Haha, don't to upset you sneaks but recently I was asked to change to American spelling for a journal then when I had done it and sent it back all American-ized the final proof came back with a request to change back to English endings for words! I was fuming lol! Good luck, KB

Okay, I am not complaining- I am delighted that the hardest paper I have ever written has been accepted after a long drawn out revise and resubmit job!! I was dreading having to resubmit it again to another journal! But it's a horrible theoretical framework/conceptual paper, and quite honestly I hope I never have to read it again. That aside, I can't actually believe it's going to be published. I mean really, it's just a paper by a little PhD student criticizing the whole field and putting forward a conceptual model that I think would be beneficial for future research, and comparing it to current models and methodologies to highlight why I think it's a good idea. It just feels as though I am doing something that I am nowhere near qualified to do, let along write about and have it published. It's not a fantastic journal, but a perfectly respectable one, and as I said, I am obviously really really pleased- I'm not ungrateful! But there's just this little feeling of unease telling me that actually I'm a bit out of my depth with what I've written. Anyone ever had this? I know we nearly all have feelings of inadequacy at times during the PhD, but has anyone had anything published that you were a bit unsure about?!!! Cheers, KB

Hey there! I know what it is like to suffer from depression as I have bipolar disorder, and depression is a major part of that for me (sods law, I'd rather have the mania!!). But seriously, I can understand why you are finding it so hard to work with that going on- anyone would do. I think you need to sort the depression out first. I would visit both your GP and your university counselling service- the one at my university have been a lifeline for me and are the main reason I am still at university, studying for my third degree. Without them I would never even have got through my BSc. It sounds like you have actually done the bulk of your PhD, and if you can sort your health out then you will probably have no problems finishing it off. A bad relationship with your sup can make things difficult, but doesn't mean you can't succeed. But first, I would take some time out, have a change of scene for a couple of weeks, see the doc and get yourself feeling better before tackling the thesis. It can be hard just to take time out, I know, but from my own experiences I know how valuable it can be to just remove yourself feom the situation for a while and come back to it. Best of luck, and hang around on the forum for support! KB

Hmmm, I'd pay off my student loan and give a few million to my family to do whatever they want with. I would put some aside for my baby nephews and buy my brother and sister-in-law a new bigger house for them all. I would carry on with my PhD as planned but buy my own house...maybe do the secret millionnaire thing and give loads to charity, and definitely loads to the Alzheimer's Society. Then I would set some competition thing up whereby I would fully fund one new PhD student every year at my uni, seeing as though my own funding came from a random scholarship from a person who died a long time ago. Then....I don't know! Fund lots of research with it I guess! I certainly wouldn't hang on to most of it, I'd maybe keep 10 million! Best, KB

Hey you! Yeah, was really nice to meet up, I thoroughly recommend meeting and greeting fellow PF-ers! If there's anyone else around the north or north west of England/Wales then give us a shout and we can arrange a bigger get-together! Best, KB

I'm 28 and live in a two-bedroom flat with a pal. It works really well, the rooms are really big and we have a study room as well as a big lounge. It takes me 4-5 minutes to walk from home to my office, and 6-7 minutes to walk from home to the gym, and even less to get to the nearest pub! So I'm staying put, at least until the end of my PhD! KB

Hey! I'm a completely different subject (psychology), but plenty of people got on my MSc with a 2.2. The unis make so much money out of the masters courses that they tend to be very flexible about who they let on, and even though the entry requirement might state a 2.1 they'll probably let on people with a 2.2. I really wouldn't think it would be a problem, unless it is a really competitive masters with a very limited number of places! Good luck! KB

Congrats, that's awesome news! Enjoy the celebrations! Best, KB

Hey Aotema! Most people take a few months to get into the swing of their PhDs, so do your best not to stress at this stage. Reading papers can be challenging under the best of circumstances, so it must be really hard in a different language, but there are a lot of people in our department doing PhDs in their second language. Some of them speak word-perfect English, but many do not, and they have picked up the language very quickly once they have started studying. One of my best pals here finds English difficult, but she goes to English classes and I always offer to check through her work for her before she hands anything in to make sure there isn't anything too strange in there! Perhaps there are English classes where you are studying? It is also common to have no idea what you are doing at the beginning! It can take a few months before a vague plan comes together, so just keep reading and make sure you have regular contact with your supervisor, who should be able to point you in the right direction with respect to whose work to read and which direction to go in. You're gonna be fine, it just takes a while to find your feet! Best wishes, KB

