I'm 28, and just gone into my second year of PhD. I do sometime wonder what on earth I'm doing! I always planned to travel again and that never quite happened. I think about the future and when I'm gonna find time (or money) to fit kids in before I'm too old! But I don't regret it too much. I spent 3 years out of academia between undergrad and PhD and got some exprience of the 'real world'.

As for going on a doing clinical training. This is something I have considered doing, and strangely we were discussing this yesterday. Specifically the fact you don't have to go straight on to clinical post PhD. If I decide to do this it will be 10 - 15 years down the line, by which time I'm have (hopefully) had time travel and have a kid or two!

just seeing if this works. I tried to reply to someone today and my post never appeared. Hope veryone is having a nice evening. I wish I could say I wa sbeing productive and working tonight but I'm not, i'm waiting for my opponenet to make a move on scrabulous.

catalinbond is working form home and thus working in pyjamas today.

I'm between two institutions too. I'm officially registerd at one where I have office space and a desk, but no one is really from my subject area. I deliberately try to get involved in the other department as much as possible as it is this subject area I eventually want to work in, and for the social aspects as they have a lot of PhD students who all go out at least once a month. I still don't feel totally part of the second dept. though I've never felt rejected by it, they're quite happy for me to come to things I just don't alwayds find out about them.

Anyway who has rejected you/made you feel unwelcome? and to what do you feel unwelcome? - seminars? social events? just generally hanging around there? are they people that are important to your project/future career?

I don't think you shoudl feel you've done anything wrong by emersing yourself in deptartment one. Had you split your time between them then the chances are you wouldn't feel so comfortable in either department. If you are happy in department one, and don't really need to go to department two then I'd say s*d them!

Hope things better today anyway.

I'm actually not particularly bored. I have too much stuff to do to be bored, not least tidying the mess on my desk which spreads 1.5 m to the right, and 1 m to the left and only stops when it hits the person next to me's computer! (they return monday hence the need to tidy). Anyway that's enough waffling. It's a beutiful sunny day today and I want to go to the beach!

you sound like me a year ago. My first day was all about campus tour, introduction to where I's be based, sorting library cards etc. I had nothing planned with my supservisors so I turned up at their offices and just said Hi, and arranged to meet up with them. They gave me guidance on what to look at those first few weeks.

good luck with the start.

Does anyone else read this and think "Yeah - Why am I doing a PhD?" Short answer is it seemed like a good idea at the time! I spent 3 years not really knowing what to do after graduating, and was mainly working as a barmaid/waitress. I knew I wanted to do something with my degree but didn't really know what, and I had a lot of friends doing PhDs so it seemed like a natural thing to do. Sometimes I wish I was doing something more exciting like travelling the world, but generally I like my PhD and it sure beats working 9-5 in a office. (though it's not quite as much fun as working behind the bar and generally drinking 24/7!)

duke

I have 3 sups. One I see once a week, but as a research group rather than specific to my project (though I can talk to her about stuff if I need to) My main sup I see when I need to. It probably works about abotu once a month, and I arrange meetings by calling his PA as emails tend to disappear! My other sup I see once a month, and we arrange these meetings at the previous one. I have more contact with his post doc, without whom I don't know where I'd be!

We have a shared room with a mixture of phd students and post docs. Each have our own desk and computer, with free printing (provided we don't do too much as then they threaten to take this away!) We get pretty much treated as equals in the building, but the lecturers are a bit separate form the phd and post docs.

Our email system has a feature where you can retract an email if it's not been opened. I dunno how well i works though. I have a feeling it leaves a message for them saying "this email has been retracted" which just highlights the fact you've done somthing silly!

I think you can get away with your mistake. Blame it on the computer!

Yeah I hate doing this. I can't help it but when asked the question "what is your PhD on" I atart with a big sigh! Mtytopic can be easily explained, except I am studying people with a specific disease, and it's one most people havn't heard of, or if they have they don't really know what it is. Sometimes I wish I was studying Stroke patients or cancer or something I wouldn't need to define!

I try and get away with I'm doing a PhD in Psychology but most people aren't satisfied with that level of vague-ity!

I did things the other way round - grew up in South London and then moved to the NW of ENgland to do my undergrad degree. TBH I loved both places but there were som e differences. I don't think people in London are rude and unfreidly, they're just different. In the city i lived in the NW it's impossible to just go about your bussiness without random people talking to you. Yeah this is a sign of the friendliness of the north, but sometimes I just wantd to be left alone! London is also positive in that som mant people are not from london that you don't feel like an outsider. Certainly when I lived in the NW, despite having lived there for 7 years, and at the time planning to stay, I was never quite accepted. It was constantly assumed I was a student, even when I was working full time.
I've now moved back South, and I miss the north, but not really for the friendliness of the people. There are lots of nice people down here. I do notice the prices are A LOT more expensive and i have to socialise at hom more rather than going out, which I don't like as much. London wieghting should help a bit. There are cheap deals to be had if you share with people - try checking out gumtree.com for an axample of typical rent for one room in a shared house.

luckily (for the computer) the office windows don't open! Computer at home behaving itself more since I hoovered the cat hair out the fan! maybe I should hate cats instead?!

Anyway you'll prboby hate me for this one but I don't have a problem with marathon being snickers. I quite like the way it sounds "snickers, snickers, snickers!"

CUTE