hi im still new to this forum and am very pleased to have found this as its helping me in getting to know other PhD students who have similar problems, issues etc ..

out of curiosity i wanted to ask whether anyone is doing research in oceanography or geology ? my research is based on marine geology... id like to know if anyone else is doing research related to this area

thanks! :)

Clairette.. its true you live and learn.. thats life :) and thats how we have come so far in this academic stage.. its all about trial and error .. its good you've got a long break before you see these students again... by then they might have changed or not .. it doesnt matter its their life .. you do your best and deliver the best lecture possible but I would not tolerate any rude people in class, i know it might sound as im a strict person but once when i used to teach English to foreign people i've had a very cheeky guy in my class and at the end of it i couldnt tolerate his rudeness and snarky comments and sent him out of class, obviously the guy wanted me to kick him out so that he could go to the beach.. after he left i turned to my other students and told them they could join him as well if they wanted to because i only want people who want to learn in class. Its not a matter of being good in class or not its a matter of trying of having an effort to learn...

so ye if i had your class and the same guy says something i would tell him ... that if he wanted to he could have asked his friend to record the lecture and give it to him :) case solved

wow that student who told you u must have recorded the lecture is sooo rude!!! :@ You know you did your best and you can always improve.

i understand your non appearance might have caused you to get off on the wrong foot with these students. I know as at my University this is NORMAL for lecturers not to turn up... but hey we get a day off and thats it we move on. Its rude to talk angrily to lecturers. I just hope i wont be faced with such, tho i have been faced with cheeky students but i never take anything what they say at heart unless its serious... i know i always do my best and am doing nothing wrong so the problem is the student, especially if its only 1 out of a hundred.

i understand you on the level that your friends who are undergrads working 9-5 jobs and buying cars and houses... yes actually all my friends are in that phase .. while im penniless waiting for my grant every 6 months, i feel left out or a failure next to them.

I have the same fears as you :-( im still 5 months into my PhD and as much as I work on it i dont feel i can accomplish anything and my motivation is lacking. My supervisor is extremely helpful and its his motivation that makes me stick to this PhD. I constantly think i should stop and maybe get a job in the area as many people think im too young to be doing a PhD (im 22 years old). But on the other hand when i look at all of this i say at the end of it all I will be in a better position and would be proud of myself if i make it .. if not at least I said I tried.

Wow you'r doing a PhD at Cambridge you must have deserve it.. so dont give up now .. my funds also run out in 3 years .. worst part if i dont finish my PhD i'd have to return all (50,000 euros) back to my scholarship fund. Dont give up... you earned you'r place and if you lack motivation.. take a break in the sense of going back to work with a fresh mind :-) always works for me.

take care

emz :-)

hello all,

thnaks for sharing your thoughts really helped me thinking others can do it .. so can I :-) i'll start doing schedule and focus on my stuff much more. Regards to form filling .. yes .. up till this morning i was called in by the secretary claiming ive got an envelope addressed to em in her office.. I went... to find a form i had filled in last week about my reimbursement stating i did not attach a receipt.. therefore i had to go to the finance office to show them that they either need a pair of glasses or a course in reading because the said receipt was there attached !! .. having to fly within 3 weeks i sent my purchase form for flights 2 weeks ago.. yesterday the finance office phoned me telling me that they received the form late that id have to re do the whole thing from scratch since flights would have changed in availability and price. Seriously the staff at my university are all just sitting pretty doing nothing .. another thing.. i work from home .. because due to lack of space.. the faculty cant give me a desk space but promised me a desk space once a new floor within the department will be available for post grad students the works started last August .. up till now... they'r still working or better still sleeping..

but keeping to the original message... many thanks for all your help guys :) its kind of sad when people do not understand what a PhD is ..not even my friends! most of them have jobs and can travel and go out etc.. and i constantly have to remind myself that im no longer an undergrad student but now have a much more important position in academia. Maybe it just takes time to adjust .. from my undergrad i went straight to doing my MSc abroad then after finishing a month later i started my PhD

i find this forum very interesting for me to know that im not alone ... considering ive got 3 more years to go

thanks lots and wishing you a productive week to all :-)

ecas :-)

Hello all,

I've been thinking whether to write this or not but thought why not share what im going through. Im 22 yrs old, started my PhD last October and I've been in a this current relationship since December... going to be 3 months by this Friday. Sometimes i feel as if i have time for everything but not my thesis and its bothering me a lot. I spend week days reading some articles and organising my scholarship fees filling out forms etc... and going to the gym and have badminton practice twice a week... then during the weekends i spend all days either sleeping or out with my boyfriend. Basically i meet up with my boyfriend during the weekend only and sometimes he insists on meeting during the week... he works 9 - 5 job .. i tried working during those times so that in the evening i could meet up with him but as i spend all morning contacting the university as everytime something crops up with my scholarship thing either to fill a form or something... and therefore i spend the entire evening on research and dont have time to meet my boyfriend as id rather then spend all weekend with my boyfriend... however i feel as he doesnt understand the pressure im in as for instance this week i need to hand in my first chapter.

i dont know if im wasting his and my time in this relationship or should break up and focus on my studies only .... I've had many guys asking me out but turn them down as im afraid of failing my studies thinking that eventually into the relationship he wont understand how much time research takes and id give up time for him rather than my studies. I would like to get married and have a family but also have a PhD and a successful career .. or maybe its true as they say... you cant have everything in this world :-(

sorry for all this but im really stuck :s

ecas0002 :-(

Hello everyone :)

Im also new, started last October and can confess to have not done much work in the first 2 months and now im goign at full speed coz of a deadline i have been given. So if u'r like me i work mostly under pressure. Same as you Lullaby my fieldworks are taking place in d 2nd and 3rd year so for now its just reading and setting objectives and methodologies for the years ahead. At the moment i have not been given an office and its really hard working at home where I get distracted by stuff very easily. I end up on facebook or looking up youtube xD

but i'd like to ask is it normal for d 1st year to be taking things easily? especially when only literature review is involved?

Many thanks wishing all a productive week :)