Overview of Mackem_Beefy
Recent Posts
Referencing: hyphens, en dash, em dash :(
======= Date Modified 16 Jul 2012 10:28:16 =======
I used 'en-dash' (the short dash) to separate numbers in the bibliography. The 'en-dash' is used for a closed range of values.
I used 'em-dash' (the long dash) to indicate a break of thought in a sentence (subconsciously, as Word converted to correct dash whilst I was typing away and one of my supervisors picked up on it).
I used a semi-colon (;) if I was going to sub clause a sentence, however, some people don't like this. However, my second supervisor did and I just did as he said even though I didn't feel comfortable with this either.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Please someone say something..anything to help me
Shouldn't she have had her viva by given the times she gave? I admit I've slightly lost track of timings.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
PhD with a 2:2
Quote From bewildered:
The OP has a MA degree already according to her post (which is good as it's really expected in the humanities that you do a MA before starting a PhD) and it's kind of hard to get industrial experience in English. Realistically for English the only real available funding is from the AHRC. They fund just over 100 PhDs in English each year for the entire country through block grant partnerships with specific universities. Applications are apparently up by 100% since 2008 so they are able to be very picky. It's still just about possible I think to redeem a 2:1 with a distinction at MA level for the humanities but the combination of a 2:2 and a merit is really not going to be competitive, given the sheer numbers of applicants with 1sts and distinctions. It really is different to STEM subjects where there are far more funded places.
The OP has a MA degree already according to her post (which is good as it's really expected in the humanities that you do a MA before starting a PhD) and it's kind of hard to get industrial experience in English. Realistically for English the only real available funding is from the AHRC. They fund just over 100 PhDs in English each year for the entire country through block grant partnerships with specific universities. Applications are apparently up by 100% since 2008 so they are able to be very picky. It's still just about possible I think to redeem a 2:1 with a distinction at MA level for the humanities but the combination of a 2:2 and a merit is really not going to be competitive, given the sheer numbers of applicants with 1sts and distinctions. It really is different to STEM subjects where there are far more funded places.
I didn't spot the MA on first glance, which is a little bit more in the OPs favour. However, you describe a far bleaker funding environment in Humanities than for Scinece and Engineering, in which case finding fund is definitely going to more of a struggle.
All I can say to the opening poster is try and see what happens. If she can obtain funding, then best of luck. The one thing I can say in her favour (and she shoud sell this point) is she has upped her mark at MA (Merit) to what she had at normal degree (2(ii)). She could possibly try to sell herself on this point, saying she realised she had to up her game in order to compete.
Unwanted romance
======= Date Modified 14 Jul 2012 13:37:05 =======
Quote From elizabeth111:
Thank you all so much for your kind words of support. They have made a huge difference in the way I have been feeling and have also helped me approach my situation differently.
Quite frankly I was embarrassed that this bloke ever thought he stood a chance with me and terribly hurt that people had listened and believed his spiteful rumours. Initially I wanted as few people as possible to know what had been said in the hope that it would just go away. Clearly that was a mistake as my department loves gossip and would not let the truth get in the way of a salacious scandal!
So………following the support I received from you guys I decided to tell as many people as possible about the kind of things that had been said about me and expressed my upset and confusion about how these rumours could have started. I have now told half the department (the other half are on holiday!) and every single person has been kind and supportive. Two people actually mentioned they had noticed how this guy was towards me but they had not wanted to say anything for fear of repercussions. The culture here is quite ingrained so I do not think this joker is going to stop his vindictive behaviour. However, now that I have confided in colleagues I feel a lot better about it and hope that I will be able to brush it off for the nonsense that it is.
Thank you all so much for your kind words of support. They have made a huge difference in the way I have been feeling and have also helped me approach my situation differently.
Quite frankly I was embarrassed that this bloke ever thought he stood a chance with me and terribly hurt that people had listened and believed his spiteful rumours. Initially I wanted as few people as possible to know what had been said in the hope that it would just go away. Clearly that was a mistake as my department loves gossip and would not let the truth get in the way of a salacious scandal!
