Overview of eng77 on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of eng77

Signup date: 08 Jan 2017 at 6:11pm

Last login: 24 Feb 2024 at 6:19pm

Post count: 385

Recent Posts

still haven't found a postdoc position, feeling disheartened

eng77 385 posts
2 years ago

I am sorry to hear this. I agree with rewt that some graduates with zero publications get Postdoc jobs. If you are in the UK, have you considered a position for a year or two in continental Europe? The competition is not that high and in natural science the work will be more likely in English. Then you can go back to the UK after having some experience and publications.

Looking for Funding PhD

eng77 385 posts
2 years ago

Hello. I have to be a bit negative as getting accepted without funding does not mean anything. PhD is all about funding. A supervisor might easily accept you and ask you to search for fund. Just ignore him/her and search for a funded PhD.

What do you think of scientific editors for different publishing houses as a career path after PhD?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Hi. Financially I have no information. Intellectually it is somehow similar to patent attorney. It is wide experience not very specific like the PhD. If rewarding intellectually means doing something creative, I would not recommend. If you mean opportunity for promotion and taking more managerial and executive roles, it might be because working in a leading scientific editor is really something.

Can I use the same PhD accepted proposal in a different university?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From tulibenjamin:
Thank you. Do you think it would be a good idea to write to them and exclude the proposal from their database?

I would say it would be an overreaction. Just go forward and reuse it. The chance that it used in the old university is not particularly high.

Can I use the same PhD accepted proposal in a different university?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From tulibenjamin:
was enrolled into a PhD program in USA. I finished the courseworks, passed the comprehensive exam, submitted my proposal which was approved but because of some personal circumstances I had to exit the program. Now I am starting again somewhere in UK and I would like to work on the same topic and would like to use the same proposal, with a little bit of updating literature and ideas. However, the proposal was in Turnitin Database. Now would it be self plagiarized? This was neither published nor it did get any credit. They are all my original ideas and I am passionate about my topic. So back to the question, if I use the same proposal would it be called self-plagiarized?

If no one is continuing the subject in the original university, I see nothing against reusing it. As you can reuse your rejected proposal, no problem to use your accepted one if it is going no where anyway in the first university.

do you like what you do?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

I have not got a new job yet but working hard on it and apply everywhere. I will keep positive.
You are right. Everyone should seek own validation but sometimes it is good to hear the opinion of others because other perspectives can broaden your views.

Plan to withdraw the PhD since it is not really what I want

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From pary:
Thank you for the response

Since my program is funded all my tuition fees have been provided by the department. Do I have to pay them this money?

You do not have to pay anyone anything unless it is stated in the contract. I would say it is very rare if funded by university. It is not uncommon if you are funded by external government that they ask you for money back but universities I do not think so.

Exiting after third year Progression Review

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Sorry to hear about your situation. If you were in second year, I might have said quit. Now it might be a bit late to do it. What is the worst case scenario after one year? No PhD? why do you want to jump to the worst case scenario right away?
Writing two chapters is not something small. People get PhD not only because they want to stay in academia. I am out of academia and not happy about my incomplete PhD. I would quote you "hang tight, you have one year left". If it is more than one year, it will not be that long.

do you like what you do?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Congratulations rewt for the 1000th post :) . I am on my way to move to a new job. In my field, what I am looking for requires a lot of study and effort but I am happy to do this to get a job I like (not necessarily the dream job). I ask this question because I ask myself, does it worth this effort to work for something you are passionate about?
If I seek a less difficult job in my field, I might find it easier and get the same pay. But this is not what I want and I believe I will not be happy. Do anyone think that "loving your job" is that important? or is it something to earn a living? I ask this in the context of PhD students/graduates where more likely they are passionate about their work.

do you like what you do?

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Like the title, do you like what you do? The real question, how important to you is that you like your jobs. I mean here only the job description and daily tasks and not meaning the management or salary or closeness of work to home.
For me, I am a very passionate person who is very keen to do what he loves. I do not believe much in the quote "If you do not do what you love, love what you do". Of course one has to accept to a certain degree that they are not getting their dream job but this does not give the green light to give up our dreams. I believe if I cannot get 100% of my dream job, I would be satisfied with 60% match or it but not with 10%.

