oh, and about social science jokes. i don't know if this sounds funny when written up, but one of our profs once said this in a lecture and it was hilarious:

every relationship between two people is interesting and can be studied by sociologists.

every relationship between two people that turns into a relationship between three people undergoes considerable stress. be the third person a baby or a sociologist.

there are 10 kinds of people. those who understand binary and those who don't.

sometimes it helps to focus on what YOU know and can do and are good at, instead of just seeing others and forgetting your own strengths.
i sometimes write little 'reminders to myself' which i stick on my computer or other places i can't miss. the intention is to remind me of all the good feelings which are there at certain times, at the times when i am feeling low.
any other suggestions on how to deal with moments of deflation, insecurity, competitive surroundings etc. (other than just 'hang in there') would be highly appreciated! what did all you further progressed students do? or what do you still do, in order to survive? there must be a whole load of little daily strategies... it would be great to hear some of them!

Masih, I think if you have a PhD from a reputed institution, nobody will ask about how long your Master's took. Anyway, statistics show that for academic success in Germany it is the total duration from starting at University to completion of PhD which is a good indicator, not the length of either part. If you take that job, which sounds great, then you have good hopes of finishing your PhD soon which is more important than a year more or less on your Master's.
Any 'blemish' on your CV would be well made up by the fact that you got a job at a reputed institution when you weren't even finished with your Master's.
I suppose you just need to consider carefully if you can do it considering the sudden move. If you can, I'd go for it! Or else you can trust some other, equally interesting opportunities will come up when you are more ready for them.

hey 404,
we recently had a information session on "getting a job" (i am in social sciences) and we were told among other things that even when not specifically required, some applicants write up all kinds of 'planned' publications.
this is sometimes useful, we heard, from the point of view of the people who judge the applications, to see a) if the applicant has a clear idea of where he/she is heading, that is, if he/she is actually heading somewhere; and b) to see if the applicant is totally one-sided and narrow in his/her interest, or rather has wide interests that are not just topic-related but cover, for example, methods, and general theory, too. since they are not out to employ a specialist of your field, but someone who is good for the discipline as a whole.
so maybe you can take account of this in your list. it's just what i've heard though, so no guarantees!

hi,
no need for "sirs" etc. here, this is a forum for postgraduate students.

you can apply for a (unfunded)place as PhD student directly to universities. most universities will explain the application procedure on their homepage. to apply for a funded place, check out the links on the left of this screen.

well golfpro, since you addressed me directly, i'll reply briefly. just to make clear my main point, in the rajastan case problably no-one at all would have ever answered the original post if it hadn't been for otto's first, and i agree, totally useless reply.
in the end, the person seeking advice got their advice, which they likely wouldn't have without otto. so it is not all bad. also, otto apologized; unlike jojo who thinks this is just superficial 'saving face' i believe it is honest (what reason would otto have to save face anyway?) and quite brave; he did actually admit doing wrong in several cases which i haven't seen many other people do.

i think i have a little of all categories. loved my 'undergrad' time, found work outside of university lacking, and don't know if i'd survive it middle term, i do hope the PhD will look good on my CV, the continuation of my PhD is somewhat dependent on my achieving a (prestigious or less so) scholarship, i do ultimately 'need answers', i could certainly be characterized as eternal student (and have been, numerous times), and, well, as for the polymath, i wouldn't flatter myself so much, but i did consciously chose a topic that kind of bridges disciplines. so, humm...

otto, please come back.
although i did not always agree with otto's opinions, he never struck me as inappropriate. his remarks to overseas students seeking money/a PhD position were not helpful, but the fact that no one else even bothers to reply to those queries demonstrates that it is the queries themselves which are inappropriate.
on other points, i did not always agree with otto. but i do not consider he ever stated his opinions in inappropriate ways. sometimes his statements may have been offensive to some people. i honestly believe however that he never intended to be offensive or hurtful. that is simply what happens in written communication, when you try to be frank and open. i will miss this frankness in the future, as it appears that it is not wanted here.

we were told at my university, that publishing is always good career-wise, but that you have to be careful with publishing with co-authors. the problem is, in your PhD thesis, the work has to be yours. if you have published parts of your thesis earlier, together with co-authors, it will be hard to demonstrate that is essentially your work - because if it is, why the co-author and not just your name on the publication?
so perhaps you should check this up before publishing with co-authors.

piglet, golfpro, I thought I had signalled by tone and smiley that this was not a completely serious/objectiv post. obviously I didn't totally get the meaning across, and I apologize for any hurt feelings.
the whole point was to cheer up Otto. It was totally partial and without knowing the other side... but that is what I think emotional support should be like. after all, it is Otto who is on this forum and posted his question and not some unknown academic far away.
i don't know if that works for you, but when someone turns me down, it helps me if friends tell me "well he/she wasn't worth it anyway". it comforts my soul, even if in my brain I know it isn't so simple.

i agree, that was very courageous!

i hope i will never turn into the kind of person who "declines further correspondence" with people trying to talk to me... does a PhD do that to you or does it come later in the career?

obviously, that person cannot be very important. only unimportant people have to keep up the impression of being important by telling everyone how very busy they are. so, you are none the worse for not having the honour of correpsonding with this unimportant person

pineapple, i know exactly what you mean. i am also in my first year and already it has proven to be a terribly roller-coaster-like experience. one day i'm confident and happy, next moment i feel like i am a fraud and don't belong. it is little things that can trigger either way. most often, i suppose, it happens when comparing oneself to others.

i hope you get back into the mood you had after that last supervisor meeting soon!

hi nefermj
perhaps the problem is exactly what your university said: your polish master doesn't qualify you for PhD study at a british (scottish) university. nor does the british bachelor. it is unfortunate, since in many cases, if they would look at the individual case, they would see that the education is adequate and comparable to a masters here. but they don't, they generalize. and you are stuck.
i guess if you really want to get that PhD, and in Britain, you have to go for a masters first. it's just one extra year. in the long run, considering you will have about 4 years for your PhD, does one extra year really matter so much?

and why can't you tell your undergrad tutor the real reason?