Despite the fact that i am currently feeling really quite anxious about finishing writing up and looking for a job, there isn't a snowballs chance in hell of me starting down this route again. I want my life back!!!

Quite honestly, i think it depends on the subject, the lab (if lab-based, obviously), the department, the university and the country. I have heard rumours of people finishing in 3 years - but i don't actually know anyone who has done it. I'm currently at 4.5 years - hoping to submit asap (which quite honestly puts me at about 5 years to complete). But it has not been an easy five years - and i was not signed off sick for any of that time. So, it happens, and when/if it happens to you, you just deal with it, if funding runs out and you can afford the time to work elsewhere at the same time, then that will see you through. Or something else will happen to sort things out in the end. I don't think anyone wants to be at this any longer than is necessary - but, as i have been told since primary school, don't compare your results (or time, or progress in this case) with that crazy student who tells you they will finish in 6 months (sometimes people lie about it- i have known that to happen more often than people finishing in 3 years).

And, in years gone by, people in my department (actually maybe just my lab) were taking 6, 7 years to finish.

You do what you have to do, unless it starts to hurt you physically or mentally.

Best of luck - you're not alone in the struggle!

Sneaks - the transparent sheets the best idea i've heard so far. Although i think maybe i will have to get my supervisor to make the last call on it - my idea of what looks ok is sometimes a bit different to the college guidelines (which are sometimes not as informative as they should be)

Yep, would really really like to scrap all the stats – apparently it has a function though ?!?! Damn that…

The other suggestion is good – however, there are 32 groups of data, so I think 32 extra pages of data might be a little annoying ?

Thanks for the thoughts though!

Hi all,

I am currently trying to get graphs together, to include stats - except it looks like a stats programe vomited stars all over the image. I havea graph which is made of 8 columns and each one contains 5 sub groups - they all have between 3 and 9 significances to illustrate (within a main group). It does not look nice, i think it is bordering on excessive - but maybe i am being too much of a control freak.

Has anyone any suggestions of what is acceptable? Or has anyone ever seen any papers with crazy looking stats on it (and possibly thought 'man, that is ugly...')

I dont know what to do, becuase it will take a long time to fix it all - and may well have to be changed anyway...

Cheers

We have it in print - no digital access

So, i don't really understand what topic you are doing, but since it is lab-based and somewhat biological, i can understand that sense of being lost with techniques. I am nearing the end of writing up a PhD where i too had to teach myself most of the techniques i needed - and it is far from fun. My suggestion, talk to people and ask for help and ideas, if necessary follow people around in a non-annoying way if you need to learn a technique from them (but be grateful, appreciative and nice to them because it takes time and energy to teach new people). Hang about the lab. And when you need to learn about certain equipment or things then that is the time to learn. No need to know where the acid is hidden unless you need it, right? (Although, health and safety training is a must)

Persist, 5 months is really early on in the PhD, but the earlier you realise that you are in charge of your research, the better!

(But, fundamentally, i do believe that guidance is necessary at all stages of a PhD, although you can do it with less than adequate supervision)

yep, this is far from fun. I am particularly slow at everything today becuase of the sun - i've had to scale back the pomodoros to 15 minutes, and barely/rarely getting through them.

No fun, no fair.
And while i love a bit of sunshine, i am looking forward to the rest of the week, where the weather will be a bit less nice. And at least then everyone else will be at work too - not just us crazies!

Yep, go explain the situation to your supervisor. Sometimes they get more joy out of admin staff than mere students - crazy, but true!

There seems to be a great deal of sadness about the place today. So, i thought maybe we could share those little things that make us happy, or even distract us happily for five minutes?

Two songs cheered me up today - go check them out on youtube
Paolo Nutini- pencil full of lead
James Brown - get up offa that thing!

Hi MissinHome,
I just wanted to share a story with you. I did the last few months of lab-work for my PhD in another country. I'm back at home now, writing up, and not a day goes by when i don't think about my time there. I felt lonely and isolated most of the time and cried because of it (most of this was down to the fact that i essentially lived alone, and was in a country where english was not the first language, and i could not speak theirs. Which makes lunchtimes and teabreaks extremely difficult). And yes, a lot of people are not too considerate of those who are new to a country and alone - i can vouch for that.

But,there are a LOT of things i miss about it. The freedom is probably the best thing about a move like that - you get to do what you want, when you want, no questions asked. You will obviously work a lot, and that will keep you going. The early days are the hardest - settling in properly takes months, getting to know people takes time too. When i look back now, the people i miss the most are the ones who kept me talking from my very earliest days, although i did not realise how much they did it at the time.

Persevere, have fun, talk a lot, email and call people at home, do things that you want to do - because, i promise, it does get better. (And if you're really lucky, you can be a freak like me who cried because i was there, and then cried because i did not want to come home).

It will be worth it!

Go for it! The worst thing that can happen is that you won't get it, and then it will be a really good experience for you to communicate your passion for the job, and any job (which i think is a really important thing!). And, by applying for it, there is a chance that you just might get it, and any of the other problems about getting there can be overcome. Just do it!!!

I predict that if you get enough sleep it will get better. I have a friend who develops a turn in her eye when she gets tired.

And staring at a screen does not help the health of your eyes at all...It will be worth it though?!?!

Squiggles - you have just prompted me to finally post something on this forum! I think i can understand what you are going through - i feel like you were just describing my supervisor, and i am writing up at the moment too (but further behind you). You need to remember that you have already made it 99.98% of the way through this - and if you've done that much, i am 100% sure that you can do the rest. Be confident in your abilities and what you have taught yourself over the past few years - you have the control over the thesis, so do yourself proud. I know what it is like to have a lack of support that comes from a 'scatterbrained' supervisor - it is an incredibly difficult thing to deal with - even on a day to day basis, never mind for the bigger thesis-related things. But you can do it! Remember this - and most importantly, it sounds to me like you need a break from things. Even to meet friends for an hour, an evening, a day. The rest will do you good. Chin up, you're almost there!!!!