It's been a rough ride and I've been feeling pretty jaded about the whole thing. You and Lyra help me remember the excitement I felt when I first started out - which is good.

Simo - I used to know a team up at the Babaraham who have all moved on now. They were a good bunch and seemed to work well together - I hope you have a good, friendly lab like that too.

We would love to visit Zimbabwe again one day, we have very fond memories of our time there. Have you given up sadza since moving? And did you know that Nandos has opened up here? There's one in town. I buy their peri peri sauce still from tescos.

By 'studio' do you mean 'bedsit'?

Well coastman I don't like to call you stupid but no, redbicks are actually older than the new universities (try Wiki).

There are a great many constraints and factors that combine on deciding where people go to study. I know plenty of people who have made good careers via less 'presitgious' universities. You really can't generalise as so much depends on your specific area and project.

You will find some snobbery about institutions - there is snobbery about everything. But not as much as you fear.

You've got funding - and remember - there are a lot of people self-funding at 'prestigious' universities who probably couldn't get funding anywhere at all.

I find I need to have an end-goal in mind to keep my motivation going. I know I may not get a postdoc but if I didn't carry on as if I will submit, pass etc I would find it hard to keep going.

Masters - I used to be in molecular biology and cancer research and still have friends in that field. It is a relatively well-funded field and as job prospects go certainly better than many other academic areas. You also have the option of working for biotech and similar companies. I would be tempted to do thePhD and keep the idea of teaching as a second option. You can always do a PGCE - in fact it helps to be a bit older - but as time goes by it would be very hard to get a science PhD place as science is less forgiving about years out of the field.

There are two isues here - time to finish and quality of the work. If all you need is time, that's one thing, but if the work itself is doubtful that is a different problem. Do you need another supervisor for 6 mo/a year in order to finish? Can you get expert advice elsewhere (I have had to do that)? IIWY I'd be looking at writing this up as an MPhil and perhpas starting over with a better PhD project.

I do know 2 poeple this happened to. They were both full-time and one left after 5 years with nothing and the other is still writing up after 7 years. The latter person did cite problems with supervision which have been taken seriously - but there will no doubt be a limit to the extension.

That is awkward masters but for your own good I don't see what else you could have done.

Simo - I lived in Zimbabwe (Harare) for 18 months in the 90s - before the troubles. Very beautiful country. No wonder you don't get the car problem. I remember trying to explain to people that back home in London there was often no room for your car outside your house. They looked very puzzled.

As it happens I'm half-Pakistani (raised in the UK). I think there is an international students society of some kind - I've been to a couple of dinners. Certainly postgrads here are a very international bunch.

I can't imagine having a scholarship that would cover the rent of a flat in London. I lived in London for 7 years (undergrad and working) and always shared a house with other people.

Well the ONLY people I know who have had good supervision where in labs. Lab supervisors are often working in the same lab and have a vested interest in the project as part of a team effort.

Not in your case clearly. (And I went most of a year without seeing my supervisor.)

My impression is that lab-based projects get better supervision but the trade-off is the long hours in the lab itself.

Ok this week:
1 Finalise data prep for analysis
2 Run preliminary check through final database
3 Meet and book cat sitter
4 Make sure we all have clean laundry to travel
5 Fly to US Thursday to see some family

masters - it varies a lot - you should just wait until the deadline.

Wear that scar proudly!

I got a paper cut on my finger yesterday - does that count?

Well, I'm scratching my head to think what I would actually say - and then of course - I'd have to actually find my supervisor..

Totally depends on your field. My topic is unfit for anything except academia.