whilst your at it, why not stop at getting people to find a suitable PhD position for you. why not have people secure funding for you as well. if your really nice they might even do the research for you as well

I reckon I put on about a stone and a half in the first year of my PhD. too much dominos, curries and guinness. im now eating less junk and exercising more, although getting rid of the belly is going to be a challenge

I think giri should rejoin this forum and give us some more wonderful words of wisdom.

I cant say im a big fan of trout. but there is nothing like a nice battered cod or haddock and chips.

Just really interested to know if there are many people who use this site that have dropped out of a PhD and either gone on to a successful career in something else, had another shot at a PhD or are taking a career break? whatever your story: the good, the bad, the ugly. im just interested to know.

I ended my rather miserable attempt at a PhD in December after one year.

Im working partime in a shop at the moment. Living at home with my parents. Its nice to be able to go into work with out the ever present cloud of stress which enveloped me in the final months of my PhD first year... the break has been refreshing so far.

I got great news the other day. I have been accepted onto an MSc course at Imperial starting next october. got an interview for a similar course at Oxford on Thursday, so I would say things are looking up for me at the moment :-)

you might as well be asking how long is a piece of string?

ask anything you like. example: what is the supervison style of the supervisor: i.e can you have regular meetings or does he advocate the distance learning approach.

do they prefer Guinness or Larger?

read the PhD life section of this site. its a nice read when your feeling a bit down.

i havent met one PhD student who at some point in their PhD feels, their project is going no where quick. You will get there eventually. if your supervior is happy, sounds like your not doing to badly!

Chin up

it depends on the supervisor. if they really want you then they should be able to cough up funds from somewhere.

i had not lived in the Uk prior to undertaking my PhD and my supervisor somehow managed to sort out funding which was from the EPRSC

www.findaphd.com

good luck

on the topic of etiquette.

a great qoute from fight club comes to mind:

" Now, a question of etiquette - as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch "

my old supervisor has been accused of doing the very same thing. what a scumbag!!!

I'd be pretty pissed off if someone did that to me. If they just did it without asking, thats exceptionally rude for starters and I would doubt they are allowed do that.

If someone did that to me, I think a swift kick in the bol*&x would be in order.

Complain Complain!!!

"a PhD should come with a government health warning"

Poster sessions are the best way to do this. Find the posters that you are most interested in and that are relevant to your work.

Most important, relax and enjoy it. Conferences are also a great excuse for having a skin full of beer!!!

Also watch out for some heckling if there are any Russians in the room.

What to expect, take and wear?

I went to a conference last april and whilst most people where adhering to formal dress code not everyone was. one person even presented in jeans and runners!

You can't go wrong with formal wear as this will give you a professional look which is obviously a good impression to give off to other attendees( a nice shirt/tie should suffice, slacks and shoes)

What to take? business cards, if you already have some. Conferences are the best way to network, and buisness cards are the most convenient way to exchange information.

A pad and pen obviously wont do any harm for taking notes during presentations, although you will probably be given a welcome pack with such things in it.

Interact and mingle with as many people as you can. This is your chance to network and find out about important researchers in the field, important papers and in general the state of play in the field...

olivia. i take my hat off to you as you give great advice.

im intrigued at this flowers paradigm thing you mentioned. could you post a link? i think i tried searching google before but couldnt find much on the topic