After I submit, I will sleep... then between submission & viva-ing (assuming it takes the while I imagine it will take for my university to organise the viva timing) I am going to have a long holiday involving beach, sun, bbq's, and relaxing with my boyfriend... this is booked for Chrimbo (well hopefully as at the moment we can't afford the air fare!). Can't wait! Post viva - hopefully a party - though I know most people are usually so knackered after the viva that a party usually wipes them out completely!!!

Hi sleepyhead ;o) Having a good support network makes a huge difference to a PhD - I work in a very large department & I get more support and advice from fellow collegues than my supervisor a lot of the time. However, having a good supervisor, is a GEM (not many of them around by all reports) - is there any way you can go elsewhere but keep her as an additional supervisor? (I know people who have supervisors in several different institutes). That way you get the best of both :o)

Hi, I haven't known anyone who has left either for funding reasons or for finding a lucrative job. However, I'm a science PhD and very concious of the fact that funding is more available for science PhDs. I do have some arts PhD friends and they tend to be self funded. But haven't known them to drop out - generally they just take on paid work to get them through (becoming a hall deputy warden, doing lots of teaching work, working in a shop, etc.) It's tough though (I've had an easy time in comparison and I still find it tough!). All the people I know who dropped out was because of being miserable with the PhD itself & not being able to continue because of unhappiness.

My new found motivation is the university 4 year deadline. I'm not very good at setting my own deadlines. Unfortunately funding running out didn't seem to motivate me (I've just gone into debt). But also the motivation is for finishing, and having some semblance of a life back, be easier to live with, have a holiday, earn some money... and feeling like I've achieved something after all that time. I guess what drove the initial part of my writing up was being interested in finding answers to my research questions - it absorbed me so much I got sidetracked into spending too much time and a chapter that should have taken a few months took nearly a year. Now the motivation is less the research, more just finishing.
Oh and being able to tell non-PhD friends that I've finally finished!

Hi there, well - I think there are two things here - if you're single when you start a PhD it makes it pretty tough to meet anyone unless they're from the same lab. I spent the majority of my PhD bemoaning the lack of men (or at least ones I was interested in!), and having some rather funny or disastrous dates in an attempt to do something about it. But in the end when you're working so hard it's difficult to meet anyone. Having said that - I then went to a conference and met someone - a postdoc, so now it's great in the last part of the PhD to have someone who understands, cooks me dinner when I can't be bothered in the evening because I can't tear myself away from the work, & keeps telling me I'm doing fine. However, PhDs are tough on a relationship, and i've had to force myself not to talk about it all the time or it detriments our relationship. But that's good too. Good luck! (try conferences!!!)

Hi, I worry about the same thing as I approach 'the end'... I love what I do, but where are the jobs? And both my partner and I work in the same field (great planning!). Even post-docs are difficult to get (I've been applying unsuccessfully so far, but it's true I haven't finished my PhD or got publications yet!). Don't know what else to do. Gave up well paid job to do this, but definately not going back to that again. I have no desire to become a secondary school teacher (lecturer yes, but not schools!). Think I'll just go with the flow and see what happens. But it's difficult for trying to organise potential family life (got to that mid thirties stage) around contract work when my partner and I are in the same boat. It's disheartening. But we both love what we do, so just figure it'll sort itself out (I hope!). One couple in a similar situation take it in turns to have priority - her PhD in one place, followed by his post-doc in another etc. It works for them!

I can't believe how hard a PhD is. It's the hardest thing I've ever tried to do in my life (and I thought my first degree was hard enough). It's not just intellectually challenging it's mentally challenging, emotionally challenging, financially challenging. It forces you to question everything about your research, yourself, and life. It puts you through enormously low lows, and some nice highs (hopefully). To be honest, I think you just have to give yourself a big hug and admit that it's a pretty amazing thing to try to do - & you're doing well to even try... I think I have seen every PhD student be pushed to the edge of their limits, and I've seen most cry. So you're not alone. Hang in there :o)

