hi halochanter,
my cover letters take only 1 page--because there's the application form which asks pretty much the same thing, and there's a CV to include again :-)

hope you get the position!
love satchi

hi Ailicec,
Have you thought about the workshop leader's role in your phd--because at the end of the day, no matter what he/she says, it's your own supervisor(s) who will decide whether they want to do thesis editing/proofreading.

If your supervisors have told you that they want to see your thesis a max. of 1 or 2 times, then the editing and proofreading should be mostly done by you. If you have a totally exceptional supervisor who is willing to proofread, put comments and edit at the same time, that is all the better :-)

The thing with theses is that they change a lot. What I suggest is that you just send in your best one (edit to your heart's content) and then step back and relax. Because when the comments come in, there will be changes again, and again, and again etc.

love satchi

hi Louise123
Concering writing academically, there is always help out there! Have you looked in your university Student Services? in my university there is a "writing lady" who helps students with their theses/writing. I have not used this service yet but I was so happy when I saw the poster about it. I think it's a great service because there are so many capable people out there but not everyone is a superb writer!

Interests in our phd/research etc. do fluctuate. At times I also felt that mine was pointless--and especially a waste of time. Strange because when I started it, I thought it was brilliant--then I kind of lost the plot. Today when I think of it, it still hasn't made a huge impact in my area--but I did learn a lot from doing the phd--and because of my (apparently useless) phd, I am able to do lots of things (in future) because I learnt so much from it!

Ask yourself, if you have done 2-and-a-half years already, what's another 6 months? :-)
Go for it Louise123 :-)

love satchi

Hi See_Lee,
welcome to the Forum! You're just one month away from submitting, don't worry. I really feel for you, as it isn't easy changing supervisors. Are you able to change your research questions then? Remember that when you write your Discussion, they have to revert back to the research questions as well--as some people tend to get carried away (too much to discuss!).

Give yourself a time limit to feel demotivated (honestly!) and when that time is up, sit--buckle down and write the rest of your thesis! I used to feel very demotivated as well--and as silly as it sounds, I let myself moan and feel miserable all morning. I always started work after 11.30am (after I've done my moan-of-the-day) and managed to finish my thesis.

You still have time. Mostly we feel demotivated because we have been told to change, and we human beings, we generally don't like change! We like to stick to the way we were. We like our previous supervisors, we got so used to them. Never mind!

You still have some days! You do need to finish this MA, I really feel that you should not quit now--we're so close, See_Lee!!! Go for it! If you say you wasted one year, what is another month? Don't quit. Write something, do something.

Remember that the feelings that you are having--all the inadequacies, inconsistencies, that is just emotion--don't let them take over!!! Take control of YOU, yourSelf, take back control---go for it! You can do it!

love satchi

Hi huhu,
Like you, I have been here more than 5 years already. I also like the UK for the same reasons--cleaner environment, trains, transport system, oh yes. I definitely feel safer now. But not when I first arrived. I was harrassed by teenagers on the streets, I was chased by a boy trying to hit me, I was called a p**** by a small child when I walked past the playground. Children threw sand on my door and windows in the summer of 2010, they broke one window as well playing football outside even though they were not supposed to play there--and my house was burgled. It took me almost two years to recover from it--because I developed some kind of phobia. Everytime I came home, I would check the house to see if anyone was hiding, or look for broken glass. I never left the house without checking if I had locked the door twice, thrice etc.!

Nevertheless, I have grown to like this country! It is lovely, warts and all. Wishing you all the best for you--and a smooth transition back to your home country.

love satchi

Hi JamesMcC,
Welcome to the forum! Your post reads like you will send in two applications, but you have selected Queen's, except you are not sure how distance learning would fair on your CV.

Actually, when you have finished your masters, it will probably NOT say "distance learning" or "School of Distance Learning, Queen's Belfast university" on your diploma. So nobody will know that you have had your masters through distance learning :-)

On your CV, the Master degree will be cited under Academic Qualifications. Name of university, year of graduation, CGPA or grade, if applicable. Usually no mention of distance learning.

