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======= Date Modified 06 Mar 2010 11:12:08 =======

Biological Sciences / Medical - Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity

Hi Cupcake,

You are not asking for too much at all. Again my advice would be to just discuss this with your supervisor. Tell him that you feel this way and you would like some one on one meetings to discuss YOUR project. Just say that as you are still in your first year you need a bit of extra guidance. That is his job afterall... to supervise and help you in whatever way you need.

Cheers,
Superman

Hi Cupcake,

I would just pretty much copy and paste what you wrote here and send it in an email to him. Just politely ask if you could have structured meetings every fortnight where you can take minutes and set fortnightly goals/tasks. You sound like you would benefit greatly from that. Even better might be just to knock on his door and ask face to face; that way you can't come across as rude.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Hi Kari,

I had to make a similar choice and I chose not to go to Cambridge as the supervisor did not have enough funding and I generally didn't like the vibe I got. I am very very happy with the choice I made and my current supervisor is fantastic. I have been doing the PhD for 4 months and it is going really well. I would say choose the one you think you will be happiest and enjoy. From what you said it sounds like you may be better off staying where you are.

Cheers,
Superman

I have a habit of re-reading emails over and over after I have sent them. I always try to re-arrange sentences in emails and papers over and over.

Hi Sarah,

I feel bad for people who get bad supervisors. I see a few people in our department who get no support at all and I think it is awful. So many people rarely see them or haven’t even still had meetings. I think I would struggle if left to do it on my own. I guess I have just been lucky. I did go out of my way to choose a PhD with a supervisor I thought would be helpful and easy to get on with so it’s not all luck. I am glad you still enjoy it! :D

Hi Anum,

My nickname is not a reflection of me! I just like superman and his principles lol. I am a smallville addict. Oh... and I have superman pijamas... yea that’s right I’m a geek but I didn’t buy them for myself; honest!

It’s not a requirement to publish. I just wanted to have a good first year and should be able to make a story out of the data I have. Highly motivated right now but I am sure that could change.

Thanks guys! I'm glad to hear that more of you are enjoying the PhD too. A lot of threads on here are doom and gloom. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one having a good time. I think having a good relationship with a supervisor or mentor makes all the difference.

Some days I can't stop smiling. People ask if I am OK as if i'm on something. In my opinion there really is nothing better than doing research. My office is right next to the coffee room too... what a bonus!

Hiya,

I thought I would share my experiences of my PhD so far!

I have a happy and positive perspective on PhD life. I started in October 2009 with a BBSRC funded studentship. I have loads of data already. My supervisor rocks, she is young, smart, easy to get on with, always around for questions, meet once per week minimum, get replies to emails instantly. Postdocs in my lab are very helpful and always there if I need them. Other PhD students are friendly, great atmosphere in both the lab and office. I have done a few presentations - the first one went bad but the second one much better. I am writing a review paper and hope to publish it within the year. I am attending my first conference soon and presenting a poster - can't wait. Should have my first article published within the year also. Met lots of internationally renound scientists on an informal basis (playing football) who are all great, one of them being my advisor which will be a massive confidence boost when he is in my assessments and viva. I live close by so getting to and from work is easy.

That's about all for now! Comments welcome :D

Hi all,

I just wondered if anyone from here was planning to attend?

http://picls.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/

I will be presenting a poster! Come and see me although you won't know who I am... muhahaha

Personally that much time spent saving would put me off. I don't think it would be worth it. It depends how much you like the research area. Is there any other way you could try to get funding or do a PhD in another country?