======= Date Modified 15 Sep 2011 11:07:09 =======
I say this on every "Quit PhD" thread I see. Get a job before you leave. Being unemployed is no fun, looks bad on your CV and can cause massive problems. If you do want to leave then only do so once you have the replacement job lined up. It is FAR harder to get a new job if you are not currently employed/studying.

Also, remember all jobs have good and bad sides. There is no such thing as a perfect job, so don't think that every problem will disappear if you get a new one. I'm not saying don't quit, but I am saying consider it carefully and have something lined up before you do.

======= Date Modified 09 Sep 2011 12:04:15 =======
Delta - Thanks, I think we are in a minority doing a PhD for more practical reasons than for the love of it but it's always nice to know there's someone else in your boat isn't it? :-)

Zinzar7 - My advice would be to find another student or post grad, or anyone who understands the process but isn't your "boss" and set deadlines etc with them. They need to then play the role of "have you done this yet?" etc. You could do the same for them if they have the same problem (many people do!). Another good one is either the "my tomatoes" thread or the "one goal" thread on here. A final option is to simply say to your supervisor "could we please set more concrete goals together for my work as I feel that would help me keep focussed and produce better work.

I really should follow my own advice here too.... :$

======= Date Modified 09 Sep 2011 11:56:52 =======
1. I work best when someone else is involved. I then feel that I shouldn't let them down, whereas on my own with no one enforcing anything I slow right down and waste time.

2. I like starting things and getting to the point that I understand something and feel that it works. If someone else could come along and finish them that's be great because I am awful at finishing things!

I knew both of these things I think really before hand, but this has certainly confirmed it!

By the way, I reckon your lack of patience is more to do with universities' lack of urgency. Everything moves SO SLOWLY. Why does it take weeks to get Matlab sorted on my machine? It's a simple task and I can't do stuff without it and yet they couldn't do it quickly. Taking 6 MONTHS to sort out my contract is also more than a little ridiculous! To an academic it would appear that "soon" means within 3 months... If you're lucky

I'm similar to Delta in that I see my PhD as a means to an end. I enjoy it some days, other days I am either not bothered or don't like it at all (I wouldn't use the word hate, but a very strong dislike is not uncommon). I'm actually working as an RA, so I get paid enough to get by (though not nearly as much as I was in my old job!), so I really do see it as a job. I'm doing it to get experience in this general field of engineering, however I am not massively keen on the specifics of the topic I'm working on at the moment. If I get the right offer of a job in this field from a company before the 2 year mark I'll almost certainly take it. After that I guess I may as well finish the PhD!

The thing to remember is that almost every job has bits you don't enjoy. If you find you are hating coming into work most days then find another job (whilst continuing the PhD in the mean time) and leave once you have it. Don't keep doing something you hate, life is too short.

I would use a new page section break. Insert one just before your landscape page and just after. Whatever you then do to your landscape page should only effect that page.

Chat to the one you like about it. Ask him to keep it off the record and to not mention it to the others (at least until you are gone). This is assuming you can trust him to keep his mouth shut for that long...

Once you have made a decision for sure, get all three together and tell them all at once. Explain that you have made your decision and it is final.

Before doing any of this - find another job! Seriously, being unemployed is not much fun and won't look at all good on your CV.

Your experience in the "real world" may make up for the lack of a masters. Most unis want you to have a masters but if you contact them and explain your situation they may waiver this requirement. It's up to the individual university or oven the individual professor. Contact them and ask them.

No idea if this is what you're looking for (I am a scientist/engineer!) but I've always thought it strange that most of these shows get run on Fox, which is largely conservative and/or republican and yet have very liberal ideas, tend to poke fun at the right and tend to be written by democrats. Are there any more right wing/conservative cartoons (maybe there are but they never reach the UK so I don't know about them) and if not, why not? After all, half the population votes that way.

Sorry if this isn't at all what you're after (if you could let me know a short answer then that'd be good though!).

They could get to know you in all of those ways, networking obviously gets your name out there more but to be honest it's mainly blind luck that someone you worked with has a job opportunity.

My boss at my last job used to hold CVs up in the office and ask if anyone knew the person on the CV. If the answer was no they usually went in the bin. If the answer was yes then he would ask about what the person was like and, if the answer was good, they would probably get an interview. This is a pretty extreme case (and technically illegal) but it highlights the point that most employers (including academics) would prefer to employ someone that they know. Some people look very good on CVs and interview well, but then turn out to be @rse holes. If you know them already then you know that that won't happen.

Incidentally, I got my next job because I knew a few people who worked at a different place, in fact my current job is the first I've had where I haven't known anyone there before I started.

Number one is probably "Do they know you?". Sorry to say, but that's the way of the world. After that I'm not really sure.

Hi there,

Have you actually been registered for the PhD for that first year? Most unis require you to have attended for at least 3 years to gain a PhD (in the UK anyway, I'm not sure about abroad). You will often also have needed to have completed a certain number of modules of taught work. Assuming that you have either been registered for that 1st year or that you are not required to attend for 3 years then you COULD in theory do it. In reality I reckon no chance. Most PhDs over run the 3 years, so trying to do it in 2 is very very very ambitious. Why not just do it in three years? Plus, if you're working from January do you not in fact have 2 and a half years? You could then use 6 months of write up time on top to make it three years. It would then be possible IF everything goes well and you really work your @rse off.

Don't plan to try and do it in 2 years, you'll probably not manage that and probably near kill yourself trying.

Hi there,

I've not had experience with Pro CV writers, but that is one thing your careers service can actually do for you. They should have someone who is a CV expert who can help get your CV up to scratch. So give them a go before you spend money on someone to do it.

I think the problem of "I don't know what I want to do" is very common, the trouble being that you won't know if you like something until you do it. It's also true that it is often not what you know but who you know, so talk to your friends and see if their companies have anything going that may interest you. Recruitment consultancies can be a pain in the backside, try applying directly to small companies by phoning them up and enquiring, even if they haven't got any advertised positions. Just be prepared to be told no a lot - you only need one yes.

I would say also that you should stay being paid in your PhD until you have an offer - take the money whilst you can.

As for how much risk is safe - by definition, the more risk you take the less safe it is! No job application is guaranteed to succeed, but you can (and should) apply for more than one job at a time. Doing that should help to spread the risk a bit.

Finally, if you don't know what you want to do then why not try doing something your not sure about? At least if you find you don't like it then you know that and can try something else. What was it Baz Luhrman said? "the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t." :-)

Good luck

Assuming people are funded, a PhD is really not that different from quite a few jobs. People doing PhDs often seem to think that people in "real jobs" don't get stressed, don't have to think at any kind of high level and get to clock on and off exactly on the dot every day. Truth is that lots of people in "real jobs" get stressed, have to think hard constantly through the day and have to take on unpaid overtime to complete projects on time. "Real jobs" and PhDs really aren't that different.

PhDs are different from most jobs in one way and that is that you have the freedom to say how you want to work as it is only you relying on your work. For some of us 9-5 works best, for others it doesn't. Obviously if your not funded then there is a difference, but I'd say most people doing PhDs are funded (they all are in my office!). Often (though not always) people who are working every hour of the day simply have poor time management and/or are not working on the right thing or in the right way.

I never thought you would fail to be honest, you seem to (from the view we get on here) have worked really hard for a long while. Do your corrections and RELAX. Tell your annoying supervisor to go play hide and *&^% herself too. You can now :-)

WELL DONE (up)

Ignore her. Do exactly what you would've if she hadn't emailed. She can't really do anything now as she isn't actually your boss at all.