Suitable age for a masters in finance from UK -

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Well said before, age does not play a role. It is irrelevant information. 26 is too old? What are going to say when you are 70?
Age could be a concern if you are about to reach pension age.
I am sorry to point out that in many places around where the work culture is different, opportunities are limited, competition is tough, people are judged by their age. Luckily this is not the case in the UK.

Corrections after PhD viva without scholarship or job

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From anne_with_an_e:
Hi,
I am in my fifth year of PhD (in the UK). I had my PhD viva in February this year. After that, I have been given major corrections and six months to complete them. My scholarship ran out 2 years ago. I am surviving on my savings and some part time jobs. I am trying to keep up my morale to work through the corrections but it's getting unbearable - I don't even want to look at my thesis. My PhD was miserable - my supervisor was not at all supportive. I have no papers out of my PhD. My family members are getting impatient because I bring no money home. My marriage is strained as money is strained at home. They seem to consider last 10 years of my life completely unsuccessful and a total wastage. Before I started this PhD, I tried doing a PhD at another university - didn't work out - lost 2 years there. I have kept myself afloat with part time jobs and scholarship all these years but I don't know how long I can do this for. I feel extremely depressed and fed up. Lost confident in my ability to get this PhD done and get a proper job. Feels like I am in a prison of stress.
I guess I am just venting. If you have any advice, suggestions, thanks. Thanks anyway for listening.

I am sorry you are going through this. It is understandable. You have good reasons to feel this. But look at the other side. The ten years will not be a failure if you have your PhD degree. You have gone far, go a bit further. The last few miles are the most difficult ones.
Do you what is worse in searching for a job with PhD without publications? It is searching for a job WITHOUT PhD and also with no publications. Having the degree can help me telling a reasonable story about your university experience. It would be much harder without the degree.
All you have told is bad a depressing. The best way to overcome this is to "solve" the problem. You have to dig in this dirt and get it done. Look at the corrections. Address them with best effort. Seek the help of a postdoc or another researcher, whom you have a good relationship. Get it done. This is the only way out it.

Problems with Zoom

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From Amaryllis427:
I had a meeting with three professors via Zoom today and I couldn't get my screen to work. It was like a seance and I was the spirit. My primary supervisor didn't look happy, probably because it's the fourth Zoom technical malfunction I've had this year.

Has anyone else had similar problems? I feel so foolish for not testing it before the meeting.

I am sorry for this. It is bad but I bet it happens many times since Covid in most professions. The phrases of the year "you are muted", "Sorry I was muted", "You are cutting". If the sound was OK, this is already not bad. There were even worse instances where people did not know they are not muted or did not camera is on. Just try to test it in advance with a friend next time to increase the chances of good quality call.

minor error in Phd thesis spotted

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From nervousme:
Thank you for your reply. It does not impact the result in any major way, the result was supposed to be insignificant as compared to others as it is in the thesis. It is just a calculation error but I was feeling very guilty about it, although my supervisor or examiner should have spotted it. If I decide to correct it now it will be a big effort as my supervisor will make me re-do the measurements for this study, which is very difficult to do now and will easily cost me 3-5 months.
I am just feeling very nervous about my defense as I am getting very anxious and stressed. I fear a few minor errors will cost me my 7 years of hard work. My supervisor is already threatening me that any mistake and you will lose your degree.

Please help with some suggestions. I am very close to a breakdown.

Just forget about it. Act as you see it for the first time if they spotted it. It is not rare that these things happen.

minor error in Phd thesis spotted

eng77 385 posts
3 years ago

Quote From nervousme:
Hello,

I have just got my Ph.D. thesis after reviewing it with external examiners. They passed the thesis with minor corrections subject to successful viva (which will be conducted next month).
Now that I have incorporated all the minor points the reviewers asked for, I have just spotted a minor error where I have converted a number say 10 to the power of -12 to log incorrectly from a table given in the chapter to one of the figures (the table and figure are basically analogous). However other points in the figure are correct and match the table.
I am not sure what to do? Should I correct it, I will have to tell my supervisor, and then she will inform the university and create a major scene.

Please advise, I have suffered long in my Ph.D. Can this mistake cost me my degree?

Is it possible to do the correction and in addition change this figure? Does it impact other results? If it will be a big effort and it does not impact the hypothesis and main results, just ignore it.