When days of pain are dull and long,
and nights of lonesome thought never end,
then I sit here and sing my song,
the PhD blues - my last remaining friend.

The data seems to satisfy,
never anybody sitting high,
on the supervisor throne,
they critisize me without measure,
and seem to derive so much pleasure,
from telling me how bad it is
my work, writing, style and all the lack,
of criticality they miss,
and all I think is :what the f***?

Yeah, Aloha was actually walking around as a newborn baby making notes about the hospital site.

The building can't be brandnew unless aloha was born over the past two years.

I'm so funny today...

Pamplemouse, you talk absolute rubbish and have no clue what you are talking about. I reckon you don't even hold an MBA?

This is about MBA - a rather unique qualification which is clearly NOT suited for online/distance learning. The reason is that the main benefits derive from the competition among classmates, as mentioned above as well as the case study discussions from different industry and cultural backgrounds.

I understand your point and I certainly don't want to depress enthusiastic "beginners" through my comments. I just feel that there is a lot of dishonesty involved in people recruiting for PhD research and academia. It certainly doesn't help those who start if they think it's all as nice as it looks on the package or job description.

Quite frankly, the years of research have made me tired, bitter, and lonely - of course I'm thinking about an exit. I'm sure I'm not the only one who shares similar experiences. I'm not a quitter, that's the only reason why I was still hanging around to complete the job.

Congratulations to those who are still happy and good luck to the new beginners. Jouri is out.

Never ever?

Even not when you were a child?

Try a Cheeseburger tomorrow, you don't know what you missed.

Friends, it might be a hot topic now.

But after 3-4 years of painstaking research both the topic and your initial enthusiasm will have cooled down, considerably.

Or, as in your case, AcademicMan, that life with four times less money but additional children costs is more fun?

My guess is, you are lying to yourself if you say that life is pretty damn well good - perhaps the only way to cope.

I don't speak from personal experience but the things I've heard from fellow PhD students with children led me to believe that it is no fun for anyone involved, including the children who may not see their parent as often as they wish. Although there might be exceptions, who with a clear mind would argue that the PhD challenge plus the children challenge combined make life any easier?

Another advice - don't think about irrelevant things for two months or more. Your PhD success will, partly, depend on your ability to make quick decisions.

Dunleavy is useful. But it is highly annoying how he tries to be PC all the time by saying things like "every student HERself needs to decide..."

I think it is discrimination against men. Those who read the book know what I'm talking about.

"I think I have the academic capabilities"

Heard this sentence before. Usually from people who expected the PhD to be as smooth of a ride as their previous school years, Undergrad studies or Master studies. People who subsequently did not manage to complete a PhD, were taken by surprise when they realised it is so different and perhaps harder compared to anything they ever did and subsequently gave up.

Don't want to sound too negative, but the PhD is not meant to be and rarely ever will be the icing on the cake of high achievers. It's a different challenge which may not lead you toward success but deep into the lonely halls of research. Be clear about this.

Research is never "hot". Quite the opposite, research is soul-destroyingly boring 99% of the time. Also, are you sure you really want to do a PhD if you don't even know what you're interested in?

Sounds you have no clue, with all due respect.

Olivia, I'll answer your question here as it's quite off topic. 10 years ago, I was a shy teenage boy who couldn't look people in the eyes and had no friends. Today, I can speak freely and with confidence to audience of 300+ and proudly say my name. Me and my name, we've come a long way, this is who I am. I struggle to understand how some women can give their maiden names up so easily. If I spoke to an audience and told them a different surname I felt like it is not me who is speaking. Me and my name will never part.

Having said that, I feel like I've been in an unhappy marriage for the past three years, my PhD and me certainly had an unhealthy relationship. I'm looking forward to the Viva to say farewell to my thesis and never "speak" to her again.