My post was directed at Badhaircut and I stated this clearly at the beginning. Therefore he was the original poster in this case, capice?

My post was directed at Badhaircut and I stated this clearly at the beginning. Therefore he was the original poster in this case, capice?

This one has been answered above (when I spoke about different paths to success). What I suggested was some advice with the intention to help. Of course, this doesn't always work, but as I spoke from my experiences, it certainly did.

To summarise, I would like to say that I am fully confident that I only take advice from people who have achieved what I want to achieve. In that respect, I was qualified to comment as Badhaircut complained about not having certain things which I have. I would be interested to know how you qualify to comment on this thread?

"Two things stand out – that you were so quick to type you didn’t really know what you were typing; in that respect you reflect quite well the current condition of post-PhD academia in a great many UK universities (imo). And that you think if we all fought just that bit harder, brushed up our cv’s just that little bit better, spent just a few more invisible pounds on a suit with a better thread count, yes, then all 40,000+ PhD candidates would ALL get those jobs they wanted."

And I also think that is what the original poster complained about, not getting a competitive salary, materialistic girlfriend etc., so I think you missed the point here.

I'm not finished. I think it is a sign of politeness to let someone speak out before you interrupt, even in an online forum, capice?

"Heaven help me if that’s how people see me; I cringe at the thought. I’d rather be respected for intelligence, dedication to research and accurate findings, and so on, so perhaps your own materialistic, image-driven sentiment isn’t so relative to the question that was asked at the start of the thread. You crave money and social advancement (from what and how you write), many on here have stated that they do not, so you miss their point entirely."

That's where we are different, I did not intend to waste years of my life for nothing. Actually I am quite materialistic as I intend to make the most of it, both of life, and my PhD/education and this should be reflected in a competitive salary.

"are you suggesting therefore that PhD’s are generally worthwhile and lead to the kinds of positions you describe or are you merely telling people you don’t know that you have a lovely, shiny new job that pays you bundles of cash to feel important when you type on here? "

The answer is: both statements are true. That's exactly what I intended to convert through my statements.

"So, the most important thing about conducting, say, sociological research or other research that contributes to the fund of knowledge available in human societies is to be, er, “tough”. "

Yeah, actually I can speak from experience that in the current PhD system (which I would blatantly describe as unfair, discriminating and illogical), only a certain degree of toughness can get you through. We'd all like to live in nice enviroments to conduct science or research just for the sake of humanity and knowledge, but unfortunately this won't get you a PhD these days.

Okay, I will actually devote my time to you personally and reply to each and every single part of your post that I disagree with. Luckily I am currently suffering insomnia so not missing on any sleep.

"If you are about to launch into a personal attack on someone, isn’t it simple courtesy to read what they’ve said before responding?"

As I said on numerous occasions, this was not a personal attack. If you interpret it as such, this is your problem. Sometimes truth hurts, labelling it as an attack is a nice way of avoiding to respond to it (to be continued)

You're right, it's full moon out there. that might explain...

This is not a personal attack, but rather someone needing a reality check. Perhaps my advice is not so harsh and useless as some people might think. After all, I know what I'm talking about as I went to horseloads of shit during my PhD, with senior academics trying to manipulate me into a particular frame of mind which I completely rejected. Nevertheless, I made the most of it and I am sure BadHairCut will find his path. It doesn't mean that the path I have chosen is the one and only right one, it is just one of many which ARE out there, capice?

Being able to call yourself doctor can provide massive advantages, perhaps not in all professions or all national backgrounds, but I do not believe it is a bold statement to say that the opportunities outnumber the disadvantages. It is just necessary to move away from this narrow minded perception of believing that there is only one career route and if you fail to get on that "publishing, lecturer" train than you are doomed. This is simply not the case.

And by the way, concerning your allegation of not reading the entire thread - I have better things to do than waste my time with pages and pages of someone displaying a disease named:"feeling so sorry for myself".

Guess who's back: O.Stoll.

First of all: what you say is nonsense and utter rubbish.

We all know that the PhD itself is hardly more than an sometimes unnecessary ordeal we were sent through to get lecturer positions. However, the system itself is not very truthful as most PhDs do not get lecturer positions post completion of their studies. In so far I completely agree with BadHairCut. But from here on, our opinions couldn't be more opposing: he goes on and on about how life has treated him badly and I wanted to show that there are other ways to make the most out of it.

By the way, 99% of all submitted dissertations are awarded a PhD, so well done for getting to that stage in the first place.

Well done!

Have a break before you start thinking about the Viva. You've deserved it.