Yes! I totally had to do this! Sorry to hear you're feeling a bit down but I've been through it and it sucked at the time but my project is much stronger now (just starting fourth year and on course to submit in a few months).

My first year was a waste of time in a way because my project completely changed over the summer between 1st and 2nd year but it wasn't 'wasted' really, because I needed to go through that experience and let my project develop organically.

I can't speak to how easy it will be for you to catch-up but if you believe in your project and have the tenacity, you can do it. It can get overwhelming and for me it was uncomfortable for a while but just remember that smooth sailing in the PhD is most likely the minority of experiences! It might help to think of it as an opportunity to prove yourself? It certainly helped me become more determined in general whereas in my first year I was a quivering ball of nerves.

Hope that helps, Tudor_Queen.

I would agree with TreeofLife. If she's a reasonable and professional person, she will be understanding, even if she is a bit peeved. You can't really control how she reacts though.

If you think you could possibly find the motivation in the future, might it be possible for you to take a short break from the work, and dedicate a chunk of time to redrafting later down the line? I ended up turning my masters thesis into a journal article eight years after completing it *but* I wasn't working a full-time job! I was studying full-time though in a totally different subject. I can understand that if you're not pursuing an academic career, there's far less motivation for you so don't feel bad if you want to abandon it altogether.

Good luck :)

Hi bewildered, thanks a lot for taking the time to respond.

Yes, I'm in the humanities - sorry for not mentioning it before. I think I need to look in more detail at fellowship schemes though I have some idea about them. I've already declined to apply for a British Academy postdoc starting in 2017 *not* because of family stuff but because the deadline is very early and my CV definitely wouldn't be strong enough. Hopefully by the time I've done my final final hand-in next year, I'll have a couple of peer-reviewed publications and some teaching under my belt. It's difficult to know what's 'enough'.

Your point about geographical inflexibility is a good one, and not something I'd considered. (Un)fortunately, neither of us really have family nearby anyway so that wouldn't be an issue but of course there are other reasons why I couldn't just up sticks.

I like to keep an open mind and I would be okay with a non-academic career but I've had a largely positive experience of academia so far and would like to give it a go, as it were. However, the post-PhD employment landscape seems to be filled with such doom and gloom that I don't feel particularly optimistic about anything to be honest. I think that's probably why I put such a heavy emphasis on a 'work-life balance', so I don't feel like my whole world has been shattered if I can't find a job!

Hi Postgrad Forum!

Just to expand on the thread title...I'm thinking of taking maybe a year or so off after finishing my PhD to have a baby but would like to go back to academia eventually. Has anyone else had a long break like this? What was your experience? Do you have any regrets/advice? Did your career end up going in the direction that you thought it would or are you doing something totally different now?

I'm hoping to submit early next calendar year, about 3.5 years into my PhD. I'll be 31 next year and my husband and I would like to start a family soon. It's still too early to have applied for postdocs starting in 2017 but I'm thinking of leaving applications for this year in case I get pregnant. But there's no guarantee I'd even be able to get pregnant so it seems like a bad idea to not even try applying. But I do worry about accepting a great opportunity and then having to turn it down later. I can't help but feel like there's still negative judgments on women who take time out to have families and I don't want to inadvertently burn (or lightly singe) any bridges.

I was thinking "maybe I can turn my PhD into a book draft and brush up on my languages!" while I'm home with a baby and not affiliated to a university but that's probably really unrealistic! I know women react *so* differently to being pregnant and then nursing. I guess I'm worried about 'losing momentum', if that makes sense.

I'd be so grateful to hear from anyone who's been through something similar! Thanks!

Thanks! :)

That's an interesting point. I've heard (but can't say for certain) that there could be copyright issues with that because the journal technically has the copyright or something? I heard from a professor who was giving a talk about journal article publishing that you shouldn't put anything that's unpublished online (e.g. on Academia.edu) as some publishers can consider that 'published' and then be less interested in officially publishing it...it's all quite confusing really!

That sounds great, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

Hi Postgrad Forum,

I'm submitting a CV as part of a grant application (due in a few days) and I'd like some advice about how to describe a journal article I've written.

The article has been through peer review and accepted with minor revisions. I attended a journal article workshop where the instructor said that article can't be described as 'in press' until the managing editor of the journal gives the final approval after receiving the redrafted piece.

As I don't have any other peer-reviewed articles, I'd really like to show that this work has been provisionally accepted but I have no idea what the accepted terminology is. Can I put something like "accepted pending minor revisions"?

Cheeky side question - Can I put draft articles (i.e. not yet submitted for peer review) on my CV under 'Unpublished Work'? Or not bother?

I'd be really grateful for any advice! Thanks :)

Thanks for your response. It makes sense that you'd be expected to be able to do more. I'm just having trouble figuring out what the yardstick is. Someone's suggested to me that I write a few different abstracts and see what my sup thinks is the most viable project.

Hi all,

Sorry in advance if this post is a bit vague. I'm feeling a bit lost and would appreciate some guidance from current post-docs in humanities subjects.

I'm applying for post-doc positions from this coming Oct onwards, and I'm starting to think about a research proposal idea. I know post-doc research should build on your thesis in some way but I have no idea about how big the project should be (although I know it can vary).

My current idea is to combine material from my thesis with new material, gathered over two years, in order to produce a large-ish book, written up in the third year. However, I have no idea whether my proposal is too broad/ambitious. My current feeling is that my thesis, on its own, is too niche to justify a book.

I know I should talk to my supervisor but, while they are on holiday, do any post-docs here have any advice about post-doc projects? Is the post-doc project expected to be significantly more demanding (or even more original) than a PhD topic? Am I being too ambitious in saying I can complete a large book?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Thanks chickpea! I hope so too. I feel a bit better about the whole situation now but it has shaken my confidence. Conversely, I also really just want to kick that examiner's butt in the next mini-viva! I daydream about going into the examination with a flame-coat, a la Katniss Everdeen :P

Hi everyone,

OP here. I just wanted to post an update in case someone in the future who is in the same situation finds this thread. Maybe it can be of some help.

So, despite my immense preparation with the help of my supervisor, the examiners decided not to pass me. I have been asked to submit a different chapter in three months and have another mini-viva roughly a month later. After the horrible viva, I had prepared myself for this outcome, but was still really upset to hear the result. After my supervisor told me in her office, she also let me in on the 'behind-the-scenes' story, which has also made me angry as well as sad.

One examiner, who is very well-known in my field and is in my dept, just did not 'get' my methodology. He thought my approach should be much more conservative, which in my (and my supervisor's) opinion is totally old-fashioned and really boring. The examiner's opinion really annoyed my supervisor and she implied that he is threatened by my approach (which other scholars have successfully adopted!). I get that the thesis is not one's 'life work' but that doesn't mean it should be a dull, paint-by-numbers paperweight...

My sup put a positive spin on it, saying that our 'fight' against his outdated views will make my thesis even stronger. She said that she'll help me submit a chapter that no-one in their right mind can criticise :-) Also, by the time I submit the final thesis, I will have had three mini-vivas and three chapters examined, which can only be an advantage. She urged me not to consider it a 'failure'. I agree in my brain but I still feel sad as I totally expected to sail through the confirmation. I don't think I'm a complacent person but I guess I should take anything for granted. However, the examiners even agreed that the work I submitted was 'excellent' (!?!?). Sigh.