Sounds to me like you have an offer to be paid to do something you really want to do, with a high level qualification at the end of it and you are considering not taking it because you *might* get a better offer.  If you think of it like that then it should be a no brainer really.  PhDs are not easy to come by at the moment and "proper jobs" are also pretty scarce.  I realise that this is probably an over simplification but I think it's a good way to look at it. Well done on getting the offer, now accept it and over the next three years I guarantee that you will have plenty of opportunity to guide the direction your research and life takes :-)

I find that it seems to vary pretty much without any correlation to what I've been doing, but when I'm tired I need to sleep or I turn into a horrible ogre of a person. 10 hours is a bit excessive, but I'll happily sleep for 9 hours (11 till 8) most nights. You may find that he has always had that much sleep, it's just that he didn't surface till the late morning/early afternoon before (assuming the bits and bobs jobs weren't full time).

The guy probably doesn't realise he is being an arse, he probably thinks he is doing well to give you feedback and doesn't realise how negative he is being etc. The joke was probably a VERY BAD attempt to lighten the mood or similar that was poorly considered as opposed to an attempt to offend. This is not to say his behaviour was acceptable however.

I would arrange to meet your other two supervisors and openly discuss the situation with them and ask for their advice. They are in a position to have a chat with the guy to sort out the issues you raise. They will also know you and him better than anyone on these boards and should be able to offer constructive advice with good knowledge of what's going on.

I have an iPhone, and while I think that HTC phones can actually be better it does rather depend what you want them for. For my PhD I use the dictaphone, the calendar and an app I got for £3 called 2do, which is a to do list. As I understand it, you can do more with an HTC android phone, but iPhones are easier to use. There is a Mendeley app for the iphone, I assume there is also one for android. I don't actually use it much at the mo, but I think that it could be invaluable in the future. The main advantage of all smart phones is email on your phone.

Ok, thanks for the suggestion, I am now on Iron.

Sounds better as well, kind of like a no-nonsense chrome.

I'd like to use open-source, but chrome is just fantastic for what I need. Quick and easy internet access. Not asking for anything fancy. It may do fancy stuff, but I don't know cos I don't need it.

If and/or when I qualify I intend to change all my personal documents to doctor. Rightly or wrongly, being a Dr can often get you perks such as upgrades, as well as occasionally getting you better service. If someone put me down on something as a Mr though (e.g. I book a table under the name addabs and they reply back "so that's a table at 7 under Mr addabs"), I wouldn't correct them, and I rarely introduce myself as "Mr screamingaddabs" so I doubt I'd often introduce myself as "Dr Screamingaddabs".

So basically, no difference in conversation and speech etc, but I would change it when written down by me.

The best lecturer I had (by a long stretch) was a Mr, and my final year (MEng) supervisor was also a Mr and was far better than some others. Admittedly I'm an engineer and part of the reason these two were so much better was that they had actually experienced the real working experience of engineers, something sadly lacking in many academics. I suppose my point is that even if you're not a Dr you could be a fantastic lecturer, so long as you bring something more to it (like enthusiasm, which most academics seem to have none of for lecturing). The problem will be getting the job in the first place. That I can't really advise on.

I've always wanted to be good at languages. In fact it would be my super power if I could have one, to be fluent in every language on Earth (and beyond!)

Does rather depend what he did with it. To be honest you should probably just email him and say something like "could you please not take work and/or other files from my computer without my permission in the future".

I'm guessing he "nicked it" because you were not around to ask as opposed to any malicious intent.

I have three all at once (though technically I don't work in a lab, it's all computer simulations at my desk!). I have one book that is a pure mess of anything I need to write down. It makes no sense to anyone apart from me. The second is a daily diary, explaining what I am doing that day and what I have achieved. This helps me keep track of goals. The third is a "neat book". I tend to write up stuff a bit neater if I feel it will be very important (though not too neat, no need to waste too much time). On top of this, once I have finished a set of experiments or devised something new and it is all fully complete, I write up a formal report for myself. This helps spot if there are any gaps and ensures I haven't misunderstood anything.

The most important one is my rough one. I put practically everything in it (I've been through about 6 lab books in the last 4 months!).

You're basically catastrophising. Ignore Cleverclogs, a user name was never less appropriate. The work you did got published in a reputable journal, so I would say it is probably good work. You know that it was good too, because you did it. If the person following it up has problems then they are that person's problems, not yours. Plus, they may solve some of the problems and actually add to your work and make it better (this is after all what they're meant to do!).

If it turns out that your work was flawed then oh well, that doesn't matter as much as you might think. So long as you didn't deliberately mislead you haven't done anything wrong morally, you've just been unlucky. It's hardly the end of your career. People may scrutinise your later work more, but this isn't a bad thing, as I'm sure it will be good work.

So, chin up, and even if the worst outcome occurs (it probably won't) then it's not as bad as you think anyway.

you don't mention what your job is, but if it's in the UK, check your contract and there is almost certainly a maximum number of hours written in (often 40) that you are legally obliged to do. Beyond this you are allowed to work but are not required to work. Your boss cannot fire you for refusing to work beyond your contracted hours. Be very firm with your boss. Explain that you will complete your contracted hours and will work very hard during those hours, but that due to your PhD you cannot work overtime. Then, do as you say! Each day at 5.30 or whenever your end time from work is, go home. If there's something that's not complete then leave it. Tell your boss if you need others to help as you don't have enough time. It is part of HIS job to make sure he staffs the company with enough employees for the work load.

It sounds harsh (especially if you like your boss) but for the sake of your health you need to reduce your work load.

If your not in the UK then I'm not sure entirely on the rules regarding contracting, I know that in the US it's very unlikely to have a maximum hours written in.

Hope it helps

Always wanted to be called "Dr" (come on people, admit it!) as well as knowing I could do it and thinking it could be pretty rewarding to be the first person to find something (i.e. what you researched) out. I guess I also kind of cruised through my MEng and wondered how well I'd do at something if I tried a bit harder for once!

I also wanted to change sector after working in engineering of large steel fabrications and wanted to work in the wind industry. Met with the catch 22 of "any experience in the wind industry? No? Then we can't give you a job in the wind industry", so a PhD in it will hopefully count as significant experience...

What Florence said - seconded