hi Funtoink
in essence your initial post does remind me of how I used to be. I think at some point, most people have gone through what you are going through, it's part and parcel of being alive, I think.

I previously had a thread about jobs and the difficulty of landing a job, and now I actually managed to get a contracted position to do a job of which has not much to do with my phd -- so to be honest I do feel lost a lot of the time -- and even though I have a job, I'm not exactly a "happy bunny"

I used to have "no-job-issues", now I have "job-issues" because things do crop up whether you have a job or not!

I also feel uncertain of myself sometimes, so I try not to think about this, don't follow my mind which will distract me from what I'm supposed to be doing (stay in the NOW, Satchi!!!)

If you ask me -- what's my biggest uncertainty, well my contract finishes in less than a year, so what do I do after that -- and what I do now to survive and to maintain my mental sanity is go DAY BY DAY, step by step, what I will do today, what I am doing today, and just go from there.

wishing you all the best and thanks for sharing
love satchi

hi excommunicate!
congratulations!!!! so your verdict is pass with minor corrections! well done

does it really matter whether it's major or minor subject to whether it's 3-7 months, within 3 months, 1 year etc?

don't let that part about re-working your methodology get you down, what does 3-6 months matter anyway? you'll still need to make the amendments, corrections, whatever, just get down to it and get them done as soon as you can

and perhaps once you have really handed THAT in, you will feel a lot happier with yourself and you'll probably be able to appreciate the "pass with minor corrections" verdict a lot better.

you really have done well! you deserve to be elated -- ok ok, once you have re-submitted -- but please try to be happy anyway, don't be so hard on yourself

love satchi

hi everyone I have gone into qualitative research now, and I'm finding that I really don't like doing transcriptions! what a mess!

but yes I still do it anyhow, I steel myself and just force myself to do them!
I keep telling myself --discipline!

Does anyone have any advice for me? I am aware this may be an old topic, but I'd really appreciate any opinions, ideas, thoughts, someone please inspire me!!!

love satchi

hi adam congratulations on your phd studentship! please do not torture yourself with worry, worry will not bring you any good.

I have seen successful phd applicants with much lesser results, not even a distinction at undergrad or postgrad. The important part is what you learn from your undergrad and MA that will help you in your PhD, which should give you an advantage and an impetus to carry on with your PhD -- however worrying about whether you are good enough or even entertaining thoughts about whether you are good enough, it is a complete waste of time and energy.

Don't worry about your supervisor finding out that you only got a merit or a pass, that won't matter, you already won the studentship! Just get on with it.

I am sorry to hear that you had to take a year out during your undergrad, people do suffer from burn out, please please move on, don't bring this emotional baggage with you to your phd.

Look at your phD as a new START, a new beginning. Just move forward.

You need to appreciate yourself, instead of demeaning yourself by thinking you're not good enough. Be kind to yourself, surround yourself with positive thoughts, positive people, do something nice for yourself! Love yourself

best of luck and wishing you well
love satchi

hi there, I have been through this too! Many people procrastinate!
Don't give up
love satchi

congratulations on qualifying to be an engineer :-)
how bout applying both -- India and abroad? see what happens?
BUT--
if you have a chance to study abroad, go for it!

love satchi

hi, this link has information about changing sponsor

hope this helps
Love satchihttp://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Immigration-/Protecting-your-Tier-4-status/Changing-course/

hi silentlake,
it reads to me that you are thinking of leaving your current university after applying for an appeal (which was granted).

If it were me, if I made an appeal and I won that appeal, I would stay with my current university and finish that phd.

But of course this is your decision maybe the other university could work out to be better for you.

I think you should really speak to a qualified immigration solicitor for advice, if you have already been on Tier 4 for 5 years. Would you need another Tier 4 visa, or is that current one transferable, as it would be that your current university has sponsored that visa.

Please have money ready to pay fees because solicitors won't speak to customers without getting paid first. This is very normal. They say initial free consultation, but this is very little and you willl get nowhere without paying them fees first.

It is important to get the right advice because if something goes wrong, it won't go well with the home office.

Hope you will get this sorted.
Love satchi

hi majar,
you need to talk to someone about your research. If you feel lost, please seek help, don't wait until things have progressed too far.

First port of call is your supervisor.

You can also speak to colleagues or people in the same lab or doing the same research. Usually people will try to help if they can.

love satchi

Hi, first of all congratulations to you for coming all this way to do your phd :-)
This part about being obsessed to be the best and to impress people -- my honest advice is not to be so hard on yourself, try not to obsess about being the best, I know you want to do your best, obviously, but sometimes this can be very difficult on ourselves. I feel that we don't have to impress people, just be yourself.

I have made stupid mistakes myself -- I pick myself up and move on.

If you avoid things you don't like, I think almost everyone is like that. Sometimes if we don't like something, we don't have to do them, but sometimes it is necessary to face them so we can overcome whatever it is that is getting us down. Whatever it is, don't put yourself under pressure.

A Phd is may be difficult to do, but can be enjoyable and meaningful.

If I were you, I would be kind to myself, and work to get over my periods of anxiety (I myself used to get panic attacks at night!). So once you are ok, you will feel better and more comfortable with yourself and feel less inclined to want to impress people!

You are your own boss, your happiness comes first.
love satchi

hi AislingB thank you I will pm you :-)
love satchi

hi, does anyone have access to this paper? If yes, could somebody kindly send me please? thanks very much

love satchi

Chris Bart, Mark C. Baetz, S. Mark Pancer, (2009) "Leveraging human capital through an employee volunteer program: The case of Ford Motor Company of Canada", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 10 Iss: 1, pp.121 - 134

hi lude
I've been thinking about it, I haven't got around about how to validate it, I think that is why it can't get published. Thanks for your response.

love satchi

hi! I did the same during my phd, felt a bit under pressure because my supervisor kept expecting me to come up with answers during the lectures! It also tired me out because I had to prepare before lectures (because she would expect me to respond etc.).

Looking back it was very good training, and it helps to overcome our ego as well.
If you can fit it in, please attend them.

love satchi

wow you got an offer for a permanent position! congratulations!
How bout you do the job first, and then see how you feel after some time, assess again?

love satchi