If you mean 'in uni' as taking taught courses - absolutely none! I am expected to be in uni between 9-5 each day unless on field work or conferences and other than that have no other commitments.
We can go to some basic one day courses at an associated uni on writing a thesis and presenting results but hardly anyone goes as they are very basic and aimed at foreign students (who also find them too basic!).

I dont know if this is normal as I am at a small university (in UK. I have at times resented the lack of training but have managed to get some training in different experimental skills by phoning up the experts at other organisations. I also sat in on some undergrad lectures which were in a subject peripheral to my PhD I needed to know about but there is certainly no requirement to do so.

like lecturing or demonstrating - some unis require it others dont have any option to do it (like mine).. I dont think there are any general rules..

Hi - not sure if you are male or female but I was recently told that as a female it would be easier to get a job in academia at 40 than at 30 - as at 30 they assume you will be off to have kids as soon as poss so dont want to take you on. I have had a lot of 'being 30, married and not had kids yet' sort of discrimination actually which has surprised me - I daresay this is equally a problem outside of academia.. (not that it is completely unfounded as I would like to have kids soon!)
I would say in your 40s you can really sell the fact that you are more settled than someone younger and ready to commit entirely to the academic community. Also I think people will respect your determination and commitment to go back to education later in life so it will probably be to your advantage.

My husband and I had this same problem - even though my bursary was only 10,000 it was the diff between getting the mortgage we needed or not and we couldnt find a bank that would consider it (we tried a fair few) - their argument was that it was a salary that would end in a year or so rather than its source was educational.
We ended up borrowing the money from father in law, thus putting in a bigger deposit and then paying him back from my salary as if it was a seperate wee mortgage...
Lots of PhD students at my Uni have had this problem as it is a rural one and renting is difficult - most got round it by having the mortgage 'guaranteed' on a parents house - a big ask from the parents though..
Good luck with it

I frequently wait two months or more and then that involves a lot of nagging.. despite us having meetings to agree a fortnight turnaround time.. keep at them if its not as quick as you like. I think 3 weeks is reasonable.

Thanks to Seabird! have tried your 'freewriting' method and got a long way yesterday - the first time in a week and feel like I achieved something - definitely works better for me than worrying about the perfect structure straight away - have actually quite enjoyed going back and editing afterwards. Good tip!
ps. are seabirds your subject? because I work on birds.... or are you a surfer or something?

That is in my unis handbook recommendations too! I think it is just advisory though - I have 6 and dont see any point in splitting one up or anything to make it 7... weird though that it has even been thought of..

thanks all - has all made me feel better - am very good at just despairing if i think it is hopeless anyway.. and then I get nothing done at all. Have set some strict and hopeful targets!

Good luck with it - everyone stands a chance of course and you've applied so you're half there. Be careful about a fees only scholarship though - one of my friends did this and had to flog herself to death earning money whilst trying to get into the PhD because maintenance scholarships didnt come through. This post makes me feel a bit guilty actually as I really applied for an advertised PhD place a bit haphazardly and beat 60 people and I only have a 2:1 and an MSc which wasnt directly relevant. Makes me think I was very lucky - quite motivating - Im off to stop procrastinating and write up!

Unless you are staying in academia or an industry with seasonsal hiring periods(in which case start now)then leave serious job hunting for a while. Depending on your field you can spend a lot of time applying for jobs - it can be a fulltime job itself if your industry is fond of application forms. I did this and it delayed writing up in the first few months which Im paying for now. Ive had interviews but the fact I didnt actually have a phd yet and was still writing (and thus not in a position to give the job 100%) was a real issue at all of them.

Sending your CV to recruitment agencies as suggested above is a good idea though - theres no downside as they do everything for you - make sure they understand what you are after so they dont waste your time. Get on all the job sites email alert lists too so you dont miss some great job opportunity - just be picky about what is too good to miss.

My supervisors advised thinking about proper hunting 3 months before the end.

Anyone nearly finished? I have four months to write five chapters - is that possible do you think? Have been doing temp work since my funding ran out and it has left no time for writing so now Im really behind and feel a bit detached from the work - finding it hard to get back in. Have just quit the job as have saved enough to try and get it done..
anyone got any advice for structuring introductions - i find it really difficult to not just repeat everything from my lit review..

Also would you concentrate on writing up or would you push it and try to get some papers out as well? (My uni doesnt allow you to write up as papers).. How important do you think it is to have papers out before your viva?
Am feeling overwhelmed by how much there is left to do and not sure it is possible - anyone got any motivational stories of people who wrote up in a month or anything?!!!

Dont worry - at least your supervisor cares enough to read through it and find some mistakes/ comment on the style - mine has now had three of my chapters for four moths and not a sinlge comment from him yet - when I do get things back he has just corrected a few typos - frankly my hubby has been more helpful and I have no faith in my supervisors knowledge of whether it is good enough or not - Id far rather he ripped it apart frankly...at least I would have some idea of whether Im on the right track or not..