My dear 'commonsense' thankyou for letting me down so gently - going 'off topic' can become so messy, i never ever discuss radical feminism on a first forum anyway

strange - the way you wrote 'radical feminist' was almost, but not quite, a thinly disguised insult. I have read the whole thread and I do not believe there is any kind of research which is beneath contempt. I too do not trade in insults but I do defend my discipline - as it seems, do you.

I can not believe that an educated person would deride social science research in such a manner - how supremely elitist and arrogant of you. I research in the social sciences and I am a heavy consumer of social science research which often influences policy and practice in the world we live in. There are some significantly important issues which need addressing in our so called civilised society and as a woman I have benefited from such research, so have other disenfranchised groups. Do your homework.

I just wrote a really long diatribe on this subject but everyone else has alredy said everything I was going to. I deleted it. If you want to teach undergraduates on temporary contracts for no money do a PhD. This is the truth. There are so many PhD's now that you are superfluous. Run run as fast as you can.

I was really shocked to read this post especially after I had such good supervision. I think you need to ask for a different supervisor, remember that a PhD has to be paid for and this supervisor is providing a service. Also the route to getting a PhD is tough even with good supervision - this kind of relationship will destroy your confidence - change supervisor ASAP

Oh my God! No one has replied to my post! This means that even in this forum no-one wants my publications!

I have always had a problem acatually sending off anything I have written with the result that my publication record is abysmal. Yesterday I sent an article off and now I am terrified, perhaps that I will now be found out for the fraud I think I am. How do the rest of you cope with publication and potential or actual rejection? Am I the only one with this paralysing fear?

I have felt like a fraud through the whole of my PhD and I still feel like one now that I have it! My colleagues all feel the same. One said to me that she expects the fraud squad to knock on the door of her office any day. As for 'eureka' moments, remember that you are seeking to expand knowledge and make an original contribution - you are not required to be the catalyst for a paradigm shift! Leave that for when you win the nobel prize

I have thought about this many times. I am glad to have my PhD and it was a life changing experience, however my gripe is that career prospects are awful. I am in a temp contract position as are many of us. I earn a pittance and I now realise that the qualification is only any good within acadaemia (in my subject anyway). Truly I do wish I had spent the time working at a more practical qualification. My friends who spent the last five to ten years gaining experience in their chosen field are seen as far more valuable and are much better paid in higher status jobs. PhD students are not given this information.

if organisational culture is important to you, there must be a reason and this would relate to a particular aspect of the organisational culture and your particular research. There are no questions that could be suggested to help you from such scant information.

I know that some institutions allow as much as 8 years full time

conference/journal papers are everything in research. I had a great supervisor but that doesn't mean he didn't tear my work apart through the entire process. A PhD is as much a test of character as a test of what research you can produce! What I didn't realise at the beginning was that I was training myself to be a researcher and little else, it can be quite depressing to realise that. Now I feel trapped in the academic world which I don't actually like . Having said that there is no way that achieving a PhD is something I will ever regret and it is up to me how I plan to extricate myself from academia

Hi
first of all it doesn't matter what your motivation is to finish the PhD - anything to get you through it - my own motivations weren't entirely honourable! Having said that in my discipline a PhD doesn't equal good money - look into whether the PhD will get you more money than a masters. In my experience the PhD isn't always worth much outside academia but computer science may be different. I earn a pittance. Good luck to you, if money is your motivation that's as good a reason as any

i thought that was phrenology! (the head study thing!)

its interesting what your medical doctor sister says - I don't know if I'm right and please correct me if I'm not, but I was told that medical doctors are allowed to use the title as a courtesy, but it is those who have contributed original knowledge who are the legitimate users ie PhD's