I have a slight problem. Well, a HUGE problem actually. I am going with my supervisor to a conference in France, and we are both going to present a paper. Initially, I wasn't meant to be speaking, just attending. Now, I can read French fine, and I can understand fine, but my pronunciation is sh*t. I'm not being modest, i absolutely hate talking in French because my accent is so bad. The thing is, I don't think any one really knows or believes me when I tell them this. I am completely dreading this and already thinking of ways to get out of it. The fact that my second supervisor IS French, and we don't get on very well does not help. I can't believe I have to sit next to him on a plane and stay in the same Hotel as him. YUK. Does any one have any tips on how I can improve my French accent in 6 weeks? Or, should I make up an excuse and not go?

YES. I do it all the time. I can't even read an email without obsessing over it. It's a symptom of the job...

I think it might be true in some cases for masters degrees. I was the only domestic student out of 10-11 students in my course. xx

3.5% I'm a Poser. I'd have LOVED to say yes to "I wear...Spock Ears". Hahah xxx

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How have I not come across this before? I'm looking at an all-nighter ce soir and this is one of the best things thats ever happened to me. Tomato high=0 so far.

I'm genuinely not a geek. I have enough enthusiasm about my subject and cognate areas to enjoy and care about my PhD, but there are people in my department who take enthusiasm/geekiness to a different level. I do think though that in academia its kind of cool to be a geek.

Hi guys, I have just started working in an administrative role. Oh dear, I am absolutely useless. I just found out I spent a full day typing things into a database incorrectly. When they showed me what I had done wrong, I couldn't even explain myself, the errors were glaring. In addition, whenever anything simple is explained to me, I seem to forget what to do immediately. It took me about four hours to get my head around using a courier. Is any one else similarly rubbish when it comes to doing straightforward jobs? I used to work as a PA pe-PhD, and that was fine. I am sure that my PhD is making me dumber...M,x

I'm not sure to be honest, but remember that no news is often good news. GOOD LUCK!

Hi, there is a woman in my department who did her undergraduate degree in the late eighties, took 15 years off before doing her MSc and now PhD. As far as I know she didn't have any problems getting in. If any thing, surely a bit of work experience is a good thing. In fact, I have a friend who took a four year break and was told by her supervisor that the best students (in her opinion) are often the ones who have studied and worked. I've never had a break from studying so I can't be of any more help unfortunately, but good luck, and you're never too old to do a PhD! M,x

Keep Calm. Breeeeaaath. I get so worked up about things like this, at times I have been known to be physically sick as well. I'm sure it's not exactly NORMAL but it happens to me too. It's horrible when you get this anxious about something but it's probably just because you've worked hard and really want it to go well. I am sure it will. Congrats for sending them off, now go home and try to chill out a bit. M,x

Hello, I know, it's all very stressful and it is my supervisor's favourite topic of conversation. I now have to fund my way through my whole PhD (with no help) and it's proving to be a complete nightmare. I'm then worried that I won't even get a job after all this effort. However, there's nothing I can do so let's just hope it all picks up! GOOD LUCK TO US ALL.xx

Thank God. Debt debt DEBT M,x

I know my posts are almost always about money so at the risk of sounding even more vulgar: how much money do academics generally earn? It's something I've genuinely never thought of before. My subject is in the Humanities, and I'm just wondering how much junior lecturer/senior lecturer/prof. earn? Or is it completely varied depending on subject/university/country etc?

My secondary supervisor once said to me (just as I sat in his office with a massive pile of notes): "Ah yes. the best thing about being a PhD student is that you dont have to answer to students and all their demands!" Needless to say, the meeting which followed, was awkward.

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Thank you Mathkitty and KeenBean. These kind of responses are EXACTLY why I am never off this forum. xx