Am I right in assuming that you are 21 years old? In that case, most students will be around your age anyway.

Dear Friend, if I were you, I would definitely not go for the PhD at Cambridge. It is a great institution but you will probably never complete your doctorate and/or go insane along the way. Trust me. Don't go down that route. You will regret.

Slightly off topic, but moderators, I see you censored the word I used but ignored one post above - I recommend an eye examination

Yes, that would be helpful. Considering that they might ask you: "...on page 23 you said..."

But as these things don't apply to every single student, of course they won't tell you and if they did, no one would embark on the exploitation game. As Lara said in another thread, you are effectively a hostage until you've defended your thesis. In the meantime, you are the slave and have no rights.

I agree with Missspacey. I also met my fair share of b*&%$£*$. People (or "fellow colleagues and students") who are not afraid to manipulate, sabotage, and blatantly attempt to block your progress or success. It's a good feeling to outperform this breed of single-minded geeks in the end.

What they don't tell you as well, not many make it and actually manage to submit a proper thesis. Some don't tell you that they cannot be bothered to read your drafts, provide valuable advice and don't care about your studies. Some only care about their own career and it is a common phenomenon to wave supervisors goodbye as they venture for pastures new, leaving you behind with an incomplete thesis and no guidance.

The only advice I can give is, don't use the maximum volume for recording. Use a medium volume, that will give you a chance to increase the volume whilst transcribing. Always put the recording device on a book and not directly on the table.

Oh, and I stopped buying water from the shops. The tap water where I live doesn't taste very nice but after a while I got used to it. Sometimes I flavour with various tea bags, so it tastes better.

Aldi, Lidl, Netto. And suddenly the weekly food bill is less than £28. If I have to go to TESCO & Co once in a while, I make sure I only buy from the bottom shelves, that's where the cheaper, less easy-to-reach articles are. For example, TESCO brand toothpaste for 17p, TESCO brand shampoo (1litre) for 19p instead of £2.29 for the brand names.

I learnt it in a compulsory university course at the age of 21. It took two semesters with exams at the end. We used some sort of very old fashioned looking software which had 20 different exercises. Also great for practicing at home. Just cannot remember the name of the software. Although a pain at the time, I am so glad I know how to do it. It's definitely a PhD relevant skill..

Sorry to disagree here but the majority of "lecturer" positions in the UK start at around 30k. Senior lecturer positions usually start at 36k, Readerships at 50k, Professorships anything between 50and 70k.

Is 30k a good salary, simply because RAs, TAs, Postdocs or other professions such as the plumber around the corner earn less? In my opinion, a big no. 30k is simply not enough in this country. I don't see the point of working so hard for this ridiculous amount of money and then paying horrendous taxes to lose it all again.

Wise words. There is an additional factor which I initially forgot about. Homesickness. I've been away from my home country for quite a few years now and I just cannot get rid of this feeling. I miss my homecountry more than I ever anticipated. After nearly four years, the feeling just does not disappear. Therefore, more than anything, perhaps the best place to be an academic, if at all, is at home. Personally I feel very sad about not being able to move anywhere, stay anywhere and be happy anywhere. But that's the way it is.

I don't think it has anything to do with the title. Two factors are important. Decent salary and Work/Life Balance. I'm sure there are countries where you get 5 months paid holiday and additional benefits such as a 9-4 environment with 1-hour lunchbreaks. In the UK, some idiots try to establish a culture where it is frowned upon to leave the office for a proper lunch break and to go home before 7pm. It will definitely backfire, once people go mad, society collapses and sick leaves increase.

I agree with Joyce. A comment could haunt you later. At the same time, I wonder if said academic should really get away with a stupid comment like that, in particular on a professional level. So I would send an email saying something along the lines: "I think this type of reply is neither professional nor appropriate".

On a private level I would ask said person to meet me outside the farmhouse at midnight to discuss any issues like real men.

Well done!
Keep us posted on settling in in the US and your new life over there.