can someone explain to me how come those energy companies make such huge profits and "have to" raise their tariffs? they only "have to" because otherwise they would just make millions instead of billions, right?

they have no choice because otherwise their shareholders would not become richer on our costs.

fatbob, i know you just wanted to rant and weren't looking for advice, but still - maybe sometime you could negotiate with your gf that you'll go over to hers IF she guarantees that she will let you work. in exchange you will spend your breaks with her (you must have occasional breaks, such as for a cup of coffee or something to eat).

that might make her happy, and actually seeing you work would drive the message home that you are not just hanging around...

so, if you KNOW a family is the way you want to go in your private life AND a PhD is the way you want to go in your professional life, then, well, go for it.

(says me, who kind of put my family plans on hold for my PhD and am now scared silly that it won't work and I'll have wasted my most fertile years...)

also, i just talked to someone who told me their story...
she married in 2004 and moved to a different country in 2005 and thought to find a job first, before trying for kids; thinking WHEN she got a good job she would not want to quit after a few months due to having a baby. but the WHEN was actually a IF and she didn't find a job for a long time - and in that time took contraceptives. so, no baby AND no job. then after a while she was so frustrated that they decided to go for the baby although no job was in sight. but it didn't work out (she did get pregnant but miscarried) and she is still trying. with the difference that in the mean time she did find a job.
the moral of the story: if you are sure about wanting kids, don't wait for the right time - it might never come. but also, don't put your life on hold for the family plans. it might be on hold for a long time.

aloevera, it is certainly doable. just how hard it is depends on a lot of things (not the least being how much your partner is involved).
but i am supposing that "doing both" will always be hard, no matter if the other thing next to the family is a regular job or a PhD. so i guess what i'm asking is: would you want to be a stay-at-home mum? and if yes, for how long? (and can you afford that?) or would you rather prefer going back to your "own life" after maternity leave?

for myself, staying at home for a long time is not an option. personally i find the idea of juggling a baby with my PhD a lot more attractive than the idea of juggling a baby with an unsatisfying job.

also don't forget that babies don't always come as planned. you might get stuck in that job without a baby in sight for many years.

fatbob, just wondering - did your girlfriend maybe mean, why don't you go over to her's and work there? if you do not need to be anywhere specific for your work, why do you choose to be at home rather than at her's?

cause that's what i often nag my partner with - why does he go to uni when he could just as well work from home and we could have the companionship of working together.
the problem is then more about "can i really work when i'm at her place/at home" and if not, why not? rather than about "if you're at home you're obviously not busy".

hey aloevera, first of all congrats for gaining that place.
family-or-PhD has been discussed here quite some times. no easy answer to that! how old are you? do you feel ready to start a family? what would that mean - what would your life look like in the next few years? would that make you feel good? do you have the right partner for that? can you afford that?
what's with the PhD - long time dream of yours? why those doubts - where are they coming from suddenly? why do/did you want to do it in the first place?
why not both? there's never a right time for having kids. it can be done during PhD years.

if you were to decide against the PhD, in favour of family plans - do also consider what it would mean for you if... you broke up with your partner next year? ...you can't get pregnant? ...

i for one am "planning" on getting pregnant before i've finished my PhD. others here too. admittedly, some people call me crazy for this.

tefal is a brand.

can't you get a cheap kettle for your office, olivia? it might save you loads of money... or are there regulations against it?

i applied for one at a time. like, when they came up. got turned down twice before arriving where i'm now (which was kind of second choice because i didn't really want to go abroad).
that's not talking about funding though.

having worked at the local careers service, we were told to tell students not to make too many applications. make three really good, well researched ones, rather than 50 lousy ones. that was for non-academic jobs but i'd say it counts in academia too.

i guess it also depends a bit on how much time you have available to devote to applications.

as far as i know, you will still need to fill in some (rather complicated) forms, the deadline for which could be May 1st. but that's just to prove that you fulfil the basic criteria. having a quota place means that you have no more competition to go through.

congratulations!

congratulations!

slinky, that sounds a lot like my department. it drives me mad too, that PhD students are treated primarily as "students" and only perhaps, secondarily, as contributors and members of the department.

there is usually not much you can do. but do try to resist being "downgraded". i once was surprised when a friend from back home visited and after some talking she noted "oh, you have really started identifying as a "student" again, had you noticed that?" and i realised that although initially i had found this absurd, i had got so used to it that i started identifying with it.

so what is the supervisor's job then? i think it's NOT to tell you if any bit of work is good enough. of course she should encourage you and keep an eye out to see if you are, in general, on the right track. but as it is YOUR project, only you can really say if you are on track!
instead, it should be the supervisor's job to help you in figuring out for yourself where you are going and if you can be satisfied with your work. to help you develop criteria, learn to be critical of your work, learn to leave the safety of the coast and explore the unchartered deep ocean where no land is in sight! she can't/shouldn't guide you across the ocean. she SHOULD give you the tools and the confidence to cross it by yourself.

hi lostinoz, i'm sorry to hear that it didn't go too well. but as others have said, from what you wrote, it does not sound all too bad! so give yourself some time.

the question about what independence means is tricky. i think there is in principle no problem with frequent supervision meetings. it all depends what the meetings are like. i'll try an answer here: independence is about working on something until YOU are satisfied (rather than until you've met someone's expectations). independence is about figuring out for yourself if something is good enough. that's hard!

welcome back oz, i hope you're well and all.

just start at the beginning, then do the middle until you reach the end

no seriously, it doesn't really matter where you start. remember when you were an all new PhD student? well you started somewhere, and maybe it seems ludicrous from today's perspective, but it got you to where you are now all the same! so, just start.

and remember that your brain needs time to get up to its former power. it's like unused muscles. you can't go from zero to 100 in 3 days! but you'll get there soon enough.

good luck with doing it all!