======= Date Modified 25 Jul 2011 18:34:57 =======
Thanks guys, you've all pretty much said the same thing! I'll give my brain and body the sleep they seem to be demanding with the hope that they will continue to function well during the day!

Just found out today that my thesis will probably be too big for the usual binding equipment (even though it's easily within the word limit) meaning that I'll need to leave two days to get it bound instead of the usual 90 minutes...so need to have it ready by a week today. Also had my draft discussion back from my sup and she doesn't like it. I based the structure on a couple of other recent theses in the group that passed recently with very few corrections, but she wants an awful lot of revisions (including about 5000 new words) and I just don't have the time :( Just telling myself that a not-brilliant discussion won't compromise the result too much....I hope.

Anyway, better get on with it!
Cheers all, KB

I don't know if I'm just tired from all the stress/nerves, but I am sleeping for so long every night! I normally get by on about 7-8 hours but now I'm out for the count for about 10-11 hours every night, just when I need to be working for longer than ever before! If I get up any earlier than that then I'm too knackered to work properly!

Did anyone else experience this so close to submission (10 days to go!!)? On the plus side, when I'm awake, I really am awake and am working quite efficiently, but still...it seems a bit excessive.

Be good to hear your sleep experiences, especially close to submission and viva!!
Cheers, KB

Hey! Are you an author on it? If so I would have no hesitation whatsoever in putting it down! I don't think it really matters that it's in a different subject/topic- it's all proof that you have the ability to get your work published, or contribute to publications etc! Congrats :) KB

======= Date Modified 21 Jul 2011 14:09:12 =======
[quote]Quote From screamingaddabs:

Fair enough. I'd be tempted to entrap her with a Dictaphone and lead her to say something of this sort, then when she denies it you have proof. [quote]

You are about the 5th person this week to say that I should do this. However, one of her previous students took this approach and the 'evidence' was discarded as she had recorded the meeting 'without consent'. To be honest, I've got three weeks left and I just want to get out. I don't want trouble. I have supervision tomorrow though and if she provokes me any more she might just get a mouthful. I know it's wrong but there's only so much I can sit and take without responding. My usual response is "I am not going to have an argument about this', but that just seems to antagonise her further! Can't win! KB

Hmmm, no end of things that are completely inappropriate. She's said that I shouldn't have children because I have bipolar, that my perceptions are 'messed up' because of the bipolar, that my engagement to my now fiance is nothing more than 'stupid', that she is 'disgusted, embarrassed, ashamed of me and offended' because I decided not to apply for a fellowship that she wanted me to apply for with her...strange that I wasn't interested in staying with her for another 3 years huh?!!! Can't wait to move on and leave this nasty person behind! KB

Hey Pineapple! Yeah, I know the practitioner doctorates are very different- I have several friends doing the DClin at the moment who all finished their PhDs last year, and most of the staff in our department doing clinical research also have the DClin. It's a route I have thought about going down, just to make the research side of things easier, but that would be the only reason I'd be doing it. For now I'm gonna do my best to get in place in this team- I really want to work with them and it's a good while since I've felt so excited by something, so I know it would be a good move for me. But I really didn't have much idea of how tough things would be with the job-hunting. I knew things were bad, but I didn't realise how bad! KB

Yeah, it is a bit scary! Both interviews I've done were apparently really good but that's not good enough when the opposition has an extra post-doc or doctoral degree under their belt. Frustrating. It seems ages since that interview Catalinbond- I would've thought he/she'd have started by now! Well I'm going to give up the job hunt until I've finished my PhD now- only two weeks until submission and three until viva. And I really want this other post that the interviewer was on about today...I don't want to apply for other stuff until I've given that post my best shot! KB

Hey all!

Oh, I'm so frustrated!

I went for a job interview today at another uni (a research associate post) for a job I really really wanted. The interview went well, and I got a phone call from one of the interviewers a few hours later. She said that although the interview was excellent, I hadn't got the job, because it went to somebody with two doctorates (a PhD and a practitioner doctorate)! The only actual specification regarding academic qualifications on the advertisement was a good BSc!

On the plus side, she said that they were really interested in offering me a position -they have strongly recommended that I apply for another very similar post that will be coming up within the same team in a couple of months time (apparently I would have a 'very strong' chance) and also offered to work with me on a fellowship proposal that would get me into their team if I was up for it. So I'm kinda pleased that they want me, but also rather gutted and a little despondent. Who's to say that next time there won't be someone with 3 PhDs?!!!

Arrrrgh. Oh well...time to concentrate on passing my PhD!
Best, KB

======= Date Modified 17 Jul 2011 20:34:34 =======
Hmmm, I'd ask for advice from teaching fellows in your subject to be honest. I've only taught alongside my PhD, so can't really comment, but I have spoken to several teaching fellows in different departments who are so bogged down with teaching that they only have a few hours a week left over to spend on research- and they are still expected to meet certain requirements that pure research staff struggle to meet. I think it's worse in some subjects (and no doubt some universities) than others, but I'd definitely make contact with people in that situation to get a good perspective on things. I'm sure it can be done in some cases, but I hear a lot of negativity from people trying to balance the two. Best, KB

Edit: Just read Olivia's post- I had assumed that you were referring to a post-doc teaching fellowship rather than teaching alongside your PhD? My comments were based on that assumption anyway- if you're talking about teaching alongside your PhD then I think that's prefectly possible (and quite normal!).

Hey! I think reviews can be just as highly regarded as original research if you get them published in a decent journal- you only have to look at how often review papers are cited to see how central they are to furthering research. There are even journals devoted purely to review papers. It might vary according to subject of course, but if you've written a good review which is novel and has implications for further research or practice, then I would definitely go for publication. Of course there are different types of reviews as well, such as systematic reviews and reviews based on meta-analysis etc- some might be considered to be more valuable than others. And of course if you are planning to apply for funding at some point then you need to be skilled at reviewing existing literature, so learning to write a quality review paper can stand you in good stead! Best, KB

Done- took about 15 mins! Good luck with it! KB

Hey Slowmo, congratulations! Can't wait to be in that position myself! Have yourself a nice rest before you start stressing about the viva, you've done the hardest bit now :) KB