Thanks so much for your replies. It's been another rocky day in write-up land but I feel much better for hearing other people's experiences.

It's been really hard with the counselling thing- my counsellor has been really emotional herself over the last few sessions so I've been trying to avoid getting upset myself and making her feel even worse...I keep on digging up trivia to talk about and avoiding any real issues because I don't want her to feel bad about finishing when it's a really difficult time, and she's the kind of person that would. She's given me her email address so we can keep in contact- I know the relationship is supposed to have boundaries but after over 7 years the boundaries have gotten a bit blurry on both sides. She's not really local so I'm not likely to see her after she finishes. I was busy choosing a thank you present online to give the counselling service right before supervision yesterday so that's probably why I was a bit emotional and the tears came out at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

In all fairness to my supervisor she's been okay about it. She texted yesterday evening to check I was okay- I'm not quite sure whether she was genuinely concerned or she just wanted to check I hadn't launched myself off a tall building, but she didn't have to text. I think with my thesis I expected the results papers to be so much easier to write than the reviews and theoretical papers I've done, since the structure is much simpler, but for some reason I just haven't got to grips with them well and am just getting draft after draft back with so many corrections to do. But I've got drafts of everything except the discussion now and have a few months left, so should be okay. Even if it takes longer I'm only at the end of third year so it won't really matter.

But yeah, I will try to take a step back and not stress. It gets hard to see the bigger picture when you're so caught up in writing but you guys have really helped. Thanks (up) KB

I don't know what is wrong with me at the moment but I keep crying and it comes right out of the blue. Yesterday I burst into tears in supervision without any particular reason and I've just done the same in front of another team member today. I feel like such an idiot (my sup doesn't know how to cope with crying students and pretty much called off supervision as she said I wasn't in any state to continue) and am worried she just thinks I'm an emotionally unstable and weak person who just can't cope with pressure. I wouldn't blame her for thinking that to be honest.

Is this just part of writing up? Normally I find writing pretty easy but it feels like I can't get anything right at the moment with my results chapters and I'm worried that I don't really know what to put in my thesis introduction or how to structure my discussion. I don't feel that stressed although I suppose I am pretty worried about finding a job and upset cos my uni counsellor is retiring next week (I've been seeing her for 7 years and she's been my rock- I know it sounds a bit pathetic but I'm really going to miss the support). I don't think I'm depressed or anything, I don't know what's wrong with me.

Anyone else going through the same thing?
KB

Hey Cornflower! I've found it difficult to deal the influx of feedback at times throughout my PhD, whether it's from my sup, journal reviewers' comments, whatever. With my papers submitted for publication I've had 4 revise and resubmit verdicts, so I've had an awful lot of 'constructive criticism' to get through! Although all four papers were accepted in the end, it is a bit soul-destroying to read through all the comments. I think you have to remember that most of the time, it will make your work stronger. I have also learnt that if you don't agree with the comments and you can put together a good argument as to why not, then it's okay to not agree. For all of these 4 papers, whilst I was able to incorporate most suggestions, there were changes that I refused to make because I did not agree with them, and that did not prevent my papers from being accepted. I've been quite lucky at conferences, because I've only even had 'nice' questions. If there are problems that you know need fixing then I would just present them in a 'limitations' slide before anyone else has the chance to point them out, but don't dwell on them too much. And I think it does get easier with time. Reviewers' comments don't really bother me that much any more, unless they say anything really ridiculous- I am actually more sensitive to my supervisor's feedback, because that feels more personal! Also remember- feedback happens to the best of the best in the research world. Even professors have to deal with negative feedback and suggestions, and have people tear their work apart at conferences or in the peer review system. So you are not alone! Good luck with the conferences! KB

Hey Greent! Is this a regular occurrence or is he just really busy at the moment? To be honest, I don't think it's fair to take students on if you don't have time to meet them or even look at their work, but I guess all supervisors have their stressful and busy times and have a lot of pressure on them coming from all directions. If it's just a one-off then I suppose you'll just have to deal with it as best you can for now, but if this is how things are permanently then you might have a more serious problem. Do you have a second supervisor who might be able to comment on your work or give you feedback? Or if not, could you appoint an extra supervisor who might have more time for you? If this is a long term problem then I think that you should speak to your chairperson/director of PhD studies/whoever is the relevant person and see if you can get someone extra on board. Will your sup not even reply to an email to clarify what he wants changing? Best, KB

