Congratulations, Dr. Ady :-) That's fantastic (up) (gift)

Massive Congratulations, Dr. Sneaks!! I am extremely pleased for you :-)

Wow, that's fab Hairui :-)

Hi all,

I am extremely sorry, I have been away for a long time as I was so stressed with everything - the thesis, new relationship, funding running out, further extension?, simulations crashing and so on. I have vaguely written down two chapters and still plodding on. I don't know if I will be able to finish this thing ever! Oh well, am going to keep going. I don't have a choice!

Swetcha,

How are you doing? and how are you getting on? Hope all is well :-)

Heartiest congratulations, Dr. Slowmo!!! Thank you very much for sharing your viva experience. All the very best for your future endeavours (up)

Oh dear Huhu, am extremely sorry to hear that you are feeling so low. I can completely understand how you feel as I am in a very similar situation to you. But I am saying to myself that it is all going to be fine but I don't know if it will be. I don't really know what to say but the only thing is we will have to keep going. Don't be too hard on yourself, you have been doing everything you can. Not all PhD projects are perfect - some projects are very focussed, some are broad, poorly designed or extremely unrealistic to complete in three years. As Delta has said PhD is just a part of our life. As you have mentioned it would be a good idea to talk to your supervisor, am sure (s)he will understand. The last few months are the hardest and don't give up!!

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Hi Splendins,

I am sorry you are feeling this way but trust me this is a temporary phase, you will definitely get out of it. Having said that, the whole PhD process has alternating phases of high and low times, it is just that the amplitude of these phases vary for each one of us.

About your problems with writing, it is definitely not an easy task but once you get started you will get the hang of it. I have had days when I have stared at a blank word document for hours without knowing how or where to start. It could be overwhelming if you think about the whole document which you will have to produce.

Perhaps it would be better if you split it up into chunks, say take one article at a time and write about the aim, methods, results/discussion and conclusions of the study done and its relevance to your work. You don't really have to write it perfectly, just write as if you would explain it to your friend/colleague. Set a range of number of words for each article and do them one by one. Once you finish the first draft go through it again and again, polish, edit and restructure if required and am sure this way you will end up with a very decent document. It is easier than done but it is absolutely possible.

Don't worry too much about others progress, some projects need solid back ground work which takes a long time than the other. You never know you might produce more than one article at a time once you have sorted out your ground work!

As one of the forumites says (Sneaks/Ady/Skig?? sorry if I left the name of the relevant person) "PhD is a marathon and not a sprint" - simple but true! You will get there eventually, we all will :-)

All the very best (up)

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Hi Zinar7,

I am sorry to hear that you have been having set backs in your project. You are definitely not alone! Like you I have a very broad project where I will have to deal with algorithms, models, calculations, experimental work and so on. I am 3 yrs and almost a month down, it has been a long arduous journey all the way through, I am writing up but still have quite a bit of data collection to do. I don't know about you but am some one who wouldn't really ask for help easily. I tried solving various issues myself, solved some and couldn't solve some on my own for which I had to ask various people's help after all my attempts solving a problem have failed. I spent most of my second and third year troubleshooting which is a very long time! It has been a totally demoralising phase for me!! I have sorted most of the issues but still have a list of them yet to be sorted.

Having under gone similar experiences to you I would highly recommend you to contact your supervisor(s) then and there if you have any problems. It is better to email them how you are getting on (especially if you have problems in sorting things out) and in case if you can ask help from a post-doc or some other colleague of your group, do not hesitate to do so. I am sure most of the people would be happy to help if not all of them. At this stage, as you mentioned, it is better to sort things out at the earliest possible. Of course, each and every one's project is different but there are quite a few people out there like you and me who have been a bit unlucky in having the tools right at the beginning of the project. A friend of mine had to wait for ethical approval for almost 2 yrs!

I hope all your set-backs/problems disappear soon and good luck with the rest of your work (up)

Hi Bilbo,

You have inspired me a lot and thank you very much for all your posts here! I hope you get well and good luck with all of you future endeavours (up)

Hugs,

Cindrella

Hi DanB,

This option sounds tempting. How long have you been on this job which you are on? If you get this new one when do you have to join? If I were you I will find out the latter (the reason being - it is always good to be on a job at least for one whole year - it definitely looks better on the cv rather than changing too many jobs too frequently) and definitely give it a go. I agree with Delta that 'you don't really know if a job is perfect for you until you are on it' but if the nature of the job sounds good to you and if it is in the same city as your parter is, there is no harm in applying and giving the interview. Perhaps you would get a better idea when you meet your prospective colleagues during your interview?

Good luck (up)

Hi Ady and Huhu, thanks a lot! He has recovered completely :-)

How are you both doing, sorry I have been away again. I hope both of you are getting on fine with the work :-)

I have completed one of the chapters of my work, working on the second and will be finishing by the first week of Nov. I am planning to hand in both of the chapters after polishing mid Nov. I have made time table for the next whole month. If everything goes ok and if I stick to the schedule I will have finished 2 descriptive chapters on algorithms and models (5000 words each) and half of two other main chapters by the end of Nov. This might sound too ambitious but I will have to!

Good luck every one!! (up)

Hi all, I'm sorry I haven't posted here in a while. My brother has had an accident couple of weeks ago and survived a head injury. He is alright now but it has been a difficult time for my whole family, especially for me and my sister as both of us are thousands of miles away from home.

Anyway, I am close to completing my first main chapter and will be finishing by this week end and will send it off for corrections to my supervisors. I need to write a small article for a journal news magazine and send it by today. I hope all are doing well :)

Hi Billy8181, I agree with every one else here. It varies across departments and in mine (applied physics) it is between 40,000 and 60,000. I am aiming at 65000 but don't know yet what I will end up with :-)

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Hi Vasanthi, I am emailing these articles to you now.

Hi Dr. Phdbug,

Congratulations on your massive achievement!!! Thanks for the heads up :-) It is much appreciated! I can totally relate to myself to your points as I have been experiencing everything you have mentioned.

Cheers!