hi kimwipes I am sorry to hear that your post doc experience hasn't been going well. I haven't been in your situation before so I can't say for sure what to do, but since you still have one year left, I guess you would have try to make the best out of the situation. It can be challenging if others are not sympathetic to your work, you also need to use of the equipment. During my first degree, I was also denied the use of equipment, but that's the pecking order in lab, the phd students first, masters next and us last. I knew I couldn't use the thermocycler so I waited till weekends. I also stayed overnight in the lab if I had some culture.

I'm not saying you should do this, it is just an example of how desperate I was! Most importantly don't lose heart because you do have a year left. I am sure you will also have experience from doing industry work (apart from research) and you will be able to find a better research environment after this. But for now, don't give up.

love satchi

hi wanderingbit, hazyjane
thank you for your replies! I didn't know that we could withdraw from a conference! but will that mean that their booklet (you know those big conference books) with abstracts in them, will the abstract be published?

oh yes hazyjane good point about the conference legitimacy. I will find out more. Before this, I also received emails from someone asking to publish my thesis, but then I found out it was a money-making type of publisher, rather than a publisher-publisher... I don't know the right words for it.

Another challenge I have is time management, as my research work seems to be piling up, and once I have managed to tick off some tasks off my list, suddenly I find I haven't completed Task 4 or only done half of Task 7. it is as if, once I have written off say a research proposal, there's always something lagging behind. how can i keep up?

Does any one have tips for me.

My biggest challenge now is getting time to write my own papers, as I have so much departmental work that I can't seem to fit it in anywhere. I tried to write on Sundays, but then I found myself either falling asleep or watching Youtube instead.

please help! Really desperate
thanks love satchi

Hi, can someone please give me some advice.

I managed to have one paper published, and since then I have been receiving invitations to submit abstract/attend conferences.

What do I do about funding? Am I supposed to approach my boss and ask if they can send me (but if I were to write another abstract for a poster/oral presentation or conference paper) that work for conference is outside my work field, do you know what I'm trying to say.

Or, do I say ok I send an abstract, and then I start looking for funding elsewhere.

What if the abstract really gets accepted and I have no money to buy my ticket, what happens then, do I just leave it at that?

I have to admit I already have a lot of work now on my shoulders, if I were to suggest more research papers to my boss, it would feel as if I am asking for more work and then I'd have to keep my word and produce more, and I'll be subjecting myself to more pressure, more deadlines.

Can anyone sort me out for today's questions :-)

thanks very much for any advice
love satchi

hi dotdottung
yes I think it won't hurt discussing it with the editor. I'm thinking what are Editors for and what do they do exactly?

but I guess it would be a good idea to also find someone else (other than the Editor) to discuss the statistical analysis?

love satchi

hi awsoci I don't have experience on academia where teaching is concerned, I just want to post a message of support to you. I am sorry that things are not easy for you at the moment. What I can think now, is that if we are in academia-teaching, and if we will be in this field for a while, we will be continuously open to good or bad comments coming at us; in fact I think in every area of work, we will still be subject to all sorts of criticism.

I was criticised by my boss a few months ago, she told me off for something I tried to do in the research project, and I felt so bad. Also, I sent an email to a colleague and had cc.ed in other people, without understanding office-dynamics. I was in the right, but because I had copied in other people, this made me look like the Bad One, and I felt like sticking my head in the sand etc. Very very unpleasant.

All I can say to you, is to encourage you to carry on, and it will feel better in time to come. The first day you read the comments, you feel bad, and hopefully day by day you will feel better.

Another thing I always remind myself is however good we do something, there maybe other people who can do even better, and whatever well we perform, there may be people out there who will still criticise. That is how the world works, so when I think of it this way, I don't feel so bad.

Take care
love satchi

hi wanderingbit thanks for your reply!

I have another stupid question now, you know the honorary fellows for say University XYZ, these people have been awarded honorary fellows, and their picture shows them wearing a hat (like our phd hat). Does this mean they have a phd behind their name (I mean for those people who currently don't hold phds).

Next one is what do they actually do, these honorary fellows, and if we were to ask them to collaborate in a study (as an example) will they have to be paid? how does that work

thanks
love satchi

hi wanderingbit, IntotheSpirals and Eds,
Thank you so much for your replies. Eds I have had a brief look at the link, it is good. I will read it later as it does explain different types of white paper from different angles.

This part about non-peer reviewed stuff under publications; if it is an internal oral paper, is that non-peer reviewed stuff?

Oh yes and I have figured this out, thanks to your help, ok I am an academic. I know it's silly not knowing, but I have posted silly questions to the Forum before, and have always received good help.

Thanks again.
love satchi

hi everyone,
If one does peer-reviews for say Journal X, do we put this in our CV?
As a peer-reviewer for Journal X? Does that go under Hobby?

Another one is the word "academic". If we conduct research, does that make us academics? OK assuming it is academic research.

Next one is this. If we write something on our blog, say its our completed PhD research, does that mean this piece of work has been published?

Another one I can't get my head around is a "white paper" because I have seen samples of white paper that look like they are selling something, so how can that be white paper. Can someone explain to me in research terms, can I put something up online without going through a publisher, would that be a white paper?

thanks
love satchi

hi joanna
for me, having a coffee with other viva-friends helped because we asked each other questions, we laughed etc. it was helpful for me not to be alone all the time during viva preparation.

All the best :-) love satchi

hi JSchae, I agree with Caro. For now, live a day at a time, step by step.
Let us know how you are doing.

love satchi

hi heron, hi Tree how are you :-)

I love the sound of the pingggg on my phone n for work email there's a swooshing sound too

Love satchi

best of luck :-)
love satchi

hi Gemini
Sorry to hear about your visa wait. It can be very annoying. Please be patient.

My suggestion to you nearer to 9th February is to email your university and tell them that you are still waiting for your visa. They will help you work something out about your enrolment date.

I also started my masters degree late due to a ridiculously long delay in visa, this was not a UK visa. My story is a stupid one but it is a true stupid story. My visa was delayed because the visa officer of that particular embassy did not believe that I had a scholarship and insisted on seeing funds in my own bank! I wish that nobody else will ever go through what I went through.

Please be patient, and do post back and let us know how you are doing.

love satchi

thank you so much AislingB
really appreciate it
love satchi