Perhaps you can say you feel the need for an associate supervisor to help in a certain area of your thesis? In my case my supervisor and I learnt at about the same time, I was her first honours student and her first full-time doctoral candidate. During the honours degree I asked for an associate supervisor because I felt there was a gap and she did agree though I admit to having to learn to juggle the feedback from both. But in the end because I let them know how I felt, they had mini meetings before they met me and that helped me to make the best of having 2 advisors.

1st year-reading, thinking about and working out theoretical framework

2nd year-drafting, attending conferences, seminars, testing ideas out in wider academic circles (absolutely frightening but essential for building confidence in one's own work). THis may also be an ideal period for churning out papers, articles and book chapters.
Also, tutoring and lecturing to accrue necessary experience.

For me, the bulk of socialising and interaction with others happened in the 2nd year and the beginning of the 3rd year.http://www.postgraduateforum.com/images/smiley_cheeky.gif


3rd & 4th year-redrafts, editing, hibernation, crazy hours and panic!

One thing I did do that was really helpful was to keep a series of thesis journal (I have about 14 of them now) that track the train of my thoughts. Because I have a poor memory these have been lifesavers.

On the admin side, keep track of your emails, expenses , annual reports and letters etc, so when you need to apply for more funding, extensions, etc you have it all to hand.

Lastly, back-up, back-up, back-up. Establish a routine for backing up all your data and never veer from it. I know of several people who had their progress seriously impeded due to loss of data.

Yes, I second all that has been said but would add one more bit... be careful about which conferences you attend and the amount of time you lavish on preparing each presentation. They can be very distracting even when rewarding so there is a need for some prudent balancing.

Also, if your partner/spouse is not supportive of you, the task is made many times harder.

As for the financial rewards, 70k pa is good enough to afford many things in Australia if one is thrifty and understands priorities, given the tax rate is about 38cents to a dollar.

Of course, the trick is to find that elusive permanent post. Contract positions and sessional teaching are the more likely avenues, even after graduation for humanities people here.

Sciences and engineering graduates, though, would have much better prospects.

What I'm looking for is a spot where I am allowed to combine teaching, which I enjoy enormously, with research. Without, and this is important, always being asked to produce impact-factored publications or earning research points for the faculty. It is short sighted to demand that of humanities researchers because the benefits do not always emerge immediately. I want to be an academic because I want the task of exercising my intellectual capacity to answer questions about the world and helping others to gain that capacity to be my declared task.

However, having had many different jobs and careers already I think I agree with those who say that academia is definitely closer to a vocation than a career. By that, I mean, if you're in it for the money you're on the wrong path. Not that a comfortable lifestyle must be sacrificed but you certainly would expect the same money as say, a dentist, a lawyer or an engineer would anytime soon after graduation.

The workload can be extremely heavy and many academics here complain of overwork. However, during semester breaks and end of year, being in Australia is great because of the diversity of landscape, climate and space outdoors and the generally relaxed lifestyle. That attitude extends also to how people on campus relate to each other though there are exceptions. When I was first asked to address my lecturers and supervisors by their first name, well, I was shocked!

Being, hopefully, close to submission my mind is starting to turn this same question. No one else seems to have said about opportunities for academia in Australia so based on what I know here's my contribution:
if you can find a permanent post here, the lifestyle is not bad. You get 4 weeks of leave a year, the pay for a lecturer with PhD at level B (require a research record and some teaching experience) is close to A$70, think that is about 28 UK pounds.

Hey, well done! I'm almost there though the chapter is slightly slimmer than anticipated. I think the word count for the chapter will be closer to 14000 than 15000 but I am happier with the final result and will be glad to send it off to my supervisor come Monday.

I hear you, Lara. Just read over the very last bit to be edited and am jollying myself along with "yes, yes, easily done, c'mon".

Worse, it's actually a long weekend here! So while my nearest and dearest are resting in anticipation of another day off work, I am slaving over this #&%@#$ thesis!

Sorry, that last sentence should read "it is what you do after being awarded the degree that matters"

I too always find the weekends tough because my inclination is to relax from Friday evening onwards to Monday mornings.

I too regularly doubt the originality of my thesis. But having met some of the 'star' academics in my field in the past year, I am convinced that it is not so much the brilliance or otherwise of the thesis that matters as much as the possession of one.

In other words, it doesn't matter if it is highly original or merely original in the synthesis it presents, it is what you are awarded the degree that matters.

This may be atypical but I draw up schedules and revise them regularly. As I reach each target I tick that item off and move on to the next. It helps, I think, having some tangible signs of progress. Why not draw one up, show it to your supervisors and ask their advice on whether it is feasible?

Oh, and yes, sometimes a break can help, provided you really do let go and not spend your time feeling guilty.