended here. i don't see what's wrong with people having differing opinions. 7 years is an unrealistic time to invest in something without making a return, unless of course its a hobby. gamba if you wanna make something out of your PhD, make it 5 years max.

20,000K is not much when you put your mind to it. am an international student, so mine is about double that. anyway, it's up to you what you decide to do. financial decisions are not easy to make. a PhD and a masters are two very different things - an MA is doable because creatively plays less of a part. You just read prescribed literature and answer prescribed questions. At PhD level, originality is necessary, you have to rise above what's out there, find your lit, formulate the questions yourself. That takes time, effort and commitment.