I simply can't believe how quickly time is going! I feel like I'm six months in still yet I'm into final year. I was originally thinking I'd take an extra six months to finish if I needed it (most people in my subject take an extra 6 months- 1 year), but my sup is on my back to finish bang on time as if we get funding the post-doc position will start around then....eeeek! Feeling a bit scared having realised the enormity of the task ahead. I have 4 papers written which will hopefully form 4 chapters of my PhD but there's still so much left to do. I feel a bit scared and a bit overwhelmed. Anyone else just starting final year? Best, KB

I tend to just treat my PhD like a (demanding) job, so it's usually:
8am: get out of bed and have a shower and breakfast
9am: Get into the office/out testing (the office is only a 5 minute walk away!)
9am-12.30: Work until about 12.30 but probably call into my pals' offices for a few random chats to break things up a bit!
12.30-1.15pm: Lunch
1.15-6.15pm: More work with a few short breaks to check PGF or FB or whatever!
6.30-8pm: exercise time! Gym or kickaerobics, boxercise, or normal aerobics :) Always a great way to unwind after a day's work!
8pm-9pm: Eat!
9pm- midnight: check emails again and respond to those that I need to, sometimes do some academic reading or something but usually take the evenings off! Then it's off for sleepies!

I usually do a slightly shorter version of that on one of the weekend days too, though not always. The routine seems to work quite well for me and I'm flexible with if if I need a day off for some reason, I take one! I don't tend to work at home- I like to be in my office so I am in 'work mode'!
Best, KB

Hey Wal, I have to write one too! It sucks, I hate theoretical frameworks, they just serve to confuse me instead of clarifying anything. I actually wrote my chapter up as a paper and submitted it for publication- I did like a lit review of possible frameworks then outlined the one I used, explained how it relates to models that others have used, and why I think it would be beneficial to use this one to progress research blah blah. It's the most horribly boring thing I have ever written and even though the reviewers' comments weren't too awful I can't think why anyone would possibly want to read it. I certainly don't ever want to have to look at it again! I suppose I can see the need in my topic for needing to outline a theoretical framework, it's one of those topics that is crying out for one and most of the existing research is crap for the precise reason that they haven't used one, but it doesn't make it any more fun! Good luck with it! KB

I suppose you have to get used to getting a different kind of feedback at PhD level- you no longer get grades or percentages to reassure you that you're at the top of the class, you don't have so many people to compare yourself to directly, so I think it is more difficult to gauge how you are doing. I think we all have moments of crisis in our PhDs where we wonder how well we are really doing, but I guess the only thing you can do is rely on your sup to give you feedback, and also think about publishing and presenting at conferences to give you some idea of the standard of your work and hopefully some reassurance! Best, KB

Hey! I know it's infuriating but I would really not go down the route of putting in a complaint if you can help it. There has been a really horrible situation in our lab recently where a PhD student cocked up big time, then blamed the supervisor (it was entirely the PhD student's fault) and complained that she hadn't given her adequate training blah blah blah. It all got really out of proportion and the result? The girl has been thrown off her PhD, her supervisors have refused to supervise her any longer, and her only option (with one funded year remaining) is to think of a new project, find new supervisors and find 2 more years funding. Needless to say, no-one else wants to supervise her and her chances of completing a PhD, at least at this university, are over. I know it's a different situation because you haven't actually done anything wrong to start with, but the whole complaint thing can create a lot of bad feeling and get really nasty- I really would try other ways of sorting things out before taking that route. Just my opinion though! Best, KB

Looks like loads of us have experienced this one! I was at the opticians last year and the guy was asking me what I was doing while he was testing my eyes. I replied I was doing a PhD and he said, 'oh, so basically lozzing around doing nothing then'....I just laughed and replied that most likely I worked far more hours than he did -he didn't pursue it any further! Sooooo irritating! KB