Hi! One thing I would say is that Facebook makes it easy to compare yourself to others...having piled on a bit of weight whilst sitting at my desk writing up my PhD, it is always slightly comforting to see that most other people my age (i.e. friends etc on FB) are starting to have a middle age spread as well lol! But then there are always the annoying few that still have the same figure that we all had when we were 17! Having said that, it's not something that I stew on, more just that you can't help notice changes in people if you nosy at their photos or their profile pic. Best, KB

Hey Maks- I just wanted to echo what Hazyjane pointed out. Of course it's good if you get your PhD from a top uni, but there are a lot of other things to think about at PhD level. You need to think about the reputation of the department itself, the team/lab you'll be working within and your supervisors. Some of the best research teams for specific topics are not necessarily at the top universities. I moved away from a prestigious university to a more average uni, because the department itself was much better at the average uni than the top uni. Now I'm finishing off my PhD and when I've been making enquiries about jobs, everyone has commented on how fortunate I am to be working with my supervisors and one professor wrote back to me and commented that I was 'of an excellent pedigree'! I wouldn't have been working with people (or a team) this successful at the uni I left, so it is worth considering other universities that might not be Oxbridge, but might just provide you with even better expertise and a better experience. I'm not saying it's necessarily true of your subject, but it might be- it's worth a look around! Best, KB

Yeah- I think most pure neuroimaging posts would want neuroimaging experience. The one I applied for asked for a lot of experience in different techniques and seemed prepared for the fact that no applicant would have experience in all of those, thus they were prepared for the fact that candidates would need extra training in one/several techniques. Some of my friends did their MSc project in neuroimaging and got to grips with it during that timespan, but a few found it a challenge. I think if your uni has the facilities, it might be good to try to get some experience during your PhD if you really want to pursue neuroimaging long-term...I think there will be a limited number of posts that will be happy to train you up, but your masters experience will be on your side. Best, KB

Done, only took 5-10 mins! Good luck! KB

Hi Jenteal! Quite coincidentally, you're in a very similar position to myself! I am doing a PhD in clinical psychology (dementia) and last week I went for an interview for a dementia fellowship that would have included using fMRI imaging. Although I have loads of experience with people with dementia and met all of the essential criteria for the job (and one of two desirable criteria!) I doubted I'd even get an interview because my research work hasn't to date involved fMRI (although obviously after two degrees in psychology I'm very familiar with its uses etc). I did get an interview, and although the job went to someone who has post-doctoral experience in the end, I was told that because of my other achievements (strong CV due to publications/conference presentations) I had been v close to getting the position despite no practical experience in fMRI imaging, i.e. they would have been willing to train me up. So I think it's possible, but these jobs are always going to have applicants who have done a PhD in neuroimaging....so you would have to be able to out-do them in relation to other aspects of the job! I was assured that it wasn't down to the neuroimaging issue that I didn't get the job- they just wanted the person with more experience as the job would potentially involve building up a leading a new team. So I don't think it's impossible, but it might be tricky- it all depends on who you're up against! Best, KB

Hi Jenteal! It depends a bit on the circumstances. Usually during the PhD, as well as learning about your specific subject, you're learning a lot of transferable skills that would enable you to work in a different area using those same research skills. I work in a dementia research team, and there are a couple of researchers who recently joined the team from jobs working with children- but who had appropriate research skills to be able to run the project efficiently. Also at a recent interview I went to, there were applicants who hadn't worked with people with dementia but had excellent skills and experience in the particular type of methodology being used. I have had other friends in clinical psychology move from working with people with depression to people with schizophrenia etc, so as long as you have the transferable skills in place it might be possible to switch areas. I think the only thing to bear in mind is that you might well be up against someone who has all the transferable skills and experience of working in that area...you never know who you'll be competing with for that post-doc! Good luck! KB

