Overview of Mackem_Beefy
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Who's doing the weirdest PhD?
======= Date Modified 09 Jun 2011 09:20:29 =======
I knew it would make people smile!! :-)
Alas, I shall not have big biceps... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGhKlXtfvlc) it's more of a work out for the stalion :$ but the result is what I'm interested in. We have some really amazing equipment to use to look at the sperm cells see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnhL73oBNvg
Oh I could talk to you all day about it but I won't bore you. Have a look at the second video though - it's intesting - honest ;-)
I'm sorry BendyPaperClips, reading back over this, I can't help thinking of an old episode of Bones called Death in the Saddle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bones_(season_3)
Look up the episode list (number 3). Plain weird!!!
I passed! Now for an important question...
I'm with Olivia on this one. I've been divorced for 30 odd years, but carry my ex-husband's surname, as this is my professional name. I have a horror of titles in general and refer to myself in my professional name without any title. But Dr is useful in sidestepping the 'Mrs or Miss?' question which, like Olivia, I hate. The other place it's really useful is in answering the phone to cold callers. They ask if they could speak to Mr or Mrs X. I say that there's no one of either name who lives here. My cold call numbers have dropped very significantly!
I'll remember that the next time someone calls me from Mumbai or Kolkota, telling me I have a problem with my computer!!! :-)
I passed! Now for an important question...
======= Date Modified 30 May 2011 11:47:07 =======
Just another thought on this. Those that have chosen to use their Dr. title, have you also made this change with your GP. That is one situation where I do imagine it to be embarrasing.
I've obviously left this situation be. People are called out as Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc. on an electronic display, so being called out as Dr. would be taking the... :-)
Again, my thoughts are use on in professional situations only or (as stated earlier) extra identity with large financial transactions.
Anyone found my thesis!!
If acceptable to your internal examiner, give him a copy yourself. Either PDF or print-out. Ask him if this is okay first though, asking if this would help.
In despair and desoriented
======= Date Modified 28 May 2011 11:48:20 =======
Hey. My thesis grade is equivalent to B-, which is not terribly low, but it is by no means good. Yes that could be a reason. I am looking for funded positions, since I do not think I can focus well enough on a PhD and work at the same time. I got invited to two interviews, though, in major centers, but one of them is not exactly in the area that I like/it is very practical/.
I started a Ph.D aged thirty and there's plenty older than me who've decided to do similar.
You're implying ageism, which I thought in Germany was outlawed (though in practice it's a hard law to implement). Is it ageism you're facing or problems with your grades?
If the former, you might consider looking outside Germany. I will note that a conference in Italy a good few years back, the Ph.D. student delegates from the German Universities did seem generally younger. Am I reading this the wrong way? I thought there was more a culture of people staying in education in Germany for extended periods compared to Britain, where it's considered a bad thing (you do your degree, possibly your masters, then your Ph.D., then start on your career - avoiding the perpetual student tag).
If the problem is lower grades, perhaps looking at an internship is the way forward. I'm not sure I'd want to do a second Masters dissertation unless it's dramatically going to improve your chances.
A third option might be to work in a relevant job outside academia for a couple of years, as this (at least in Britain) can also count in your favour in future applications for funded Ph.D.s. Would that help?
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
weak conclusions and phd fail
======= Date Modified 27 May 2011 19:51:42 =======
Hi,
I am submitting my PhD now and my supervisor told that my conclusions are poor and the thesis is short. He also told that the thesis doesn't reflect all the work I did. This is because many of my experiments didn't work and didn't contribute to the final product. I don't know what I can do at this point. I also don't know how the thesis can be stronger with corrections after the viva. I am expecting a straight fail.
Do you know anyone who passed the viva with poor conclusions? What's enough for a PhD?
I'm very upset and hardly slept this week.
Don't give up completely, you never know the outcome of a viva. Chin up, go in there and give them hell, it's still possible. I expected major corrections, but ended up with some nominal minors. I still don't think my thesis is that good all these years later.
Bluntly put, you're probably looking at major corrections and possible second viva, however, that is the opportunity to put things right and get that PhD.
One question, why were you allowed to submit if your thesis was weak? Had you hit the time limit?
Is a really PhD worthwhile?
======= Date Modified 27 May 2011 17:50:52 =======
Thank you for all the brilliant replies. They have all been very helpful.
After giving this issue a lot of thought over a number of weeks I have decided that it is not worth funding a PhD myself. I have spent so much time studying and being poor that I just cannot live that way anymore. I really wanted to do a PhD. I love my subject and loved doing the Master's degree but this alone is not enough to justify spending thousands of pounds, struggling to achieve the hardest qualification possible for the slight possibility that one day it may get me a good academic career. I believe that I would really enjoy an academic career (perhaps more than any other job) but the effort and risk to get there just doesn't seem to be worth it.
