Yay Bug - I know you aren't feeling it at the moment, but you really are the voice of sanity sometimes!

Whoever it was who referred to 'bitching' on this forum, as Bug noted - although there are some drama queens - this forum is often the only outlet for PhD students who are experiencing significant problems. If you don't want to hear people complaining (as Bug said 'bitching' is not the word) perhaps I should suggest you avoid those threads with titles that suggest they may be written by someone experiencing difficulties.

I enjoy doing my PhD on the grounds that one day I can leave (hopefully in a few weeks!) and prove to the 'learning impaired' staff at my current university that I can get a better job, and more successful career than they will ever have...

That's a classic, HazyJane; they do tend to treat PGRs like morons. A personal favourite is "You need to set aside chunks of time for your PhD to do it effectively" - really!?! I thought it would magically appear to me one day all bound and everything!

...the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft "Thesis" from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence, that I, Sleepyhead was to carry the title "Doctor"...

I don't mean this as a direct insult to you at all Tennie, so please don't be offended - but has anyone ever found Vitae (or then UKGrad) useful? Whenever I've used them/looked at the website it has all been incredibly basic common sense stuff; very generic; with minimal real content. Anyone experience anything different?

Most of the responses to these questions are not set in stone - they are dependent on your own institution's regulations which you need to check. What I would say though, is if your supervisor was inadequate, and you are unhappy with your examiner - why have you not done anything earlier; that's rather lax.

Bug, is that an offer to help Leopardi out of his emotional rut?

Personally I find it amazing that a man (I presume) is self-absorbed enough to think "I want sex with no commitment" is news worthy of posting on a forum!

No Eska! Naughty!

I think its very rude of you to imply that Tommy's girlfriend is a wind-up doll. Surely his girlfriend is one of those lowly undergraduates he picked up in the library and who is so in awe of his amazing abilities to balance work/phd/social life that she cannot help but remind him on a daily basis. Yes she's one of those independent and secure girls...

And what tommy also fails to mention is precisely what stage of the PhD he is at. I may be wrong but I have serious doubt that he's writing up less than 40 hrs a week... there may be no time for his 'special' girlfriend then, he'll have to keep her in cupboard and only bring her out on special occasions.

A friend of mine is a librarian, but she did the Master's route.  I remember when she was looking, the priority is not necessarily the course itself (unless you want to be a specialist in a particular subject)... but the fact that the course is CILIP accredited. If you can find a PgDip that has the CILIP recognition (and most do) that will make you a qualified librarian.

Of course, employers may still prefer someone with a Masters, but they are officially no more 'qualified' than you.

Unfortunately, I had a fairly nasty cancer scare (biopsies and all) last Christmas/January; and I have a check up mid-August. If my oncologist finds Camel Lights at the bottom of my handbag it won't be pretty! (Plus my funding has just run out so very very poor; £100 a month on fags isn't justifiable, despite just getting a £2500 grant).

More fortunately, I have got a stinking headache and fever today, so looks like I'm going to have to stay in bed for a few days and get that 'relaxation'! (this will mainly involve feeling guilty that I'm not working/applying for jobs!).

I have never visited the dept itself, but have met a few staff from there, and they have been consistently excellent. Hull may be ranked 5th by THE, but it is not perceived as traditionally one of the best, although it has made significant improvements. My worry would not be the dept as such, but Hull itself as a place. No insult intended to anyone from/who lives in/who loves Hull; but it is a bit of a ghost town. it is miles from any decent sized city that would have a good social/cultural scene. It has high unemployment (which in itself is nothing to be ashamed of) but does not create a positive atmosphere.

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This is going to sound very very odd, but bear with me...

For the past few days I have developed this weird lip twitch-y thing, like a tic. I recently (two weeks ago) started taking Champix to stop smoking, and now haven't had a cigarette for over a week. Buuuuut, tics are not a recognised side effect of Champix. So, I've now decided that writing up has driven me mad already, and have now developed a nervous twitch through stress and lack of sleep...



Ah well, the conference presentations and lectures I give will be fun!


:$

I understand your frustration, but you seem to be getting rather worked up... Remember, it is your choice to go home, whilst your supervisor should be aware and try to be flexible towards your constraints, you also have to understand his. As the other posters have said, he may be on holiday/have a funding or publishing deadline/exam boards/conferences, and number of other restrictions.

I too changed sup, as my first one was useless. Yes its difficult with a new supervisor to establish direction, but meetings are not always necessary, as long as the feedback, when it arrives, is quality.

Oh definitely - I've been asked to do teaching by the Head of Dept and other haven't... that's partly due to the fact that I know a number of students have commended me to him (including writing letters!) - but also partly because he's my supervisor!

I think there is a major over-reliance here on the definition of 'to complicate' as 'to make more complex'. It could equally state 'to make more problematic' or 'to make more difficult'... would you then argue that there is no difference between 'complication', 'difficulty' and 'problem'? No, because cultural and social uses make certain words more appropriate at different times - why some people say 'toilet' others 'lavatory' and others 'bathroom'/'restroom'. They are synonyms but not entirely interchangeable.

That said, complex is different to complicated; as complexification is different to complication. If you removed the very simplistic definition of of 'to make more complex' it might become clearer

Nope I completely agree with 'Bug - and am also a bit worried that PhD students don't seem to perceive the difference between something that is complicated and something complex... there are, as with most things, different levels of problem (as Bug tried to explain)' 'complex' being more so than complicated...

And OP, I think you need to get a new, more comprehensive dictionary.

Not to spoil the fun but complexification and complication are two different things... complexification is the process of something becoming more complex; complication is less specific in this regard - it does not emphasise the complexity, more the simply problematic