Yeah- as Doodles says, it does depend on your subject. I don't know much about social sciences, but I do clinical psychology and it's very unusual to finish within the 3 years- I don't know a single person who hasn't needed their 4th year in our department. This is mainly because of the ethical procedures required to test vulnerable people (it takes a long time to get through the NHS ethics procedures) and also because recruiting a clinical population can take forever. People doing non-clinical psychology sometimes finish on time as they rely on recruiting only on a non-clinical population, i.e. students, and there are plenty of them around! The only reason I am due to finish on time is because, as I said, I spent most of my evenings and weekends working in first and second year, but also because I cut a big chunk of my project off. I was massively ambitious with the original proposal, and realised in first year that there was no way I could do it all due to the time it would have taken to recruit all of my participants. Having said that, I still have more material than I need for a PhD, so it didn't really matter that I cut a chunk out. Be prepared for your project to change as time goes by! So yeah, allow time for things to go wrong and if you're relying on recruiting lots of participants, be aware that it can take longer than you think, depending of course on what type of population you are recruiting from. Best, KB

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No worries Solution1! I just wanted to share my experiences of living there and my knowledge that the Business School is apparently very well-regarded! To be honest, for some people Bangor would be a nightmare- in the same way that I find big cities a bit of a nightmare to deal with on a day to day basis lol- London is the one place in the UK that I will absolutely not move to! I have loads of friends down there who love it but it just isn't for me! It just depends what sort of experience you're after, but most people I knew had become really fond of Bangor and were sad to leave. The business course in Bangor is hugely popular with the Chinese and Japanese, I remember walking into one of the business lectures by accident and noticing how many people there were from different corners of the world, so I 'm guessing it must be well-regarded abroad because I can't think of any other reason that Bangor would stand out for anyone desperate to go study in the UK! Best, KB

Hey! I think that's a very difficult question, as most of us won't know until we finish whether the PhD had been worth it financially and in terms of a successful career. It's a pretty negative time all round at the moment in terms of finding work, so naturally there are some posts on here about how difficult things are at the moment. Personally, I have enjoyed my PhD immensely, and have learnt so much (not just in terms of academic stuff) that I will never regret doing it, even though I will be gutted and extremely frustrated if I can't find a suitable job in research afterwards. Of course things vary across different subjects, and also depend not just on the achievement of the PhD, but what else happens in those 3-4 years, in terms of publications, conference presentations, teaching experience, who your sups are and whether there happens to be funding around at your university (or another) at the right time for them to keep you on afterwards. So really all that can be said at the moment is that it's a gamble. If your heart's desire is to be a researcher then it might be the only way forward, but if you're just doing it widen your options generally then it might not be the best plan! Tough one. Best, KB

Hey Roo, that's a difficult question. First of all I would say don't go off the university's overall ranking- look at the department you are going to be studying in. There are great universities with average departments and average universities with great departments. I went from the former to the latter and it was a very good decision! I would also say to think about the supervisors you want to work with- again there are rubbish ones at great departments and great ones at lesser rated departments. With regard to good university without publications vs not-so-good university with publications- I don't think this needs to be a trade-off. Wherever you go you should have the opportunity to publish-some places you might have more support than others- but whether you end up in a top uni or an average uni or whatever, you should try to publish. At the end of the day, you will be judged partly on the university, the department and your supervisors, but just as much (if not more so) on whether you have published. Just having a PhD from a good university might not get you far without publications and conference presentations, so I wouldn't go thinking that if you go to a 'better' uni you don't need to make as much effort with publishing/conferences. Wherever you go you will need to work hard! Hope that makes sense! Good luck! KB

Hey Cornflower! I have a rather variable relationship with my supervisor too. We got on really well for the first 18 months/2 years or so, and then she threw a tantrum because I got engaged and she doesn't believe in having relationships or children, and in fact is completely opposed to either. She said some really unpleasant things and it's been very difficult to get things back to normal with her. Quite aside from that, she is like Jekyll and Hyde anyway- her moods can be wild, she is completely unpredictable, and she can go from being very attentive in a supervision meeting to staring out of the window and being almost unresponsive apart from strained and disinterested sighs. She has reduced several of the team members to tears with one lash of her tongue. This does seem to be much worse when she's stressed, and if we know she is, we all keep our heads down and steer clear. Maybe this is all that's going on with your sup right now- maybe there are issues going on in his life that you don't know about and he's just not himself for whatever reason. I think all you can do is just keep going and see if anything changes- it is hard, I get stressed if I think I've done something to upset my sup, so I understand why you're feeling a bit rubbish about it. Just try not to take it personally-it probably isn't just you, even if it feels as though it is, it's easy to feel like it's just you when in fact it's most people. I don't really know what to suggest apart from hanging in there and seeing if things get better! Hope things change. KB