It has been an incredibly hard decision but I think it is time, at least for the next couple of years, to give up on the dream of doing a PhD. I tried my best got a first class honours and averaged 75% on my MSc but it is time to call it a day. I don't think I will ever get funding and that could be for a number of reasons such as the uni I went to, fact that I cannot move because I have got a family and mortgage or there just aren't enough opportunities in the area I want to study. Hopefully I can save enough money so that things can be different for my son and perhaps I will be able to afford for him to do it if he wants to.
I have really enjoyed using and following this forum. I have been following it every day for the past couple of years but not really posted much. But it has been great reading all the posts and finding out what doing a PhD is like.
All the best
This is where you play the game of each year, seeing what's available as regards studentships and funding. If nothing comes up, you try again the next year. You may get there, you may not.
However, you now mention that you have a family and a mortgage to finance and from a part time point of view, I think your decsion is correct.
Don't necessarily give up on the full time, however, as others on here will tell you a PhD is harder when you have at least a young family. However, I sense in you the right reasons to do one as I intimated in my earlier post.
While I was still at Uni., I did the following page for students interested in doing a PhD. Have a read and see what you think. I don't pull any punches as PhDs aren't easy, however, as long as you can get full time funding at a future date I would still keep an eye on what's available.
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/index.html
Also, to put a smile on your face:
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/phdgame.pdf
Happy reading!!!
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Unemployed postdoc
======= Date Modified 25 May 2011 19:52:02 =======
Go with the part time job and I can't believe the call centre said that! Shows you what it'd be like to work there! Good luck with the post doc - that'd be great! I'll keep my fingers crossed!!! (up)
Agreed, go with the part-time job and good luck with the post-doc. If there'd been no alternative to the call centre job, only then would I have said take it. If you've been watching the Walking Dead, the zombies are what happens after a few weeks working in a call centre.
:-)
Is a really PhD worthwhile?
A PhD is something you do for your own benefit, as a challenge for yourself. You do one because you want to do one, not necessarily for career enhancement. The benefits of a PhD economically only come in the academic sector. In the real world, if career enhancement is your aim then I'd say bail out after Masters.
So why dod you want to do a PhD?
1) If the answer is for the challenge, the opportunity to do research and to contribute something new, my answer to the below is yes.
2) If it's to enhance employment prospects (outside the academic sector) beyond you current position, a PhD won't help you greatly.
My PhD hasn't helped me careerwise one bit and I actually had to hide it to get back into real world work. I'm not doing a job I'm qualified for, however, the important thing is I have a job.
Despite this, I'm glad I still did it as I wanted to do it for the challenege and the chance to do innovative research, to find something new. It was the best few years of my life and a high I've not matched since. I would do it all over again if I had to repeat that decision.
I wasn't thinking about the consequences as I guess I knew (and had been told) I wouldn't be any further forward, but career enhancement in the real world was not my main priority at that stage. I had a vague idea I wanted to do research afterwards and that was the path I started to take before things went wrong in a second post-doc (again discussed elsewhere - problems with line manager).
It's up to you what you do, but look at your motivations. Given what I've said, I've voted maybe as people here can't make thedecision for you. However, I would not envy anyone doing a PhD part-time whilst doing a full-time job. Funding for a full-time PhD is harder to come by given the current cutbacks.
I suggest wait until the current spending cuts are over and try again, however, heavens knows how long that will take.
Unemployed, no prospects :(
======= Date Modified 20 May 2011 08:22:17 =======
No, my boyfriend doesn't have a PhD. He has a Masters, and in the current job market he's lucky to have a well paid job which is related to his qualifications, rather than having to take a call centre job or something. He doesn't understand why my situation is so soul destroying because he got lucky with his job.
It seems wrong that I should have to hide my PhD to get a job; something I've worked so hard for should be an asset to be proud of, something that benefits me, not something to hide. If it's such a disadvantage that I have to hide it, what was the point of doing it at all?
I'm not saying that I'm entitled to my dream job just because I have qualifications, but surely it's reasonable to expect some sort of professional job which makes use of my abilities and justifies my huge student debt, rather than spending my life stacking tins of beans? Everyone I went to university with for my masters has managed to get a professional job with a salary well above minimum wage, so why should I be the exception just because I did a PhD? Does a PhD somehow make me less worthy of the sort of professional job that bachelors or masters graduates are able to get? Is it unreasonable to expect to be on a par with my peers (who actually have less qualifications, and who received a salary while I made huge financial sacrifices to do the PhD)?
