Hi Sajid, not exactly in the same boast as you, but I can relate. I live 3 hours away from my uni so don't go there much, and so don't have friends at uni. I also moved into a small, parochial town where I don't have much in common with the people who live here so don't make new friends. I'm writing up at the moment and not going out much, and most of my 'friends' have promptly forgotten I exist. So, yes, I can relate to the PhD loneliness. At the moment I'm coping by using a chat room for PhD students (http://www.phinished.org/) and by having a supportive partner. But that doesn't help you...

As Satchi says, you need to take some action. Even if you spend most of your time studying and working, do something else - or if you can't do it now, plan to do it after you submit. Take up a fun class, join some groups, put yourself out there. And yes, hook up with old friends. Be proactive and change things. It will take a while, but take little steps. Good luck!

Congratulations!!! Well done, that's brilliant!!(up) You must feel so pleased, and relieved. Do take the day off - have a holiday even!! You've well and truly earned it. Always nice to hear when people finish!

Hey, try not to be too down. Deadlines get pushed back all the time - this forum is littered with people who push the latest submission deadline back. I think it's something I'm going to have to do - again - too. A PhD takes as long as it takes. It's slow, and we often underestimate how long it will take us to do. I too feel like it will never end, that I'll be stuck in front of this computer forever...but I still work on my thesis everyday, knowing that little by little, I'll get there. You will too! Keep going!

Hi KC

4 months is loads of time! Too long possibly - altho it will depend on how often your sup has seen your work before this. I'm planning to have a first draft done 2 months before I submit - not a lot of time, but my sup will have already seen eveything twice before it gets to this version.

Hi Eeeris

Yes, it's definitely possible to write 6 chapters in 7 months - you might find tho, that the difficulty comes with all the rewriting. By the time I submit I'll have rewritten my thesis completely three times, and am hoping the third version will be good enough. Timing also depends on how quickly your sup can get chapters back to you. I'm also in social sciences, and will have 11 chapters, and, lucky me, am looking at doing about 115,000 words, and expect this will be around 350 pages. I've theoretically got about 4 months to go, and by the end of this week-end, expect to have half of written to second draft stage, another third done as first drafts, and I still have a couple of chapters to write from scratch - still an absolute massive amount of work to do.

Don't compare yourself to other people tho - it doesn't help and can just make you feel bad. 

Congratulations on getting an interview Chrisrolinski! Yes, wear a suit if you can. Will be fine to be a little over-dressed, better than being too casual. Good luck!

Eeeris, it sounds like you're worrying more than working! Don't sit there worrying about how much you've got to do, or whether the amount you write is normal. Make a plan up to when you want to finish, work out your monthly goals, then weekly ones. Then the daily ones will follow. Then write a little bit at a time - don't focus overly on the amount you write, maybe focus on working toward completing sections at a time. I could never live up to word counts, so I do it by sections.

Yeh, do have a look at Bolker. Let us know how you get on!

Hi Eeeris

Yes, I'm here!! You're making progress, so don't despair too much!! This is a really slow process, we need to do it bit by bit, day after day...which it sounds like you're doing. If you're unhappy with your progress, have you identified why? Are you procrastinating? Daydreaming? Thinking about other things? Panicking?  Have you got realistic goals and a plan to work to?

Have you read Joan Bolker's book, "How to Complete your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day?" She talks about freewriting, just sitting down and writing anything on your topic, for short bursts, just to get it out. This book is our bible. Also use the tomato technique to focus you - http://mytomatoes.com/. This makes me concentrate solidly for 25 minutes, then I get a reward of a 5 minute break. This helps a lot of people. Keep going!! Tell us more if none of this helps...

And my 2p (or cents!) worth - I'm a big believer in gut feelings. I trust my instincts and have done OK, and when I haven't, I've regretted the decisions I've made. So, if you feel that it's not right for you, if deep down this is what you're feeling, if I was you I'd go with that instinct and not go to the US. Yes, it would be an amazing experience, look good on the cv etc, but there are obviously real reasons why you're thinking you shouldn't do this. Sometimes you have to take chances, and wait and see what else happens. A hard decision for you...

Hey DrSeeker

Yeh, this whole thing is anxiety-inducing, and apparently it just gets worse the closer we get to finishing - so hang in there. Excellent that you've made a turning point this week tho, sounds like a definite change of mind for the better! And 70% is excellent - is your pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel a needle point now? Bigger? A flashlight's worth??
:-)

And curry and a beer sounds lovely Matilda! A nice reward!!

Glad people are doing well. We're getting there, be it ever so slowly...

Me too, same boat. I also have yet to see any post-docs to apply for, not that I've even finished yet, and have also been looking for a research job for about 6 months and haven't found a single job to apply for. But - I've also worked as an RA, in social sciences, and could see how that would lead to writing grant applications. My sup writes a lot of them, and I offered to do this for her, but it just never came to that - but this is a possibility.

As for applying by yourself - that's tough. I actually did see a big grant I could apply for, and know some of the other applicants - consortiums of professors - so there goes that idea. Latch on to a more experienced researcher I reckon, either as an RA, or even just volunteer to do it, then you could generate your own job. It's a tough life, and one I don't think gets much easier...

Hmm, tricky! Are you overwhelmed by the amount of work, scared you'll fail, that sort of thing? 'Cos that's all normal. But if you think that you just don't want to do a PhD, if you have that gut instinct that it's not right for you, then don't do it. Go with what you feel deep down. Doing a PhD is a massive undertaking, it's hard, long, and while there are some moments throughout the process which make it worthwhile, generally it's emotionally very difficult too. It's better to not start and tell your supervisors this now, so they can get someone else, rather than start, do some work, then realise later it's not for you. You'd wste time and just feel worse.

Do you just need a holiday and some time to think this over? Talk to your supervisor, you need to tell them what's going on. Don't worry about letting them down - they'll get over it. You need to do what's right for you. Good luck.

Hi Matilda

Welcome to the thread! Of course you can join, and be as active as you want. Yep, it's a lonely business all right, this forum is a godsend for us hermits busy writing up. Good luck with your work - hope you do post and keep us up to date with your progress.

Hey Poppy, that's great!!! To think, you'll be Dr Poppy in 3 months - wow!! The end really is in site!! That's so inspiring!! Good luck with revisions. (up)

Hi AL

Good to hear you've been relaxing a bit!! You need to spend time with family and friends, can't be working all the time. You'll get stuff done, and will be more productive now you're refreshed.

And AL and Poppy, thanks for the advice. Yes, a majorly stressy week last week. I did apply for the job, but am going to withdraw my application and just concentrate on getting the thesis done. You're right AL, once this is done then I can take stock and really put effort into job hunting...just have get this out of the way first. Poppy, yes, will probably end up doing a job that's not related to my field, but you're right, hopefully won't be long-term.

Am planning by the end of this week to have the second draft of all my field work chapters done - now that's getting somewhere!! That pinprick of light will grow into a needlepoint!! Have been working hard, had last nite off tho - first time in 2 weeks that I'd spent more than 2 hours away from studying, apart from sleeping. Getting there...

Have a good week everyone!