Could you alternatively include only the first 2 parts in your PhD? Is it possible to publish part 3 as an independent study?

It is really not my field so I wouldn't know if it is acceptable to say climate conditions in Phanerozoic period...

Good luck with your work
Chin up!

Hi iqbalu,

I would definitely prefer someone knowledgeable who doesn't have time to help me, than someone very helpful who doesn't know how :)

If he can pull some money in for the project and spare one hour per month for feedback you will be fine. You don't need more. Good luck

Hi,

as far as I know, corrections are generally checked by the internal. Sometimes they don't even bother checking and ask the supervisor to check instead :)

I don't know why the internal wants to torture you (just pleasure I assume). Please don't let him terrorize you, and don't pay attention to rumors. If I were you, I would ask him to allocate a couple of hours and meet him in person, so that you can go through the list of the corrections together. Just to be on the safe side. Congratulations, you are already there!

Hi starsgoblue,

you seem like you are in the right track. I am in a similar situation as my funding runs out in September but I need a few more months before I finish writing up. I need to finish a few papers and apply for jobs (which so far has been a disaster). I also feel a little bit upset that I won't finish on time, but my amazing supervisor extended my funding for a few months. I feel tired and whatever I write is stupid. To explain how I feel imagine you had just being dumped by a boyfriend and multiply this feeling by 10.
Well, there is cure for all the above, it took me a while but here is the conclusion (you can thank me later):

GRIN AND BARE IT.
If it doesn't work, then think it was your decision to start the stupid PhD, and now you have to finish it.
If it doesn't work go in front of the mirror and slap yourself in the face. Repeat as necessary.

Good luck :)

Hi Giara,

I started my MSc 4 years after I finished my undergrad degree. It was a good decision, as I managed to get some working experience, saved some money, and made a well-informed decision.

Is there any chance you choose a supervisor you have already worked with? Just to avoid any nasty surprises...

Hi justapostgrad,

first of all check if you have to pay fees. In my uni we can upgrade to CRS (continuing research student) status for one year after the end of funding, so we don't have to pay fees :)

I can't really advise you on the publications as it is a personal decision. I know plenty of people who first had their VIVA and published soon after. I am very insecure, so I try to publish first and then have the VIVA, even if it means that it will take me a bit longer to complete.

Good luck

Hi Spiderpig,

I agree with bewildered, journals do have higher standards, otherwise all PhD students would publish in top ranking journals which is not the case. I also submitted a paper earlier in the summer, and one reviewer suggested rejection. My confidence was at floor level, as I am supposed to finish in a few months time! At the end I had to do heavy revision on the paper. Overall, it was a positive experience as 1) my supervisor was convinced that we should use more elaborate statistical analysis 2) the comments made the paper stronger. So... revise and resubmit! It is a steep learning curve :)

I was waiting for a good three or four months to hear back from the committee whether I got funding. It was nerve wrecking. I am sure you won't have to wait that long.

Hi,

maybe this is completely irrelevant, but if you have participants that they are dependent (like patients clustered in hospitals or in neighborhoods), then you might use multilevel logistic regression ..
Just a suggestion :) Then you can find Intra-class correlation, odds ratio and CI%

Hi there,

Exciting times!

Advices:
1. Get some proper holidays :) At least a month! Make sure you start the PhD tanned and beautiful with nice shinny hair (OK, I am joking about the last bit, but be prepared for some hard work in the next three years)

2. A good laptop is essential and you can be mobile (work at home, work in the library). A PC kind of limits you to one place. And oh boy, is it boring. (University gave me a laptop, it was part of my stipend.) Unless you have some serious simulations/ modelling, then a powerful PC might be the only solution

3. If you have some time for reading, buy Andy Field's "Discovering Statistics". It is a perfect book to get your head around mostly quantitative stats. You will probably need them regardless the topic.

4. If you want to read something about the PhD, get a good general book about your discipline.

5. Regarding software, you can play around with LateX, especially if your PhD is full of equations. Word can be annoying. I kept my references in Endnote Office, and Mendeley. They are very easy to use.

6. We have free printing in the department, and I read papers from the screen, so a printer would have been redundant.

Good luck with your PhD

At least in our university there is not a rule like there is for employees like post-doc, administration staff etc. It depends on the supervisor, some students work from home, while some others are under a control-freak supervisors that expect them to be in the lab everyday including weekends. I very often feel like a low-paid labour force, with no rights on maternity leave or sick leave or anything.

The first year I didn't get any time off, during the second year I probably got 6 or 7 weeks, and now as I am supposed to complete in a few months I think I will get some time off after a submit a first draft. I am quite worried about reminding myself that life is good outside of the office :)

massive congratulations!!!!

I am currently in this state of mind you are talking about where I feel that I will be writing FOR EVER, this thing seems like it will never finish! I also feel that whatever I write is just plain stupid....

It is good to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel :)

Hi!

I also received a rejection letter for a lecturer position just now....

I have mixed feelings.
Maybe it is me, and the horrible application I submitted... But I am struggling to finish the PhD (sad, sad story) and I didn't spend a lot of time preparing for the applications

Maybe it is because I don't have a PhD yet, I wasn't even considered for an interview

Maybe my topic is too specialised, and too multidisciplinary

Maybe there were too many applicants, and competition is tough....I have a few publications and limited teaching experience, and obviously this is not enough.

Of course none of the above excludes the other (so it is all of them together)

I wasn't dying for this job, but still, I have difficulty dealing with rejection. My confidence is knocked down already, as I constantly feel like a failure in the writing up stage, I feel that everything I write is stupid and even a primary school child would do better.

Any words of support? Advices? In September I will have to get a job because funding runs out and I have NO savings. *manipulative sobbing*

Hi,

are you funded? you need to check with the regulations, normally you can't do more than 20 hours per week.

Do you have the time to work? In my second year I had to do the case studies, so it would have been impossible....

Check with your university services, as they can help you with the cv. There are different CVs for industry and academia. In many jobs you will need to write a cover letter, which takes up sooo much time (and is boring).
You can search for Research assistant jobs in your department, some students are offered teaching jobs (but not getting paid).

Hi evil seagull,

wow! that's a long post! Well, calm down.

First of all:
1. What does exactly your contract say? How much time do you have to spend in the office?

I know from other people doing an EngD that it can vary, some people spend a day or two per week in the office, some others just ignore them and never go to the office, and lastly some few never come to the uni (main reason being their offices offer lunch too :) Worse comes to worse, just spend the time you HAVE to (like a prison sentence) and then disappear.

2. Don't quit until you get a job. Nothing guarantees that you will find a job that is better than this corporate BS.

3. Talk with your academic supervisor. Explain to him that working full-time in an office is NOT a PhD, and he might be able to support you. I know of a person who fought with his sponsor for some reason, but our supervisor managed to keep him anyway.

So yeah, try to be calm and try to keep positive. It is not all that bad, as you already said, you get some professional experience too. Believe me, you will need it even when applying for academic jobs.