Hello- I felt absolutely terrified when I first had to do some tutorial teaching and in my experience nearly everyone feels similar, although they try not to show it! One of the biggest things I found was that as soon as you are at the front of a class, students just tend to accept it- so I felt like a complete fraud, but the fact that the students treated me as their 'teacher' made me feel more like one, if that makes any sense. In the end it was a great experience, and it does make you feel more confident about speaking in public etc. Another thing is that it really helps to get in depth knowledge about a subject area that you are perhaps only half sure about, because I think PhD teaching assistants overprepare given that is all new. So I really hope it goes well and I think it's pretty normal to be terrified, though everyone's experience is different.

Have been away so haven't had chance to say thanks for the comments on this- best to ask supervisor I think. So thanks everyone..

Ok, have just found the handbook- but am still none the wiser.

Hi everyone- I'm a bit unsure how the second year of the PhD is assessed- is it like the transfer/upgrade process or is it different to that? I can't seem to find my student handbook which would help!

No offence was intended- I was just pointing out that a lot of people manage to live and work on a lot less, though if you are in London I agree that £24000 will not get you very far in terms of housing. I'm sure it must be very difficult and stressful to find a decent post-doc position, and on balance I know that what I wrote probably wasn't very helpful so my apologies. I hope you manage to find somewhere that you will be able to research what you want for decent pay, a.s.a.p

In the wider scheme of things that doesn't sound too bad- nurses get paid an awful lot less, and train drivers may or may not have a degree, but does that matter? After all, we all make choices to do things in our lives, whether that is driving trains or reading/writing books, and I don't think either are especially easy. That said, the money for post docs and academics certainly isn't huge-but you do get to study an area which (should) be of interest to you, which must be the main thing.

Hi Sixkitten, feel similar myself- just completely lost really, though hope to get it back on track as soon as possible. What area are you in- is it lab based?

Hi LostinOz, have had similar experience- the module leader I was working with as a TA came out for a drink with some of the undergraduate students and myself, but spent much of the time gossiping about one of the students in his classes (which the other students were in, and were also gossiping about him). I think it's disgusting- I tend to find it's people who are very insecure themselves that are the worst offenders, but it's completely unneccesary. I try and ignore it, which is easier said than done unfortunately..

Hello- I guess it depends what you want to do it in and what you want to do it for- if for a PhD then it's pretty much essential (with some exceptions), but I think employers do look at favourably at candidates with an MA as well as undergrad degree. My MA cost a huge amount (had to take out a loan of around £8000 at high interest) but as I'm now doing a funded PhD I think it was worth it. If I wasnt though, I'd be very poor and not particularly happy! Not sure if that helps in anyway, but I think it really depends what you want to do with it...

Sorry to hear about the problems Olivia, feel similar myself a lot of the time- a great deal of academia appears to be about 'ticking boxes' (i.e. going to conferences where about five people come and listen to talks etc.). Incidentally, I know people who work in book shops and they absolutely hate it- very hard work, lots of lifting and no reading.. So hope things get better for you..

Hi Bellaz- I'm in my second year and still like that, so I wouldnt worry too much (maybe I should though!). I think a lot of the PhD seems to involve revising how you think about things, and while this feels like getting nowhere (in that there isnt much to show for it) in the long run it will be clear that you've thought about your topic in depth. Or at least thats what I'm hoping

I find Stoker and Marsh; 'theory and methods in political science' quite useful. Although its politics related it does cover most relevant issues in general social science research as well.

I just had a look at jobs.ac.uk and there were a fair few studentships in computer science under the subheading of artificial intelligence; including two in Scotland (I think thats what you said you were interested in). From my experience, if studentships are available they tend to be advertised there so maybe if you cant find what you are looking for then it simply isnt available. But hopefully you can find something appropriate, good luck.

Hello- I'm a complete introvert, and I do think that doing a PhD can be quite suited to people like me. But I also think that a lot of extroverts do PhD's as well, and I guess that it is just about what you put into it and what you want to get out of it. It sounds like you'd be really good at teaching, going to conferences etc., and a lot of people find that very hard- plus it sounds like you are quite happy in your department, and that is always a good start. So long as you are interested in what you want to research, and there are avenues for you to be 'yourself' then I dont think it would be a problem..

Huge library fines- also have had to fork out a fair bit on travel costs (hundreds) which I should be receiving back but it takes forever to get everything in motion...