In my case, I did my bachelor degree also through Distance Learning. Nobody asks me about it, because firstly it does not say "distance learning" on the degree. It just says the name of my university. Nobody needs to know full time, part-time, distance etc. UNLESS they are really interested. But so far, nobody has asked me :-)

What they want to see (later after your Masters) is how qualified you are :-)
Make your choice--and go for it!

love satchi

hi Inhalt
actually my post applies to admin; not research. It is hard to get an admin job. But not impossible :-)
love satchi

:-) no it's not strange for a German to stay here :-)
There're many Italians, French, Portuguese, Americans, Canadians, Australians, Pakistani, Indians, Africans, Thai people here (employed or not), so it shouldn't be any different for Germans!

Don't worry about it. People will love your German accent!!! Enjoy being you!!
(do get employed as well, of course)

love satchi :-)

Hi Janice,
thanks for posting! I feel compelled to write you a reply. I have felt exactly like you!! Except I was a lot older when I started my phd! I did feel awkward because everybody was always younger than me. Once people found out how old I was, they found it hard to interact with me--as if there was this invisible generation gap.

Don't worry if the master students become "defensive", when they get to know you, this "defense" mechanism that they unconsciously put will come down. It just takes time. It's understandable that you may not want to discuss things like job-hunting with masters friends, that's because everybody is on different levels. However, you can still be friends as long as you know where you stand.

Life is like a big drama, everybody has their part to play. It's not that bad, really. Learn to be comfortable with yourself first. Twenty-five is a great age, a wonderful age and you have so much going for you. Don't worry that you belong nowhere. In fact, having a feeling of not belonging anywhere is really a good thing. It allows you to look unto yourself and to go deep within yourself :-) Feeling lonely gives us opportunities to find ways to make ourselves unlonely!

Remember that whatever is going on (the loneliness, feelings of not-belonging)--all these are temporary. They will soon pass.

Do whatever pleases you. Seek happiness in yourself first, friends may be there but they are not solutions for our happiness. As time goes by, you'll gradually find that your other phd colleagues will get to know you--and they will gradually include you in their conversations and by then, you will also gradually learn to relate to them. Time helps.

love satchi

hi OrangeBubblegum,
I have also thought about teaching in the US! To answer your questions, yes it is possible for someone with a PhD from the UK to get a teaching job. There are US universities hiring people of different academic qualifications (and also nationalities), so why should there not be UK PhD-holders teaching in the US?

I think it is a possible career option! What you can do now, is to start looking online for job opportunities/teaching job vacancies advertised for US universities. Look at the entry requirements to see if you qualify for their work permit stuff (green card etc.). Meanwhile, increase your teaching hours (at your present university) or publications, whatever it is that will enhance your CV. Usually they will ask for teaching experience etc. as well in your application.

besides looking here, also look at the websites of US universities for job vacancies! There's always something! It's up to you to find it!

hi Elsie
Thank you so much for telling me :-)
"impact factor" thats the word I was also looking for!

love satchi

hi Muhah,
it's the end of February now. Are you ok? Assuming you have submitted?

People do get the "I'll fail" feeling, its normal. Everybody rants too. All of us go through loads of ups and downs in our phd process. Take it easy. There're many ways to seek help. Speaking to someone in your university etc.

There are lots of very helpful people here actually. I'm guessing your post went unanswered because perhaps it came up when most people were too occupied (yes like I have nothing to do today :-)) or people went offline (I did so for a couple of months).

Whatever it is, don't give up.

love satchi

hi RIP,
I'm guessing countries like Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China maybe? But why not consider getting an English certificate like TOEFL. It's well worth the effort, assuming you'll get a high score. If you struggle, it will just be a couple of weeks or months. Then you take the exam and pass! Look at it this way---the English cert take you very far and your options will be much wider :-)

love satchi