That is very interesting, thanks for bringing this up. I think the people responsible for www.findaphd.com should spend more time checking if adverts are still valid, universities are usually very slow and bueraucratic. A phonecall to check would be useful. But then they will probably be too "busy" for this. Although it's part of their responsibility to only show adverts which do exist.

They will say : " oh, it's actually the universities who send the ads in, we have no influence". Nonsense. If findaphd accepts an advert, it is their DUTY to regularly check it's validity!

And what's the "d" instead of "the" all about? Get rid of that, if you can.

but then, can doctoral research ever be healthy? It nearly drove me off the edge and others too. In general terms, work only if you REALLY do need the extra cash, otherwise try to focus on the PhD. Because, the earlier it's over, the healthier for your health.

I started with Lit Review (16 months write up time), then methodology (8 months write up time), then analysis, discussion, findings (about three months write up time), then introduction and conclusions (about a month).

The order is dependent on the subject and many other factors,but it makes sense to start with a literature foundation. You can then work with this foundation and it will help you to make more sense of your data. it will also guide you in the right direction whilst you collect data.

Continuous reading and knowledge of papers in the area will be important throughout the entire duration of your doctoral studies. So why not writing this chapter whilst you go along and have to read anyway?

Most definitely. I say that because I was supposed to work 5 hours a week, but as in the nature of things I ended up getting more and more work. If they say 10 hours, be prepared that it will a considerably higher amount of hours in real terms. If it's teaching, don't forget preparation. If it's lab-based, don't forget the time to prepare for experiments.

From my own experience, I just wouldn't recommend it. In fact, I would even warn you. The nature of a full-time PhD is the danger to take on additional work whereas three years of full-time CONCENTRATION and FOCUS (sorry, no bold function on this forum) are needed.

1) Remember, this is August. Most academic staff are taking their holiday around this time, so five weeks sounds pretty normal. If they don't reply by September, you can enquire with a secretary.

2) Yes, it will interfere. There are many reasons to do part-time jobs but people can tell you what they want - it will eat up valuable time during the PhD and is therefore not advisable. Depending on the nature of the job and/or the weekly hours, this might be different, of course.

Why do you want to do a PhD? Or why are you calling yourself Dr. at the moment?

Chris, before you go sleeping, please make a few back ups (Pen drive, email and so on)

How many supervision meetings did you all have during your PhD. I just counted and realised that over the course of three years I only had 29 supervision meetings! In total.

I'm still up

I don't think it's the middle of the term right now. But even then, supervisors are entitled to take time off without checking emails or answering phone calls.

But they should keep their promises and write legible

My university currently resembles ghost town in the sky, North Carolina.

There is nobody, expect some cleaners and security guards. August is holiday time for academics, it seems.

Just giving you an overview of my personal experience. I wrote four out of 9 chapters within the first two years. That was 40k.

The actual final writing up until I reached my word limit of 80k (the writing of the analysis 40,000) took me exactly 12 weeks or three months. Then it took me a further 7 weeks for cosmetic changes until I submitted it to my advisor. Subsequently, my advisor took 8 weeks to read the first full draft. Following that, it took me a further 4 weeks to implement the required changes. Then, my advisor took another three weeks to read it again. I will need a further 4 weeks to implement the changes (if I can decipher the comments). Then I will submit.

So, despite working very hard, the period for writing up the last 40k until submission is 27 weeks, in my case. that's nearly 7 months. So my advice is to always plan extra time. Supervisors are not the most reliable individuals on the planet.

I agree with Golfpro.

I have to say that I hate these "ethnicity for statistical purposes only" questions on forms. What's the point? If they really don't matter, why are they on job application forms? I think it's hypocritical to ask somebody if they have a a white british, british-pakistani or white "other" background in the first place. In a non-racist society, these questions should not be asked because everybody should be treated equally! Before everybody gets mad now or disagrees, this is just my opinion and I will never change it on this matter!