Don't worry re: lack of replies, the forum is very quiet at the moment. Sometimes I think I should make a scatter graph of views/replies to see if there's a correlation; but then again I'm a nerd.

Yeah, it just seems odd that your supervisor let you write the paper, but doesn't seem to trust you to write an upgrade report. Something similar happened to me as an undergrad: my project supervisor refused to look at my thesis draft till the day before hand in, then told me it was "shit" and that I'd be up all night fixing it. Nice chap. They really need to allocate time to go over this with you properly: that is their responsibility.

They seem pretty inconsistent: if you are good enough to write a journal paper in your first year, then I find it hard to believe that your upgrade report is that bad. And what's this about not reading it cos it's not a final version?! What's the point of reading only the final version?

Sounds like they have lazyitis to me.

Good luck Jouri!

Apply anyway, and write a cover letter.

At my university we have a very active cancer drug discovery group, funded by Cancer Research UK. The head of the group had a 3rd (I say "had" becuase he passed away recently, but he managed the group for 15 years). One postdoc has a third, two of the PhD students have 2.2s and the others, 2.1s. No-one has a first, and yet this group is very successful, and their discoveries have made the national press on more than one occasion.

The leader of the group has a firm conviction that imagination and effort are more important in research than the ability to to pass exams: hence the willingness to take on people with less than stellar grades.

No-one's made more mistakes than me, I can tell you (and I'm still making them). Everyone is (except the fibbers).

It's not unusual for a supervisor to self-fund experiments whilst gaining enough data to write a proposal: but self-funding doesn't mean it comes out of her personal pocket - it will be contingency money, or leftover from student budgets.
I don't think she seems like the sort of person you could work with long-term, so I'd be looking for something else. But don't take it personally.

He sounds like a dreamer to me; but the problem with dreamers is that they can be full of great ideas, but they are not good at taking responsibilty and doing the day-to-day grind. They need to be counterbalanced by a more practical person. Do you have a second supervisor? You should.

He sounds a lot like one of our academics; full of his own genius but unable to handle serious work.

Ha ha! Good on you. I am thinking of ways to fund myself when (if) my PhD finishes, and I am definitely not going with these people. Reluctant to go with industry full stop now. It's not even like they put a lot of money in; most came from a government grant. They made a much smaller contribution.

They're just so pushy; which may be a necessary characteristic of business men/women but it's annoying for the rest of us.

Well, my 1st supervisor thinks we should refuse, on the grounds that by using a PhD student for their analysis rather than employing a technician, they have already saved themselves a lot of money (as the technician would demand higher wages).

Yay, great news. I'm pretty excited to see how the world will change as a result of this; not just military-wise, but in relation to policies on Africa. Bush and cronies withdrew support to African aid agencies that advocated contraception, for example. I hope Obama gets on that soon!

Hi H;

Glad you think so too! My supervisor's pretty busy today so I've told him briefly: he isn't keen on the idea (unless we can employ someone part-time to do the work, but that will cost money and I guess the sponsors won't want to spend any more). When he has more time I'll ask him at more length if we have the right to refuse, under the terms of the contract. I don't mind doing a bit of extra analysis, but not tons.

Aargh...I do apologise but I'm moaning again. I met the industrial people - my supervisor was unable to attend - and they're talking about "maximising returns on their investment". So their idea to raise money is to offer a contract analytical service (me, in other words) to competing labs. Direct quote: "We'll ask them (the other labs) if they'd also like to send their samples to Juno - for a fee". Naturally that fee goes direct to the sponsors, not us.

I really can't see how I'm going to complete any PhD research when I'm doing that much commercial stuff. For the first time since I started I begin to think if quitting now is the best option. I know that the sponsors put money in but there must be a limit to how much work we owe them in return:-s

How to recognise a PhD student...other than the lank hair and aura of suppressed desperation?

I've been reading "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama; he talks about developing "inner stability", so that external events don't affect your feelings. For example, if someone is rude to you, you think "Great! Here's a good opportunity to practise patience"; instead of bopping them on the head.

Easier said than done, though.

To clairfy: it was the toothache that was painful, not the dental work. That was (honestly) painless.