Terrified, actually petrified now the date has arrived.

S

hey PinkNeuron,
150h DOES sound a lot, for 8k. Is it really 150 contact hours? Or rather, 150h of paid work which sums up to 8k, but this for example made up out of 25 class teaching hours, 25 office hours, 75 hours for preparation, and 25 hours for essay marking?

if you've actually got to teach 150 hours, i wouldn't do it. if you split that on 3 terms of 10 weeks, that's 5 hours a week - assuming that you need about 3 hours of preparation per one hour of teaching, that would make 20 hours of work already, and then there might be other duties such as office hours and essay marking...
if on the other hand you get 8k for teaching a class of 1h/week during 2 terms and a bit, plus preparation/office hour/marking, then that is well paid, i would say. i will also be teaching, 2h/week, for 23 weeks , plus the other duties, and will get less than half of 8k.

P

Hi shani
Thanks, the more I have been thinking this over, the more I am thinking, I know that I don't want to be tied down to the uni more than what my PhD needs. I have the family to consider and I am thinking that once or even twice a week is enough for me to go in for my PhD but work will push that to 3-4.
I would actually rather take a loan if need be than be tied like that.
Also, I am fitting this PhD around the family, so extra mental time spent outside it might just break the camel's back, so to speak. I would rather final non-mentally demanding work.

E

i know this feeling. try and relax...they are human beings as well. just be yourself and discuss about what you want to do, how and why. Just keep in mind that you dont have to be perfect or know everything.you just need to be enthusiastic and ready to learn more from your supervisors and your study.
enjoy meeting with academics...sometimes they are good fun.
good luck

T

relax dear. nothing to worry about, they just want to sass your topic out! time will come for you to reaaaallly panic!

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