Easily done. I added the wrong solvent to the sample I was extracting not long ago and had to throw it away. Luckily it was a quality control sample i.e. my blood (plenty more where that came from!) rather than a precious patient sample! It made me concentrate harder on the next batch of samples though. Don't let it worry you, it happens to everyone at some stage.

Why not ask another student/post-doc/your supervisor for advice? There is no shame in asking these questions, you can't know it all when you've just started. Good luck.

You know that feeling you get when rival group pips you to the post with a publication? Gutting!

Sue, you have prevented me scoring a hat trick (I got the 100th and 200th posts). I am very sad

External examiner? As in singular?! As a member of staff she should have 2 external examiners. Even I as a research assistant doing a PhD (i.e. not even academic staff) had to have 2 x external and 1 x internal examiner for my PhD viva!

Are you going to tell us when it is so we can mark it on our calendars?

Hmm, I think that the year in industry is less important for someone who already has many years of work experience and who already has an established skills record. If I were you Paul, I think I would talk to a careers advisor at your Uni about this.

Nothing is worth it if it's making you miserable. Any progress with sorting out your supervisory problems? From what you say, this seems to be the source of your misery. Hope something can be sorted out soon, meanwhile take care and try not to let it upset you (easier said than done, I know).

Great news!

Hi Wickid

The only thing to do is practice, practice and more practice! Then, despite the nerves, you will just run on auto-pilot. By the time you get to the questions, you'll be so relieved that the talk is over than you'll be feeling much more relaxed. Best of luck for your interview!

(Think of it as great viva preparation too!)

That's great but students on £17k tax-free per year are going to be a bit gutted when they get their first post-doc and get taxed on £20k

The usual case is that, as a student/staff member, you sign away your IP to the Uni on joining. In which case they will be keen to protect your/their IP! Someone at the Uni will be able to advise you and hopefully your supervisor can point you in the right direction.

A suit (skirt or trouser) would be great (I wore a skirt suit to my PhD interview). I always err on the side of caution and would much rather be over- than under-dressed for formal occasions. I think dressing smartly shows that you are enthusiastic and serious about the interview (and are not taking anything for granted!). However, if you are not keen on wearing a suit, then a smart pair of trousers or a suitably formal skirt with a shirt or a (smart) t-shirt would also be fine. The most important thing is for you to feel comfortable and confident. Good luck!!

P.S. You might want to search the archives on here too, this question comes up a lot!

That's because people usually post on a forum like this when they want help or advice or just reassurance that what they are experiencing is 'normal'. Hence, the number of negative posts will always outnumber the positive ones (btw posts about favourite song lyrics/films/bar snacks are considered neutral for this arguement!).

For the purposes of informing prospective PhD students, it's good to talk about the positive side of PhD life and, obviously, there are plenty of positive things otherwise no one would ever put themselves through the stress! However, PhDs are all so different that unless you have the same supervisors, research facilities, funding, background education, topic and luck as someone else, the PhD experience will be practically incomparable. Hence some people will publish twice in their first year while other equally hard working students won't publish until after they have submitted a thesis.

Anyway, glad it's all working out for you though, enjoy the good times!

If you have a potential supervisor in mind, the quickest and easiest way is probably to ask them what you need to do. Good luck!