Oh, and from practical terms, go through the comments and break them down into tasks, make a table then you can record where you've made those amendments which will help when you're resubmitting. It's disheartening to break it all down but good when you can start ticking things off. Makes it all less of a tangled monster too!

:-(
Hi Rubystar.

I am in the same position as you, albeit a little further down the re-submission road.

The aftermath of the viva was, I remember utter hell. I felt completely defeated, ignorant and pathetic. Just getting up in the morning was a struggle and I fought to re-engage with my thesis whilst all the while considering burning the whole flipping thing.

Anyhow, as Sarah suggest, you do need a break from it. I spent a fruitless few months torturing and tormenting myself by sitting in front of it trying to make myself re-engage in a useful way. Looking back I should have probably given myself permission to have a break from it - by that I mean genuinely allowing myself to have time off from the thesis rather than not working on it and spending my time in an emotional quagmire worrying about working on it.

To be perfectly honest it took that hideous process and then six weeks completely off from anything thesis related before I could start re-engaging. It has been a slow and torturous process but I am creeping on.

I applied for, and was granted, a six month extension which I will need. This did ease the pressure on me, although it took a little while for me to get over the 'failure' thoughts.

So, what I wanted to say, most of all is that there are a lot of us end up in this situation. At times it isn't a reflection of the quality of your work but may be down to different opinions / egos and goodness know what else. Even if there are weaknesses in your work, and there are in mine, then these can be addressed and they are not necessarily a reflection of you as a person. You haven't wasted the time you've spent there just needs to be a bit more than you originally thought! This took me a long time to figure out, and I still have blips every now and then

Rubystar - please hang in there. Have a break and try not to feel too alone with it.

Feel free to pm if you would like to talk further.

vxxx

Yes, be damned! Was working on thesis up 12 noon on 24th and started again at 9am this morning. Just had a break to enjoy the calming experience of antiques roadshow.... (!) and back to it.

Really want this chapter off my desk prior to big meal with friends tomorrow night.

Dig deep everyone, it *will* be worth it in the long run (I think).

x

:-)

Hi,
It's hell - there is no other word for it imo.

I work full-time in a really stressful job, am a mum, have a 2.5 hour daily commute and am currently re-writing full-time following a very difficult viva (with the knowledge that not only do I have to re-submit but that I also have to re-viva). I really need the bloody thing finished, completely, forever.

Hats off to everyone in this particularly difficult boat.

x

That sounds like a great idea. I had thought along the lines of something but hadn't firmed it up in my head yet. Really hope everything goes well for you Sarah.

Think to some extent it depends on your super/s, you and the area of study. I am in social sciences and I met my supers pretty much one monthly for the first two years and then every two/three months after that. This was the programme that they suggested and it worked well. However, I know of other people who only met their supers once a year!

Don't be shy about asking them or suggesting whatever you think would work for you.

Go Ruby and Armendaf. I too am working, only for about the last hour but this morning I sorted out some household shizzle that needed doing too. Going to keep going for another couple of hours, really want this chapter completely revised in the next couple of days but am back to work tomorrow(down)

Hi there, you certainly haven't missed the boat - you have decades yet - but you do need to find a way of doing a masters.

I was the only person in a very large dept that was on a funded phd programme without a masters - the only reason I had been allowed to do this was because I had two u/grad degrees, both 1.1s and had worked as a researcher in HE between those and my phd application. To get the funding I had to provide a document which compared all the work themes in a research masters and the +1 esrc programme with my actual working experience - for example , construction of methodologies and ethical issues, these had to be matched with documented proof of my undertaking these activities at work.

Don't let this put you off though, if you have the drive to do a phd then just look at these as the first hurdles.

Best of luck.

I see it as a tragic symptom of the phd journey. ;-)

If you need a break then you need a break. You'll probably not achieve a great deal if you are jiggered (mentally or physically - or both!)

I watched x-factor, slobbed for a while, ate some chocolate and have now been back at the thesis for the last half hour. I need to strike while the iron's hot!!

Thanks RubyW.

It really does help to have some reassurance that I haven't completely lost my marbles down the back of the sofa!

FWIW, I've just rewritten two pages of my chapter. Long way to go but it's good just to move forward a teeny bit.:-)

Oh, thanks I will check on the rules before committing myself to anything.

I reckon they'd be fine. All that experience will stand them in good stead for doing the phd and when they finish they will still have all that applied experience + a phd - can only be a good thing. I work in a large HE institution and have seen lecturers come and go, I think your friend's situation is not as rare as they might think.

If they are motivated enough to do it give them a shove in the right direction!

Wow. I can't tell you how relieving it is to find lots of the feelings I've had over the past 3 year and six months are completely normal for phd students!! Now I'm in a resubmit phase and having to re-engage with something I had hoped was almost over I find the same feelings returning. However, onward and upward is my only option now.

God speed to us all ;-)

Hi, I wondered if anyone out there in the forum had used professional proof-readers prior to submission.

I am considering one for my resubmission but they are more pricey than I had thought.