So………following the support I received from you guys I decided to tell as many people as possible about the kind of things that had been said about me and expressed my upset and confusion about how these rumours could have started. I have now told half the department (the other half are on holiday!) and every single person has been kind and supportive. Two people actually mentioned they had noticed how this guy was towards me but they had not wanted to say anything for fear of repercussions. The culture here is quite ingrained so I do not think this joker is going to stop his vindictive behaviour. However, now that I have confided in colleagues I feel a lot better about it and hope that I will be able to brush it off for the nonsense that it is.
I had my own problems during second post-doc and the one this many are up against is the University closing ranks to protect it and the department's reputation. In many cases, people will tread carefully so as not to create a situation so they aren't 'inched' out of University life. (((In my case, I believe they erroneously employed me then decided straight away they wish they'd not offered me the job before I even got started. When you're sitting in your very first meeting on starting with your new boss and he says to your assigned mentor that you're a "Stop gap measure, very much a second choice, we'l just have to make do" whilst you're in the room as though you're not there, you can gather what the following year was like.)))
In your case, the situation arose regardless of what you did. You appear to have done nothing wrong. In such a case, you have to stand up for yourself and your strategy to ensure your side of the story was the one that was heard by everyone was thus the right one.
With a bit of luck, the Dean of Faculty will get wind of this and want to know what the hell is going on. Hopefully the gentleman will be moved on quietly (again to protect University reputation) and you won't have to put up with him for too much longer.
Perhaps one day, Universities will behave more like the rest of society and people who make the working environment intentionally difficult for others for whatever reason will feel the repercussions of their actions.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
PhD with a 2:2
You won't get funding for a PhD with just a 2(ii). You will need a Masters or some relevant works experience before you will be considered for funding.
I touch on this in my blog.
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net
The relevant text from it is as follows.
6) So what qualifications do you need to be able to do a Ph.D.?
This varies from country to country, however, a normal level of qualification required is (assuming a scale where you need 3 points):
A first class or second class (first division) degree (1 or 2(i)) - for example, a B.Sc., B.A. or B.Eng. - this can be viewed as 4 points (for a first class degree) or 3 points (for a second class - first division degree) on the scale.
A second class, second division degree (2(ii)) may be acceptable, but funding may be difficult to obtain - this can be viewed as 2 points on the scale. A masters (M.Sc., M.A. or M.Eng.) will help by lifting you from 2(ii) to 2(i) equivalent level, moving you up from 2 to 3 points. A 2(ii) plus masters was my route.
A third class degree (3) is not normally enough (only 1 point) - a masters is definitely needed and a masters is extremely difficult to get onto with a third class degree.
But all is not lost. Relevant industrial experience can also give you a leg-up, with two years experience giving you 1 extra point and five years experience giving you 2 extra points. This allows for a rarer route via H.N.D. plus 5 years relevant industrial experience (which you'll need to get onto a Masters without a degree) + Masters (M.Phil. or M.Sc.), giving you 3 points without the need for a B.Sc. (Hons.) or equivalent.
Have a read of the blog as there's also a bit of funding that may help you.
Note it may be possible to start a self-proposed PhD without the above grades or funding, but a PhD is very expensive and a potential supervisor will more likely than not discourage you from doing this.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Dropping out of Phd
Quote From jtyler:
I am currently a phd student. However, I don't think that I will be able to continue Phd. First I have other responsibilities and moreover I don't think I will be able to Phd because it might make me overqualified and I won't be able to get decent job. My university has this policy that they don't let students transfer to MS program unless a genuine reason is given. I wanted to know if this is just to intimidate students who join phd program just for funding or seriously.
I had this great enthusiasm when I joined the phd program. But now I am starting to lose it and I think that MS program will be much better for me. So, I was wondering if I could transfer to MS. What should I do? Is it possible for me to transfer to MS program in my current uni or I can apply to other uni if my current uni doesn't let me transfer to MS program
I am currently a phd student. However, I don't think that I will be able to continue Phd. First I have other responsibilities and moreover I don't think I will be able to Phd because it might make me overqualified and I won't be able to get decent job. My university has this policy that they don't let students transfer to MS program unless a genuine reason is given. I wanted to know if this is just to intimidate students who join phd program just for funding or seriously.
