Hi Montezuma

My examiners are being chosen on the basis that they're the experts in the field - I chose 3 leading academics in my area, whose work I've cited extensively. They haven't said yes, yet though. My supervisor and I also chose examiners who she knows, so she knows their style and what they're likely to be looking for. We're also choosing examiners who she knows aren't really, really anal/eccentric/known to be a$$eholes, and are likely to be favourably disposed from the outset to my research area. Also people who are likely to read and mark the thesis quickly.

I haven't yet started the process of contacting them, but I understand that my supervisor has to fill out some paperwork nominating the examiners, then the uni contacts them. I think she'll informally sound them out first tho, to make sure they can take this on and get it done reasonably quickly. 

Your supervisor should be helping you with this, and may even be required to do so formally. Have a look at your uni's procedures for how PhDs are examined and see what your sup is required to do.

Hmm, interesting.

1. I would've chosen a more mainstream research area. Now I find that I'm an expert in a specialised field, but it's not one students want to pay for to learn, which means there's not many students/subjects to teach, and hence not many jobs.

2. I wouldn't have tried to do everything at once - a full-time job, a promotion, the thesis, and writing articles/conference papers. Lead to burn out, but did help me to prioritise.

3. I wouldn't have lived in this god-forsaken town 3 hours away from campus for any longer than absoutely necessary.

4. I would've started endnoting right at the beginning!

Hi Kayzi

People do PhDs and then can move on to do broader research. Lots of my colleagues researched a really specific area and are now lecturing in an area in the same field, but only tangentially related. It's the research skills you gain which are important, moreso than specialised areas of research. And there are lots of horror stories around, but that's because people come onto this forum mostly when things aren't going right, to get advice and support. Lots of us are happily (more or less!) working away most of the time. Even tho I've had the occasional melt down and whinge a lot about my PhD, I love my topic, I love thinking and writing, I love researching. I have no regrets about doing a PhD, and am sure many others feel like this too. It's really hard, but it's also really rewarding.

Another thing I like about mytomatoes.com is that it shows you exactly how long you've been productive for, if you use it honestly. I used to think that I studied 10 hours a day - but once meal breaks, little breaks to do the odd domestic thing etc have been taken away, I can see that I'm really productive for much less time.

I average about 10-12 tomatoes a day - less on week-ends. My best is 19 - and by the end of that day my eyes were bloodshot, I had a headache and I could barely think straight I was so tired. I'm going into hermit mode in a couple of weeks and am planning to do 20 a day - I'll only have 4 months to submission! I don't mean to brag or put people off - this is more a pact with myself. Work at your own pace and be pleased with every tomato you do.

Hey KB, unis do like people who have worked at other institutions and have a wider experience than you can get from just one uni. At mine, postdocs have to come from other unis - people who've done their PhD at my uni are ineligible to apply. Having said that tho, if your supervisor can get funding for you, go for it! Stay! If things work out, excellent! If I were you, I'd never leave! Or I would, eventually, when other opportunities presented themselves. Sounds like you're onto a good thing.

Hi Someone3

The others have given good advice. I'm adept at applying for jobs, as I change jobs every year or so, and know the process well, altho haven't yet applied for academic jobs yet. Yes, you just have to wait until they've sorted the applications, and hope you get an interview. This will depend on your application and how well you've answered the selection criteria. Whenever I apply for a job, I alays call up and speak to the contact person to get a bit more info, and also ask if anyone's doing the job at the moment - you could call and ask the professor this. I also wouldn't read too much into his email - sounds like a polite, professional email to me, nothing more. They want to get the best applicants, so he's likely to encourage you, but there could also be many others who are also suitable for the job. You probably won't hear from them for a while and they would be unlikely to contact you before the closing date. So, just sit back for the moment.

You also do need to tell your supervisor you've applied for this - in the event you get an interview, they would probably talk to your supervisor, so he needs to be aware that you've applied. Also show him the position description, so he can tailor what he says to match what the employer is looking for. Let us know if you get an interview!

Hey, glad to hear it's going well! And a couple of chapters in a couple of months is excellent progress!!(up) Took me about a month per chapter too, so I think you're travelling along really well. It will get done!

Hey Teek, just keep working then! Work thru the break, then maybe have a break the next time, at 55 minutes. 25 minute blocks work well for me, mostly. And Slizor, no, it doesn't keep a running total, but you've probably discovered that.

Happy tomatoing!

