Juno, how was Lille in winter? I was thinking of taking a winter break once my PhD is finished. I want cheap but very nice (unlikely!).

Bad luck Sleepy! In consolation, there are some really good 'credit crunch' laptop deals to be had at the moment in some of the sales.

I looked at Endsleigh for an annual travel insurance and the restrictions/exclusions to the cover were ridiculous.

I don't know your age/circumstances, but it is sometimes possible to claim on your parent's household insurance. These policies often have cover for offspring who are at university, and there is normally no limitation concerning age/pg courses etc. I remember during my masters course I used my parent's insurance as cover.

I'm not a scientist, but generally UK PhDs are no less vigorous than US or Canadian degrees with respect to research standards and producing 'independent' work. If your worry is not being left alone to do your own research or taking your own initiative - I don't think you have many worries with a UK PhD. Most UK PhDers moan about this issue.

Lara, how are you getting on...haven't seen you around for the past few days?

am4814, I think you should go with your gut instinct.

Yes, lots of people finish PhDs and go into the corporate world or industry, and as you have probably read on this forum, it can make little difference to your career chances in some areas. However, in your case, a PhD may offer flexibility as science PhDs are valuable in industry.

But you have to be passionate and committed...if there is no passion for the research, go into work for a few years and then come back to academia later. Although Ireland sounds v. tempting!!

ah...the confusion arises because you're American. Lawyers are never referred to as attorneys here (well at least they shouldn't be).

Patent attorneys usually work in pharma or tech co's and will have a science background. I suppose they are the frontline for ensuring new drugs, inventions etc don't breach IP law. This differs greatly from a corporate lawyer who specialises in IP work.

In the US they are probably called something different..like a patent agent.

I'm a bit confused too - why do a PhD if you want to be a patent attorney? If you really want to do a PhD, would you not be better turning you attention to an intellectual property topic? If you have no passion for your research subject, I would say don't do the PhD - remember you're committing at least 3, if not 4/5 years to this - that's a long commitment for something you only have a modicum of interest in.

Olivia, a patent attorney is not a lawyer in the UK, but a specialist who deals purely with IP matters (it's quite a nice niche job), and no need for law school.

^ excuse bad grammar..

Admin will we *ever* get an editing facility??

Mikra, everyone's experience will be different when comparing masters courses to PhD research. Personally, I look back at my masters as a bit of walk in the park compared to my PhD research. The standard of my written work is considerably different from than of my masters thesis (some people view a PhD as a very long master's thesis...this is very, very wrong).

The intellectual vigour involved in a PhD is much higher. Most students can pass a masters course with an average intelligence level, however I do believe PhD students have to be bright, creative and very committed...it's a tough and lonely road, but can be very rewarding.

Ryanair have got their £1 offer on now. I may book a daytrip to Dublin.

Visa charges have gone up to £8 per person - but I guess one can't complain when the flight costs £2.

The benefit of being funded directly by your university is less bureaucracy/reviews etc.

I always though getting research council funding was more prestigious than getting funded via a university scholarship/studentship. I'm funded by the latter..so I'd be quite happy if it is the other way round. :)

The benefit of being with funded by a research council is the increased opportunity to attend research trainings, but many uni's now fund their own training courses anyway. The EPSRC website should say whether they give you the money or the university the money to fund courses.

With respect to having a first classification or being mature student, I have never heard of getting more money for either reason. I don't think there exists an official 'mature student' classification at postgraduate level...when does the council/university consider someone 'mature'?

I'm broke and I'm way behind my schedule - so no holiday for me. But then I'm one of those people who never go on holiday. :(

I did have weekend in Paris the other month (attached to a research trip), so that will count as my summer holiday.

Although, I do have a stack of Tesco clubcard vouchers - which apparently turn into Marriott vouchers at 4 times the value - so I may have a weekend somewhere in the UK later in the summer.

Since no one has answered this I can only add that if you can wait till December, the new RAE ratings will come out, and this time is will show a profile rating of the staff of each department e.g. 20% produced 4*, 30% produced 3* etc.

The only other rankings is the new 2009 Times league that came out about a month ago. The Guardian and a few other places produce similar leagues....but I think all of these are fairly subjective and never reflect the true quality of a university.

I was thinking of doing this for teaching experience, but the CELTA course is over £1000. Are there any cheaper options?