I don't see why it's unreasonable to expect something more than a minimum wage job when I've worked hard and made sacrifices to achieve a PhD. My friend is making sacrifices so she can train as a nurse and provide a decent life for her child - is she wrong to feel upset if she graduates and ends up being a waitress, thus wasting all her sacrifices and hard work?
Having been in your (almost exact) situation, I know precisely how you feel. Employers take one look at your qualifications and think you're going to move on as soon as something better comes along. I look back with regret at what I had before, but accept that's gone now and I have to find another way forward. Family illness has not helped matters.
However, I'll put it a different way. Even if you're stacking shelves its a job. And no matter what you're doing, it's easier to find work when your in work. It shows an employer you're prepared to get your hands dirty doing even the most menial job.
Your first step is (even if it is shelf stacking) to get back into employment then build from there.
Careerwise, it does seem at the moment the PhD has become a dead end for me. However, I have no regrets doing it as for me, it's something I had to do. I'd have probably been better off now had I not done it, however, I'd then be sitting here thinking "What if?"
Unemployed, no prospects :(
======= Date Modified 19 May 2011 20:28:39 =======
======= Date Modified 19 May 2011 20:20:28 =======
Yeah, my boyfriend is also lucky to have a job after having been rejected numerous times - I wouldn't fancy his chances of finding another job if we relocated together. Plus if we moved away from my parents the childcare costs would be horrendous.
If you claim JSA you're allowed to work for a few hours per week, but they take all of the money away from you and you only get to keep £5. Obviously you wouldn't earn anything from voluntary work. Since it costs £7 train fare to get into town from where I live, I'd be out of pocket if I worked a couple of afternoons per week, paid or voluntary - and when you're on the poverty line a tenner can make the difference between being fed or going hungry. You can claim expenses for interviews if you can prove you have one, but not for transport costs to a paid or voluntary job.
I thought you could work up to 12 hours a week unpaid. I did voluntary myself back at the Uni. where I did my PhD, helping my supervisor do a book chapter on my work.
That actually helped me reset my references in a few employers eyes and (as well as hide the PhD), credit that for getting back into work.
I'm not doing what I'm qualified to do, however, I'm simply greatful to be working. I had some very dark moments during that year on the dole and it's that kind of low feeling that makes you glad to be doing anything you can get. As I said (I don't mean to sound hard and my own way I'm trying to help), you don't have an automatic right to a dream job (the job choses you has often been said to me) and my acceptance of this was a big help in changing tack. This point was hammered into me in my local, very loud and clear (people could not believe someone with my qualifications could not get a job).
Go to your boyfriend now and tell him you want a cuddle and chat. That will make you feel a lot better and is at least a starting point. Look at what he did and how he finally got his foot through the door. What was that special something that caught the employer's eye and got him the job.
From what you say (reading between lines), you're boyfriend has a PhD too (and also struggled), am I right? He'll understand better than anyone and he's right there for you now.
Ethos - Foreign Equivalents?
Hmm, nice start. Cheers!!! :-)
Unemployed, no prospects :(
======= Date Modified 19 May 2011 16:07:48 =======
Your situation reads exactly the same as mine 3 to 4 years ago (N.E. England in my case). I also hid my PhD and went to massive lengths to do it (i.e. Research Assistant). I'm certain my current colleagues know (easily found on internet), but I choose not to talk about it.
I had the added problem of falling out with my line manager during a year's post-doc at a second University, so no reference from that position.
All I can say is keep plugging away and hopefully it won't take too long. I know you feel bad about hiding your PhD, but in all honesty, what is more important? A job (pays the bills) or the qualification?
And of course there's a place in the world for you. Your boyfriend loves you, right?
If depression is an issue, then see your GP and you may be referred to a counsellor. However, a fancy qualification is not a guarantee of a good job. If you think you're entitled to a good position because of that, that reads across very badly (arrogant even?) and may even make people believe you're being too fussy or not want a job.
Sorry girl, unless you relocate, then dumbing down may be the path you have to continue taking. But keep going, you will get there eventually. I've been there, I know.
And of course there's a place in the world for you. Ask your boyfriend. ;-)
Ethos - Foreign Equivalents?
http://ethos.bl.uk (the UK online thesis repository) - what are the foreign equivalents to this (USA, Europe, elsewhere).
Ian (Beefy)
If you could give a first year PhD student one piece of advice for PhD what would it be?
======= Date Modified 18 May 2011 15:35:17 =======
Basically I am hoping to start a 4 year PhD (in parasitology) in September and I just thought what advice would you give a PhD student in their first year of study?
Thank-you :-)
Tongue in cheek the Ph.D. Game, but a lot of truth in there!!! ;-)
http://www.wearthesis.talktalk.net/phdgame.pdf