Hi Rick, hi everyone

Well, haven't written much at all this week due to office job, but that's OK. Being back in the civil service has reminded me how much I don't want to permanently end up there, so looks like I've decided to pusue a career in academia after all. Scary! I've also come up with a fantastic idea for a project, so after I finish the thesis (!) am going to write a big proposal to try and get some major funding from the largest research council here. My sup is also very excited. So, not much progress on the thesis, but other progress is being made.

How's everyone else going?

Work hard, hope productivity is flowing. Had to have a few beers last nite to cope after a week in the tedious job, payng for it now...have a more moderate Fri nite than I did!

Hi Siwee

The discussion chapter is the hardest one of all, so not surprising you're having difficulties with it. I'm also writing this chapter, and am in social sciences, so not sure if my approach is useful for you...I've put up butcher's paper all around my study, and have gone through all my chapters, written the findings in categories, then brainstormed conclusions. My individual chapters discuss my case studies and what I've found, then my discussion chapter discusses the commonalities and differences, and relates it all to the theory and to the literature.

Prepare it like any other essay - do a plan, summarise your findings, draw them together. It's hard, but keep going! Good luck!

I think you need to be persistent and arrange a meeting with your supervisor, and then tell her what you've told us. Be honest with her, explain the difficulties you've had, but now you're back on track and are willing to work hard to get the thesis finished, but want to go part-time (which sounds like a really sensible idea to me). And you're right, an extension can't be compared with a suspension - and most of us get extensions, and you should too! Are you seeing a counsellor at uni? If not, maybe you should, so that they could write you letters of support for you going part-time and getting an extension.

Don't assume your supervisor hates you - she might be avoiding you, which is all the more reason why you need to have a really honest conversation with her. But thinking she hates you will taint the relationship even more. How much does she know of your situation? Maybe she doesn't really understand?

It's fabulous that you're starting to feel better, and have a plan for progressing. Well done, you! Just take one thing at a time, make a call to your supervisor to arrange a meeting time, try and see a counsellor if you're not already, then think about what you need to say to her. You'll get there! Good luck!

That's great that you have another opportunity to study something which interests you more. You can make a new start! This is a good thing - you just need to extricate yourself from your current situation. Yes, it could be tricky telling them that you're already studying towards a PhD, but Teek's suggestions are good. The other thing you need to to consider is that academia is a small world, and if you remain in the same area, will your past and potential supervisors and colleagues know each other? Are they likely to run into each other at conferences etc? If they are, and they start discussing you, this could get really awkward. I think you need to tell all involved about your plans - don't let your potential supervisors find out you're already studying/have started a PhD through the grapevine.

You need to have some hard conversations, but just think how much better you'll feel when this is all done, and you're settled into your new project!

I've had a few jobs where I've quit in the first couple of weeks to move onto something more suitable, and had to have difficult discussions, but did it, and never looked back. You can do it too. Do what will make you happy.

We've just had a cool spell, which has been lovely, but before that we had a heat wave, with temperatures around 40 degree C - just horrible for studying, and my house doesn't have air conditioning. Generally it's hot, but manageable - and good beach weather (a trip to a beachside town next week-end is my reward for getting thru this tedious temp office job).

Off to the office for me, maybe I can fit in a bit of lit searching when I'm there...have a productive evening all.

Thanks everyone, I feel much better! And nice to know we're all in the same boat and sick to death of revising and making such slow progress! You're right Poppy, it does come in waves and I just need to get through this trough. I do some each day, and yep, it's all progress. Was revising last nite, trying to work out my main argument, and just realising that I'll be tinkering with these chapters, so they all point towards the same conclusions, a lot...yes, seems neverending.

Keep revising Teek, like me, and well done Poppy on getting the article finally accepted! I also had an article accepted recently, and looking back at it the other day, I realised that I have quoted another article I've written in the text, and then forgotten to include me in the bibliography!! How hopeless is that!! Can't even cite myself properly! That's so tragic I had to laugh. Ah, learnt that lesson the hard way - always make sure you quote and reference your own work properly!!

Will potter along and do the best I can until the w'end, then am sure will get my mojo back and tear into revising the next chapter. Thanks all, we'll get there in the end.

And DrS, I'm in Australia, where we don't have vivas, but just wait a long time for examiners to get back to us....

Hi DrSeeker

Try and get some sunshine to lift your mood! It's summer where I am, and no end of sunshine, so I don't have that problem at least...yes, I know, I can't be productive all the time, but I have a workplan to stick to!

Yep, am presenting, on a topic only tangentially related to my thesis, so that's more work too, to refamiliarise myself with what I wrote 6 months ago.

Glad to hear this week is going better for you. Too tired, am giving up on today...