I am in a science PhD: we always publish as a team. The first author is the person who did the work, last person is the boss. Generally the more authors, the more important the publication.Clearly things work different in your field.

Hi Emaa,

I was in a similar situation a few years back, and soon enough I found myself working in pyjamas and turning the computer on while I was making my coffee... I felt like a house-troll without a defined life between working and not-working. And of course I started having sleeping issues, because I could not relax in my work place :(

You have probably thought about it yourself too, but if you have enough space you could have a designated study room ? Wake up, have a shower, dress up, put make-up on, have breakfast and go to the room. Or if this is not possible start using the Library. Libraries are great because they have opening-closing hours that can help you organise your life :) (especially crowded libraries with lame internet connection: you need to be on-time to find a seat, and you only use the internet if it is absolutely necessary)

Just change supervisor. Find someone you can work with. Don't worry about the politics. Don't be aggressive, be as smooth as possible.

Good luck with therest of the PhD journey

Depends really, I am involved in a labour-intense project, and I work most evenings and weekends. Now that the fieldwork is over it is so much better. However, I always try to make time for exercise, my mates and holidays.

Good luck with your viva!

On the other hand, I am isolated in the department, as I am pretty much the only person that cares about my topic. I struggled with intellectual isolation during the first year because even my supervisor would find the details of my research tedious.

I was so happy to find other researchers in the same area that I couldn't stop discussing about my research. A friendly ear helps you develop.

If your examiners are external from another city, they put it on a Friday to spend the weekend in the new city :) At least this is what I would do, rather than spent a day commuting back and forth! Good luck!!!!

We can do it!

The plan:

Write 500 words per day
finish analysis by Christmas (at least descriptive statistics)

Hi!

I don't have experience on PhDs in US, but I can offer some advice:
1. The first year in a new country is the toughest. You meet your friends, family and in my case I missed the sea the most. But once you get accustomed, you get to know new people/culture/food you wouldn't have known otherwise. It expands your horizons.

2. Don't listen to other people in the lab: when I first joined the PhD all the older students told me that "I will never finish on time" and other rubbish advice, like "don't work too hard or you 'll burn yourself out". None of them apply. You know yourself better.

3. Scientific papers are not boring if you know what you are looking for. If you don't they all look the same.

4. The vacation thing seems strange. This year I took almost 7 weeks off - without including a couple of weeks for conferences. And I promise I still meet the deadlines.


Anyway, if still taking these things into consideration you think that things will not improve, I recommend that you start looking for an alternative immediately, and quit as soon as possible, because human years are valuable and are not to be wasted.

Hi Sandian,

I am not a native English speaker however I am doing a PhD in a UK university. A big advantage was that I was exposed to English through movies, songs etc over most of my life. I don't think that it would be equally easy for me to study in a German university, although my qualifications in German are higher than my English. My German is terribly rusty at the moment, I think I remember less than 5 words.

Anyway, coming to England, I thought that I would hear the BBC accent my teacher had. In the first few months I could not even communicate in the supermarket. I could only assume that they were asking me if I needed a bag.

During the first year I struggled with my written English, as a consequence of both my background and the language. English was an additional barrier, as I was not used to express myself with small, direct sentences. In my mother tongue it is common for a sentence to be as long as a paragraph.

What really hurts me is that in English I have lost all the different shades to express thoughts and emotions. I feel part of me is amputated and cannot be put in words, because words do not have the same meaning (regardless what the dictionary says). And I feel this has taken toll on my personal relationships.

Anyway, writing for research does not require this level of detail. Most of the words are technical words (and what a horror! most of them I cannot translate back to my mother tongue) and it is now easier to speak about my research in English! I learned how to structure sentences and managed to publish a few papers. I can still do with a little bit of help from my native English speaker supervisor, but sometimes his corrections are too advanced even for an English speakers :)

Good luck! I am sure that after a few rough months it will get easier and easier.

Massive Congratulations!
I think this is as good as it gets, especially if you take into account that now you can publish papers and a book out of your work!

I also feel amazed that you can juggle family life together with a PhD!
I can barely manage to spend one evening per week with my friends, and I struggle preparing one hot meal per day...

Any tips for successful PhDing?

There are no tips. You just put your head down and finish.

Life outside of the lab is amazing (from what I 've heard).

Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am quite surprised really, I will be 34 to 35 when I finish my PhD and I never thought that my age will be an issue.
I wanted to take a break from studies and get some work experience. I also needed to put some money on the side, as I don't come from a wealthy background. I can't see why someone would be penalised for these choices.

I contacted the companies by phone and asked for permission to collect my data in their premises. I motivated them with money too :)
Out of the companies who agreed to participate, I picked the most enthusiastic ones.

Good luck!

I don't know if you should move away from your area of interest- this is really up to you.

I can say, however, that if you decide to stay with your current supervisor, working on his funded project will actually be great for you. You will have money for equipment, fieldwork expenses etc that you wouldn't have otherwise being self-funded. He will care more about your work, because he will depend on you.

Good luck with your decision.