It's sciencey and this is my final year and it still happens. I just wasted a couple of days trying to make a dummy-data set and I keep changing my mind about how to do it.

This has SO happened to me - and over and over. I've learned to go into a kind of zen space when I realise it has happened again. Have you seen the movie 'Ice cold in Alex?' All PhDers should see it. At one point, after a gruelling time pushing the jeep up a sand dune, the hapless female crew member accidentally lets it roll to the bottom. She wants to cry. The plucky captain whatsit just grits his teeth and tells them all to start over again straight away. I love this movie!

It's very exasperating to see how some of us get basically no input into our projects while other people get a lot of support. I don't begrudge those that get support - but it does seem unfair that some of us are left re-inventing the wheel and developing protocols and methods which could very reasonably be expected to be taught. I sympathise. Your supervisor does sound top of the range demanding and unreasonable. Are these new protocols? If that's the case it would be understandable - but if you are just re-inventing protocols that are already known - that is quite diferent and very annoying.

What, only 5 days? That's nothing...

I think your age is no probalem at all, especially as you have continued to gain experience in a relevant area. I suppose the big question is whether it will be worth the effort - will it enable you to do something, professionally, that you want, that you can't do otherwise (and that will make the studying and drop in income worthwhile).

I don't know anyone who has done this, but if it were me, I would contact potential supervisors my email in the first instance. After all, it's not worth doing unless the new supervisor is sympathetic and willing.

I rely think you must report this. All institutions have someone to hear complaints. Contact your admissions office or head of dept and find out how that is done.

I have also lived a boom to bust and back sort of life. It is nice to be comfortable financially but it's not enoug in itself (although I'm sure none of us want to live on a postgrad grant indefinitely).

Olivia - can you visit home a bit more often? Do you really have to be here all the time?

Olivia - there may well be other doors that will be opened and you may need other advice (i.e. from outside academia). If you are affiliated with London University - I recommend their careers advice. They helped me out at a difficult time.

Otherwise - don't do anything drastic until we have Lunched!

As for the pyramid scam - I think there is something in that. We each have to appraise our academic potential as frankly as possible. It's a tough call - caught between optimism and pessimism for the future.

Even at my ripeness of age and maturity there is something about putting 'owning a house' over doing a PhD that makes me want to snort. As for getting engaged - surely that doesn't require a permanent salaried job? Strikes me as a sadly suburban view of life for one so young.

It varies enormously. It's not unusual to have no publications. I was advised to aim for 4 (but I have an experimental project so that is not unusual). I've just been looking at a borrowed thesis from a postdoc in a very close field in another dept. I was curious to see the standard since our fields are so close. She has, no kidding, 16 papers, 10 of which were first author - from her thesis. It's enough to make you weep.

Sometimes it's better not to make comparisons!

Actually that is what I hear too - that it's easier to get tenure in the US. Probably depends on the field and how you rank on the job market.

I agree Big Mac - I chose this because it was interesting and challenging. My problem now is though, that I am wary of the high-pressure job that I would have to sustain to keep doing the interesting and challenging bit. I'd still like to do it - but not the long full-time hours that I see around me. Just hope I can find some compromise solution when the time comes - it's demoralising to think this might come to nothing.

Tough choice, but if you are really sure about going into industry then obviously the one that will give you the most appropriate skills would be the sensible choice. But I can definitely see the lure of astrophysics. I'd find that hard to resist myself.