I had this great enthusiasm when I joined the phd program. But now I am starting to lose it and I think that MS program will be much better for me. So, I was wondering if I could transfer to MS. What should I do? Is it possible for me to transfer to MS program in my current uni or I can apply to other uni if my current uni doesn't let me transfer to MS program
The vast majority of people have a downer at some point of their PhDs and I would advise you to have a good chat with your supervisors before you make the decision to switch or quit. You might not get another chance. However, you've now discovered the downside of a PhD and bits of it can be a long, long haul. This is why I'd strongly advise people to look strongly into the pros and cons of a PhD before they start (as commented in my blog - http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/ ).
Maybe a Masters route might be better for you, maybe your supervisors can put you at your ease and to give it a little longer.
As regards switching, I can only reiterate others in that you will have to have a good look at your University regulations.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Phd Topics
I can't help you specifically with your subject area, however, by all means take a look at my PhD blog page before you plough in. It might help you generally with your decision making process.
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/
Or tongue in cheek:
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/phdgame.pdf ;-)
Best of luck!!!
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Worrying Development in Academia?
Quote From sneaks:
If anyone wants to pay me to clear up my office, then please do - I'm taking offers above £20 an hour. While you do it I'll tell you about how difficult it is to track down participants, so you get some research experience :p
If anyone wants to pay me to clear up my office, then please do - I'm taking offers above £20 an hour. While you do it I'll tell you about how difficult it is to track down participants, so you get some research experience :p
£20.01
:-)
Worrying Development in Academia?
Quote From delta:
Couldn't find anything about this on facebook but there are a lot of comments on Twitter. I just hope this is the last we hear of honorary research assistant posts within academia. There's a lot of people qualified to do these posts but they want and expect to be paid. That's why they invested so much time and effort on advancing their studies.
Couldn't find anything about this on facebook but there are a lot of comments on Twitter. I just hope this is the last we hear of honorary research assistant posts within academia. There's a lot of people qualified to do these posts but they want and expect to be paid. That's why they invested so much time and effort on advancing their studies.
I've just bunged it up on Facebook. It'll be interesting to see what reactions it gets.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Worrying Development in Academia?
======= Date Modified 02 Jul 2012 08:23:37 =======
This reads as an academic that has a pet project not enough to justify a new student, but perhaps a part-time post-doc. However, they have failed to get funding (a situation that will only get worse) so are after someoneone who might do it simply to gain some works experience because they can't find other employment without it.
This is all very cynical and might just come off because of the reason I have described. After the failure of my second post-doc, the above is effectively what I had to do to fill in a gap in my CV. This was helping my former PhD supervisor with a book chapter when he realised he'd taken on too much work. It was not so bad as I ended up and made sure I was first author, however, I reckon I put in easily about three thousand pounds worth of work (not counting the home electricity used).
EDIT: I didn't really mind helping out my former supervisor who had been good to me, plus it strengthened my references and as I said filled a gap on my CV. However, if you do work for an organisation (in my case my former PhD Uni.) you should be paid for it.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Please someone say something..anything to help me
I said this ages ago. You should have asked for a longer extension.
You really needed to get you personal circumstances sorted out first before the PhD and viva even entered your head. You, Bea and the main priority, the divorce second and the PhD somewhere else down the list.
Contact your University and try to have the viva put back. You can't do it all, you are only one person.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Please someone say something..anything to help me
Glad to hear you're okay. Good look with the move and fingers crossed with the upcoming viva.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
PhD and Employment
Quote From Bacchanale:
I am changing to Part time from September in order to gain some more independence and control of my PhD.
I was wondering how are other candidates finding either the search for full time or part time employment.
Do you find employers are less keen to employ you when they see you are undertaking research even on a part time basis?
Do you leave your current studies off applications or from your CV?
Thanks for your feedback.
:-)
I am changing to Part time from September in order to gain some more independence and control of my PhD.
I was wondering how are other candidates finding either the search for full time or part time employment.
Do you find employers are less keen to employ you when they see you are undertaking research even on a part time basis?
Do you leave your current studies off applications or from your CV?
Thanks for your feedback.
:-)
If you've completed your PhD, unfortunately the likes of Ethos and even simply Googling your name will mean there's an electronic trace of your work so concealing is not the option it was.
If you're a current candidate, then you might want to Google to see if any papers or other work you've done shows up. Even if it doesn't, you may have a gap to account for in your CV. If you do wish to conceal exactly what you are doing and not mention the PhD, I would suggest say advertising this as a Research Assistant role and only if you feel you can get your employment referees to agree to the version of your CV you use.
