congratulations dr xander :-)
love satchi

hi janine
I honestly think so (no problems getting back to science in future) because in your next application then, you would be explaining what you did at the opticians, and those are still highly applicable and transferable skills :-)

best of luck for the interview
love satchi

yes me too Janine, I'd take it :-)
love satchi

hi john!
congratulations!!! Are you planning to do a phd?

love satchi

interesting! it also depends on the person--if you were a musician etc.

I find it difficult to write when jazz/blues (but not standard jazz) is being played. Because when they start improvising, my mind starts to analyse..and then I have to work at turning off my ear. Not helpful!

love satchi

hi Xander329
I recently had my viva. Try not to be affected by your supervisor's negative comments. Surely your thesis was good enough to be submitted? The clock cannot be turned back. So do prepare for your viva, concentrate on that for now and stay centred and focused.

A few quick tips for viva (these helped me a lot)
1. know our thesis in depth
2. download potential viva questions and answer them
3. get questions from your own supervisor or colleagues and answer them
4. have a coffee/chat with your colleagues (spend some time with them--those who know you are preparing for viva--and even better if they are also preparing for theirs)
5. practice how to answer infront of a mirror/teddy bear

No. 4 is really useful even though you may not be discussing your thesis (in particular), but it helps in adding support and exchange of ideas.

As for defending a short thesis
--give clear and direct answers because a short thesis addresses issues that don't need to be in a long thesis--sometimes long theses are not necessary, and here you have to convince your examiner that your short thesis covered everything (the research question(s)).

best of luck

love satchi

hi janine
this part from the advert " use in-silico rational drug design methods to identify putative biomolecular targets of a given natural product and to screen natural product libraries against given drug targets. You will prepare natural products using fermentation techniques. You will use molecular modelling methods to identify strategic modifications of natural-product cores that will improve bioactivity and ADME properties. You will devise new ways to derivatize the natural products with synthetic organic methodologies. Biological testing of the natural products derivatives will be performed in collaboration with other research groups at Edinburgh and elsewhere. Initial efforts will focus for instance on derivatives of the antibiotic anisomycin as putative antiproliferative agents, and the identification of novel natural product derivatives that bind cyclophilins as putative antiviral agents."

Perhaps you can consider tailoring your lab abilities to what they are asking in the advertisement. For example that sentence "in-silico rational drug design methods" if you know some of these, then describe what you can do about this part. They can then have a more informative description of your abilities. if you say diploma in herbalism, also describe what the diploma says you can do :-)

very best of luck to you
love satchi

hi charliebrown
two months' leave of absence can do a lot of good for you :-) it's especially frustrating when we want to get things done but suddenly we seem to have to slow down -- I'm sure this will work out well for your advantage!

hang in there :-)

love satchi

We are all USEFUL people!!!! We are! We are!
We must not give up :-)

love satchi

**who also has not secured a job yet--but never mind for now**

hi Khadijah
Welcome to the Forum. Personally I would not do an MPhil online. If you want to do a research masters, how about considering to apply to Malaysian universities instead? If you find a very good university in your country and do a research masters there, you then apply for a phd overseas later (of course assuming time and money are on your side).

If you plan your masters carefully--and hopefully everything goes well, it won't take very long.

love satchi

hi there
please try not to worry--it seems overwhelming now.
if you feel that you don't have time, use whatever time you have now to prepare specifically for the confirmation seminar because you need to pass it to continue your phd.

I assume that by now you would have made some friends--so you can actually discuss statistics with your colleagues. This will especially help you nearer to your viva when you may be asked questions on your results/statistical tests etc. Also, look for a statistician at your school, there should be at least one specific person to help students with their analysis.

As for learning statistics, I would advise you to watch youtube videos because there are pretty good ones out there. Bookmark them so that you can watch them over and over. Sometimes there are questions and comments and answers which are really helpful. Make sure you write down notes about statistics topics--for example what does the t-value in multiple regression tell you, at least you can go back to them later during the phd. I promise you that your notes will help you in the long run.

love satchi

hi everyone I have got thru my viva! A very big thank you to all the lovely people who helped me with advice (from phd stuff to statistics discussions to job application blues etc) and sending me papers I couldn't access--and most importantly--

thank you so much for our forum-friendship!

love satchi

hi hella13
don't be disheartened :-)
have you spoken to your supervisor about this? maybe you can still do the same topic but pursue it in a different area---who knows what will happen!!! you could end up with some amazing results. It's not only the originality of the idea that matters--but ALSO what you find!!!

love satchi

hi sarah
it is possible to apply for a phd early but to be considered for it-- you need to have really good results in your first degree--and it also depends on who is assessing you--for example some lead investigators/professors prefer people who have done a masters degree etc. one reason is because sometimes there is less cumbersome supervision when the student has done a master degree and may be already familiar with some research methods etc.

If you are keen on doing a phd with research/work in Africa, you'd be best looking for people already working with projects there :-) remember to post back n let us know how you get on :-)

love satchi

it will be 2 years for me janine
do you miss the lab environment?

***hugs***

love satchi