I agree,

I would state

Who you are and what you're doing now;

What skills you have that would be relevant to the project;

Perhaps ask if you would be a suitable applicant to submit an application?

ejc x

Perhaps we should stick this at the top of the forum?

"Once you've looked into whether there are any benefits in becoming a postgraduate, whether you can pay for it, and where the best place is to do it, you may feel you've had enough of research. In that case, a PhD is probably not for you."

(From http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/news/story/0,,2275344,00.html )

Kirsty,

Are you registered on the other forum? I just don't like posting the entire details of my life on this public one and the other one allows pms.

ejc x

masters, yup I realised that but Kirsty said she will be in London.

Hi Kirsty and masters

I will be in London too, I'm not in cancer reserach, but I am in life sciences. My current degree is Biochemistry so I should (hopefully!) know what you're talking about!

I was surprised to get offers at the two places I was interviewed, because in each one I was floored by one question. In both cases I heard the same day by email so no waiting around.

If you're going to be in London perhaps we should have a meet?

ejc x

Ben

Have you asked your current tutor/supervisor, and/or any potential PhD supervisor?
I am a distinctly average but hard-working BSc student and I have an offer of a place for next year. I have heard (from the careers adviser at my Uni) that the skills that make you a top-of-the-class undergrad (and presumably also taught-course MSc student) are different from those that you need to complete a PhD, which made sense to me.

However I am not a current PhD student - others might take a different view.

ejc x

Hi Kirsty

That makes three of us (you, me and masters) starting this autumn).
I'm excited too :)
I was given the same advice about the summer (take a break) but I'm not very good at that.

Regarding LostInOz's comment, he (she?) is feeling down at the moment and from what I understand (although I may well retract this later) a PhD is not hell all of the time!

ejc x

A few things have helped me:

One sounds a bit trite but I was getting RSI (my wrists were hurting) during a job that involved a lot of typing. Occupational Health came and did an assessment of my workstation and gave me a couple of tips including raising the height of the screen (just put a few heavy books underneath) and using a wrist rest. That helped.

Pilates, even just one class a week, works wonders.

I use one of these:

http://www.jpmproducts.co.uk/retail_product_detail.asp?ClientGroupID=4&ProdID=62&ProdTypeID=50

for sitting on and as long as I use it properly (sit up straight and adjust the screen or chair height) I don't get back pain and if I don't use it I do. I feel a bit like a granny if I take it somewhere (new job or something) where I will be working at a pooter all day but it's worth it for the non-back-pain-ness.

Maybe any of the above will help?

Could you find ten that you really want to do, with supervisors you really want to do them with?

I read somewhere, somewhen, that someone had done a study into audience responses to PowerPoint presentations. The principle conclusion seemed to be that the audience is not able to read the slides at the same time as listening to the speaker. It is thus more effective to have something different on the slides to what you are saying - an illustration or diagram. I'm not sure how well this goes with an English studies presentation?

The other tip which I treasure regarding presentations is to finish before the time limit.

Best of luck

ejc x

malgwith,

Do you think that is a blessing? I had two interviews for different positions and I was grateful that each time half of the interview was taken up with something I had rehersed and knew about and some questions on the same!

The best thing I did to prepare for my interviews was to track down current/past PhD students from the group and ask them to do a mock interview with me, where they related their own experiences as an interviewee and gave me some insights into the potential supervisor's attitutdes, likes and dislikes, and interests.

If you already have access to the supervisor he might even be happy to help you arrange this - mine was as he knew before the interview that he was keen for me to work with him, and wanted the interview to be a success, IYSWIM.

ejc x

malgwith

Have you been asked to present anything at the interview?

ejc x

I second Krashty's advice - if you are cooking anything freezable, cook double and freeze the leftovers.
I find planning helps - it saves on trips to the supermarket (if you make a list of ingredients for a few meals - combined with cooking in bulk it saves a lot of time).
Do you live with anyone and you could agree to cook for each other one night a week - saves the other one having to bother?
Or - go out to eat...

bluetooth,

Does your institution have some kind of careers department or "women in science" representative you can speak to? I'm in a similar position to you, in terms of how old I will 4 years after my PhD starts, and in terms of when I would like to have children. I met the womens' careers rep in my college in a different context and she actively encouraged me to go to see her because of the difficulty that the place I am studying has in retaining female staff beyond post-doc level.

So there is support out there

ejc

Wajid

What do you mean "what is the right strategy" ?

If you already have a place and your start is imminent, do you mean "what should I do, from day one, such that I graduate successfully" ?

(I am curious as I am in the (almost) exact same position as yourself, although I will not be in the US, and I have wondered the same thing! Although I read some books on the topic and seem to have a better understanding now).

ejc x