Great news! I recently agreed with my supervisors for them to to whizz through reviewing my chapters with my tight submission schedule, despite the fact the first two chapters took 4 months each to look at! Let's hope our supervisors live up to their promises! 4 months to go... 4 chapters... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (hysterical laughter)... off topic ramblings... PhD mania... better log off quick before I start rambling even more incoherently...

p.s. deep cavern - though I know exactly what you mean - I call them my dark clouds... big dark looming clouds... I get them a lot during write up. Luckily sun shines between the clouds, and there's a sunshine party at the end

(iii) how bad is your supervisor? I had a friend whose supervisor drove her so mad she had a nervous breakdown. She came back later with a change of supervisor, which made a huge difference. In the end she quit because she realised it wasn't her thing, and has never looked back or regretted the decision. So what I'd do is just re-evaluate - whatever you decide you need to take action of some sort - if you genuinely love research & your topic, keep at it - maybe change supervisors. If you really don't like research, or your topic - don't put yourself through misery - quit. If you can, write it up as an MPhil - at least then you don't have a 2 year gap in your cv to explain. My one friend who quit after a year, wrote it as an MSc and now is training to be a vet. In the end nothing is worth unlimited unhappiness. Put yourself first

Hmmm, difficult one. I've actually known quite a few friends who've been through this & what to do is a really personal thing. I think most PhD students go through these TERRIBLE lows - I for one nearly quit my PhD in my first year. I think it's down to a few things (i) how long have you been unhappy? - if it's a long time, it's not worth it (one friend quit after 1 year of misery, another after 2 years of misery); (ii) do you love what you do, and I mean fundamentally are you interested in the questions your answering? That's what got me through - I love my subject, so I stayed on by changing priorities but always because I really do love trying to answer my PhD questions. If not, then it might be worth changing your topic... or thinking whether you can hack it for long enough to finish... or write up as an MPhil (or so bad to just quit).

Well I wish I'd asked here at the time. I went to a mortgage advisor at the beginning of my PhD and was told that it was difficult to get a mortgage as a student (even if the stipend is better than many jobs and guaranteed for 3 years) - unless I paid a big deposit. I went to the Halifax, and they said either I had to contribute a 20% deposit (HAH!) and then they'd still have to go through a business case, or have a guarantor. I ended up going down the guarantor route as fortunately my Dad was still working at that stage. Fixed rate mortgages are great as they remain constant for 3 years, & I was lucky in that rates hadn't changed when I renewed the mortgage. I now rent out the flat as I can't afford the mortgage! (4th year no money). But I remind myself that it's a great investment

Hi cc, I'll be in a similar situation soon... I also have been on no funding since September (slave labour PhDs!)... borrowed lots of money and currently living off my partner. I'd definately go the job route! You've finished & need the money. Now me personally at the moment fancy the idea of working in a bar, or as a postwoman... but I have a few more months to go. So, enjoy earning some money

Hi there, I think it probably depends on your university. At my university they pressure you to finish within 4 years because otherwise in the reporting back to funding bodies or RAE it goes down as a fail. However, my university does allow you to go over 4 years (I know one person who took 5 years and one who took 4 and a half years) - they just discourage it as much as possible. But you do have to pay continuation fees. Don't panic though - there are a lot of us who take the full 4 years! I for one am an English speaker but still taking an age (4 months left). However, do check with your supervisor too - you may find you're doing more than you need to for a PhD & might be able to chop something out. It's easy to think it's never good enough (I know!).

Yes, it's a very similar situation in this country (UK), it's difficult to get postdoc funding until you have both a PhD and publications. I'm going on an inside route by working with contacts and getting written into the proposals with them as PI. Maybe this is like the mentoring you talk about. I'm finding it difficult to get postdocs that are advertised due to lack of PhD or publications (my field of science means publications tend to come at the end of or after PhD due to large amount of fieldwork & data processing required before analysis even starts). I think that staying put for first postdoc in a place with a great reputation shouldn’t do any harm at least until you have established yourself & then go somewhere else. But it might be worth trying also working your network & getting written into their proposals (it might work differently in the US). Impressed how you’re managing to juggle family & academia – I imagine you get great at time management (and working on no sleep!).