======= Date Modified 15 Feb 2010 22:09:27 =======
Hey Al, not to worry about your divulgences about your mum. Stress gets to us. Me, I've been a right cow to my poor partner lately, not bitchy, just not engaged. Must try and cope a bit better. Btw, I don't have a mum either, and think about mine too...

Jojo started a thread on the discussion chapter a while ago - maybe you should post to that?

Hi Bilbo - good points. I used to work with someone who used to say; "What? So what? Now what?" which I think is a pretty good framework.

Hi Moomin, you'll be fine. Deal with your nerves - breathe!!! Take lots and lots of deep breaths to get over the panic, limit caffeine, drink chamomile tea, exercise helps with all that nervous energy, use positive visualisaitons to see yourself doing brilliantly in your viva. Think of it as an opportunity for you to shine, to tell them about your wonderful work - and it is! You might not think so, but your sup obviously does, otherwise you wouldn't be at this stage. Practice. Good luck!

Sorry AL, didn't mean to add to your stress. Yes, you need to make sure you have some sort of work/life balance (hah!), and only do what you can manage. I know how a job can take it out of you. And then studying always takes so much longer than we plan for.

Not to worry, we'll all get there. It takes as long as it takes. We're doing our best, and can't do more than that. Enough cliches from me, nice things me mum would've said. ;-)

Hi Teek

This is the federal government of my country - the same government which spouts off all the time about the need for flexible working arrangements - until someone actually wants to work part-time. And about how this country needs a 'knowledge economy' - yet doesn't want to employ people with PhDs in the actual departments where they'd be useful. Not to mention I used to work for this dept, so already have experience, and now have even more knowledge and the person I spoke to knows this.

This has made me so angry all day I've been really distracted from studying. Applying for a job I don't want, just to get told this s$$t. I've done nothing but fume ever since I had that conversation. Makes me think I should not apply for anything until I'm really, really forced to...

ahh, I should get over it.

Thanks for your support. Tomorrow will be a better day.

======= Date Modified 15 02 2010 06:02:04 =======
======= Date Modified 15 56 2010 05:56:40 =======
We've had a few threads over the past couple of months on jobs and PhDs, and in particular I recall one from someone who was debating whether or not to leave the PhD off their cv, to increase their chances of getting a job. Here's my latest experience...

I just called up a civil service dept about a vacancy, which, you'd think, needs smart, highly qualified people (like me ,>) and was told that having a PhD 'shouldn't count against me'. Well thank you very much!! Glad I've been studying all these years, in the relevant subject area, to be told that the gov't doesn't value highly qualified people as employees! This made me livid, as did their obvious antagonism to my suggestion of working part-time.

It's a hard world out there, with job chances getting smaller all the time, it seems....

======= Date Modified 14 Feb 2010 20:44:18 =======
Chrisrolinski, do whatever you need to, to keep going. You might've already done this...I'm turning into a crazy woman, who's gradually covering up the walls of her study. ;-) I have numbers of chapters pinned to the walls - with versions 1, 2 and 3 and crosses through them; pictures of mortar boards (!); my mantra of 20 tomatoes a day, timelines, large notes telling me I'll be finished soon and to keep going.

Are you building in rewards? Sod the cost, stick it on the card - can you get a massage or something? Nice food, baths, reading a novel before bed...

It'll be worth it, supposedly. You're close. And that's brilliant that you're doing papers and a chapeter - will help with finding a job later. You won't regret doingthose. Think of all the things you can do once you're finished!! And working in a temp job will be a lovely change from being a crazy hermit student!! We're all behind you and think you're doing a fab job.

Hi AL and Rick

Thanks for your encouragement - AL, I like the idea of a pinprick becoming a needlepoint soon! :-) Up to rewriting chapter 3 of 11. Have thought about postdocs, but I think they say that you need to have graduated to apply - so that means May next year for me, realistically the round of post docs after that won't be till end of next year!! And I was looking at the past recipients of one the other day, and they were all associate professors!!! I don't know if you guys have the same gradings we do in Aust, but here an Ass Prof is someone who is at the second top tier of the academic rung, earning around $100,000 a year I think. Hard for PhDs to compete with that!! What a crazy system...

AL, am surprised you're not working at nite already - not fun and I know how hard working and studying is. Hopefully only a few more months of this tho! And hope you had a nice day with your partner.

Back into it. Take care everyone.

Hey Chrisrolinksi, you're going well!!!! So close to having your second draft done - wow!!! I'm thinking that my second draft is the final that I'll be handing in, so obviously you're going for quality. Keep going!!!! You'll be done soon!!!

Hugs to you for being alone, and struggling.

Hi Rick

I think it depends on what it is - is it integral to your argument or are these bits asides? If they're large chunks, this suggests they're meaty, important bits, and I'd be tempted to put them into the text, and do a rewrite (sorry Rick!). And I'd use lots of sub-heads to break things up and make it a bit more coherent.

Second that Bryman is good. Also "Social Research Methodology" by Roger Gomm. There's lots of text books on on social research, these 2 seem popular.

Hi AL (and others)

Good to hear you're back into and making progress!! Yes, read-throughs do take a long time, as does everything...but you sound like you're going well. And discussions are hard, but once you start you'll get into it. I have yet to write my massive discussion chapter - but have a fair idea of what I'll say.

Well, I've had an up and down week. Last week-end was really depressed and angry and just hated the thesis - partly because I had a chat with my sup about jobs, which left me v. depressed. I was hoping she'd be able to offer me a nice project after I finish, and I know she's starting some new ones, but nothing going...so am applying for a job in the civil service, which I don't really want and the timing is wrong, but should take the opportunity I suppose. So was depressed about that too. Oh well. A life without academia also makes me sad, but mustn't think about that...

Musings to myself. But have had a really productive week - have entirely rewritten 25,000 words and I think they're good. Have done nothing else apart from write, go to the gym, walk the dog, cook and eat.

I think I can actually see a pinprick of light - is it the light at the end of the tunnel?

Must get on. 9 more chapters to write/rewrite in just under 10 weeks for a full first draft.

Work well everyone. Let me know how you're getting on!

Obviously I have too much time on my hands - but am taking a break.

Years ago there used to be a club near me which had women jelly-wrestling, which outraged my feminist consciousness no end. So one night, after I'd been at a Women's Studies conference all day, then had a few with a friend, we decided to go and graffiti this club. Which we did. But we were too - erm, 'silly' to run off sensibly after we'd finished, instead we stood admiring our handiwork, until some boofy blokes came out and nabbed us. To make matters worse we were right across the road from a police station, so were hauled over there, to make our excuses and thankfully not be charged and arrested...

...silly, but am still quite proud of what we did!;-)

======= Date Modified 12 Feb 2010 01:48:44 =======
I've been on this site for ages, and don't know if it's done me any good. It's also not comprehensive - there's basically no academics from my field on there. Established academics don't need to use this, so I suspect it's just for us up-and-comers. People also need to be careful if they're uploading material which has been published - this could breach copyright.

Don't beat yourself up Teek, feeling bad doesn't help. Have a better day tomorrow. I don't have a choice at the moment, am absolutely forcing myself to work and resenting it massively.

Had insomnia this morning after a thesis nightmare, so got up and started tomatoing at 4am!! And here I am still going at 6.30am. Am starting to feel like Chrisrolinski who mentioned on a thread somewhere that there's no difference between nite and day....

...few more then a nap I think...

Work hard everyone!!

And well done from me too Bilbo!! (up) Excellent news! Am glad you enjoyed the champagne. Have a rest and bask in the glory for a bit.