When I realised how easily information about people showed up on an Internet search especially those pursuing post-grad research, concealing is something I became more reluctant to advise. I'd instead concentrate on forwarding and emphasising your key skills depending on the job and perhaps placing education lower down your CV rather than trying to conceal anything. You may be seen as dishonest if you do, even though there are people offering advice on job hunting who still may suggest concealment.
I started a thread on this recently you may want to look at:
http://www.postgraduateforum.com/threadViewer.aspx?TID=22470
How do you think going part time will give you more control? If you're still in the funded stage, I'd personally rather get it out the way. If you're working whilst continuing part-time, you may find yourself with alot less time to work on your PhD.
Regards,
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
An update...and more advice please!
======= Date Modified 26 Jun 2012 13:32:38 =======
Quote From epic:
Some of you may remember that I posted a while back, about poor supervision...
The University has reached a resolution, which is to swop the order of my supervisors around. Apparently, my old main sup who I had all the issues with did not realise what she was doing wrong (she's been an academic for 30 years) and sees this as a way to make amends, and, due to the University being unable to find another subject expert, this is the solution that they have offered.
I have turned this down, and instead proposed a slight change of topic/adaption to meet the knowledge area of my old second supervisor, and appoint a second supervisor who would guide me with the PhD process. They have gone away to think about this.
My question is, as I am funded and the supervision has been poor (see old post) is it worth trying to get a year's additional funding from the University to accommodate the fact that I may have to change topics to change from a supervisor who has been very poor? I have a year's funding left and clearly won't finish in this time.
Milk and cookies to all who got this far!! :-)
Some of you may remember that I posted a while back, about poor supervision...
The University has reached a resolution, which is to swop the order of my supervisors around. Apparently, my old main sup who I had all the issues with did not realise what she was doing wrong (she's been an academic for 30 years) and sees this as a way to make amends, and, due to the University being unable to find another subject expert, this is the solution that they have offered.
I have turned this down, and instead proposed a slight change of topic/adaption to meet the knowledge area of my old second supervisor, and appoint a second supervisor who would guide me with the PhD process. They have gone away to think about this.
My question is, as I am funded and the supervision has been poor (see old post) is it worth trying to get a year's additional funding from the University to accommodate the fact that I may have to change topics to change from a supervisor who has been very poor? I have a year's funding left and clearly won't finish in this time.
Milk and cookies to all who got this far!! :-)
I know of an instance where because of misguidance, a candidate (and colleague of mine at the time) was given an extra six months funding by the University itself.
It might be worth a go and at least ask, as due to this misguidance you will be placed in a financially disadvantageous position.
Ensure you have details of everything that happened in writing as you may legally have a case for compensation after the PhD is finished, if extra funding is not offered (what you got was not what it said on the tin, etc.). A chat with a solicitor might help.
However, I wouldn't go in heavy handed at this stage as the University may close ranks to leave you out in the cold. If you do chase up extra money or compensation, if you need to pursue things legally do after the fact if possible.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
How are universities benefiting from PhD students?
Quote From screamingaddabs:
Um that's three questions ;-)
As far as I can see:
PhD students pay fees - this is money for the university. Even if you are funded, your fees are covered by the funding.
Hence they want more PhDs
They are benfitting from:
- More money
- More publications by the university
- If you are cynical you could say "cheap labour" for things like TA work and/or other work.
- Professors need people to do a lot of the work they propose. This work brings in more funding for the uni.
Um that's three questions ;-)
As far as I can see:
PhD students pay fees - this is money for the university. Even if you are funded, your fees are covered by the funding.
Hence they want more PhDs
They are benfitting from:
- More money
- More publications by the university
- If you are cynical you could say "cheap labour" for things like TA work and/or other work.
- Professors need people to do a lot of the work they propose. This work brings in more funding for the uni.
Yup, they are increasing the number of PhD students, even though there's an oversupply of PhD-qualified candidates than there are available post-doc positions. So you get a viscious circle of qualified PhD students struggling to find work afterwards (and are 'overqualified'), whilst the Universities hire more PhD students as it's cheaper than keeping their old students on as post-docs (or rather, they keep more money from the research grant from a student compared to a post-doc). ;-)
Oh I can be very cynical!!! :-)
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
