Hiya Pam

All the best ! I believe that you are well-prepared for this moment. I also have heard from many friends that a viva on Friday is supposed to be less stressful as the examiners would be looking forward to the weekend ;-)

Hehehe...just don't get nervous ok ! Good luck !

Hiya, I hope to have my first draft completed during that time too. My funding more or less runs out around that time, so whether I like it or not, I really need to complete my thesis !

I am aiming for something around 80K words and currently have 40K now. Here's hoping we'll all get there !
(up)

Dear Mariecherry84

I could have written your post myself ! I have about 6 months of funding left, and I am often in a state of denial. I am sort of forcing myself to do a little bit every day, perhaps 2 hours, 3 hours. It's a love-hate relationship actually, with a lot of up and downs. It goes up one minute and down the next. I will be very glad when I submit it, that's for sure !

My advice for you is to just hang on and bite the bullet (easy for me to say actually...):p

Dear Mariecherry84

I could have written your post myself ! I have about 6 months of funding left, and I am often in a state of denial. I am sort of forcing myself to do a little bit every day, perhaps 2 hours, 3 hours. It's a love-hate relationship actually, with a lot of up and downs. It goes up one minute and down the next. I will be very glad when I submit it, that's for sure !

My advice for you is to just hang on and bite the bullet (easy for me to say actually...):p

Hi Nicko, I have sent you a PM.

Hi Lemonjuice

In my first year, to be honest, I did not achieve much. I am in a humanities course so I work with texts and concepts. I mainly did a lot of reading and discussed what I read with my SV. I had a chance to present a portion of my work in the Uni's Postgrad Conference. Then I had to take a leave of absence for two months due to a sickness. Got back to work on a few texts and resumed meetings with my SV. I also attended a few Masters class to get a clearer understanding of certain concepts. I'm now in my 20th month and have written some 30 K words...not much, I know. Sometimes I wonder if I would be able to finish before my funds run out ; that is a miserable thought itself ! I just push on anyway. Hope I have given you at least a little hope and encouragement though. Take care.

Hi Cammy, not to worry ! Most of us would have experience that rejection once in a while. I myself sent two papers to two conferences but only one wad accepted. I'm sure you won't be fazed by this problem. keep on sending those abstracts !

Hi MCM

I'm a PhD mom just like you, and am now 20 months plus in my programme. I have a boy who's about 14 months and at the moment we are struggling with childcare. It's expensive here in the UK. I haven't been able to send my kid to the nursery full-time due to the high costs. So I'm doing exactly the same as you are which is trying to study when the baby is sleeping. This means waking up at 4 am and writing for 2 hours after which I try to get a nap for an hour or so. Then the madness in the house begins around 8 am when everyone's getting ready for work/ school. Then I try to write some more when the baby goes to sleep. I have even done some studying on weekends when my hubby is off work so he can mind the kids for a while. I must say that my studies have suffered a bit due to this spotty childcare arrangement. I still have some funding left until end of 2013 so I'm trying to persevere and hold on while I get something that looks like a first draft done :p If i had to rely on my own money, I don't know if I have the will and the (financial) motivation to carry on with the work.

Hope this helps to at least show you that you are not alone in this journey.
8-)

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Hi there

I'm not sure about my future as an academic either, but at the moment i just wanna finish my work and submit whatever I have ! I'm coming to the end of my second year soon and frankly speaking, I have only done 3 chapters' work, with at least 4 more to be completed.

I did struggle with motivation for the past 10 months or so; the main problem was that I had limited knowledge on what I'm doing right now. Let's just say my current area was my worst subject during my degree days ! I had to read a lot and write a lot to understand what was required in my work. Not only that, I was struggling with childcare...it wasn't easy trying to juggle studies with a baby.

Now that the baby is much bigger and I managed to get reliable childcare, I am able to be more focused on my work. But the days before that...phew...I practically procrastinated everyday. I left my work for one whole month because I couldn't understand it and also because I was partly sick of it ! I surfed the net, went shopping,blogged about my problem, had long chats with friends, cooked, cleaned the toilet etc,travelled...I did everything but study. I don't know what made me change my attitude...perhaps it's the realisation that I have only one more year of funding left that forced me to do something for my own sake. I also realised that I had to make a better future for the little bub...yeah, i guess that was the main motivation for me.

Maybe you need to take a break for a while so that you can come back with a refreshed view of your work ?

Hi


I haven't been in this sort of situation but I can sympathise with you as a close friend also had this problem 2 years ago. The university only informed her at the last moment about her supervisor (first sv) moving to another uni. She still stuck with this sv and went to sv's house for regular consultations. My friend did think about taking legal action against the uni but later decided not to do so. (She's still in the process of writing-up).

Another friend was all set to come here (Glasgow) to study when at the last minute her Sv told her he was moving to another uni down south (southampton). She's now made her decision that she's also moving to Southampton to follow her Sv.

At the moment,perhaps it is wise to stick to your current uni and ask if there are any other supervisors willing to take you in. At least your data collection is already complete. It is a difficult situation but I really hope you will remain positive. Good luck !

Hi Honu

If you have enough funds to cover you every month then it would be ok. We have two kids, my hubby is doing part-time work on weekends and we manage to survive on about 1000 pounds per month! We are based in Glasgow by the way, things are cheaper here than London. Here's wishing everything will be ok !

Hi, I'm mostly a lurker on here as well and I do hope you will get positive results soon. Like you, I'm also a second-year humanities student. I have a really diligent supervisor and I consult him about once a month (he says I should start consulting him twice monthly now !) I think the onus is really on your uni now to provide you with a better supervisor, someone who can actually motivate you to work harder. Don't worry you won't be sacked ! Good luck and hang in there !

Hi

I have a few friends who changed their programme of study after one year, one of them changed to an Ed.D degree and he will be submitting soon.

Another friend who was doing IT had to change her topic after about two years. Both scenarios happened in a UK university, but I don't know if students are still allowed to do that at present.

I myself feel like changing my topic focus, slightly change it a bit but I don't have the heart to ask my SV !

Hi Linda,

I'm in my second year of my candidature, and I have written only two chapters. My Phd is quite different from what I did for my Masters. To make matters worse, my supervisor is an international star in his research area and I feel like a dwarf when I have to talk about my research in front of him. As expected, he is a perfectionist and many times I have come back from meetings with him with my work slashed here and there.

If it were not for our little boy who was born at the start of my Phd studies, I would have just given up...

Can you take a break for a few days, go somewhere and have a change of air, or at least, try to make some new friends so you can come back to your work with a renewed vigour ? Hope that helps.

Hi pam
Three months is still a long time ! But I have a feeling you know what you are doing, and mainly you are doing things right. Your supervisor also seems confident with your ability.
I know you will be able to complete your thesis. Have faith in yourself, you are gonna be ok !