Definately different pressures, but on top of all that I don't have to juggle a wife and a number of small children. Maybe I think this because my supervisor seems to work a lot harder than I do

A dentist with a sense of humour, never thought I'd see one of those...

hehe

I completely agree that a PhD is very hard, and you have to be really dedicated, but surely an academic career (or a good job in industry for that matter) is just as, if not more difficult? Grant proposals, paper writing, book publishing, teaching workload, hundreds of department committee meetings...

Maybe I'm just trying to psych myself up that it won't all be plain sailing once I submit!

By 6 months you should:

a) have written 2 papers.

OR

b) know where your office and the coffee machine is.

I seem to be permanently exhausted (falling asleep at 10pm and getting up at 9am), yet my productivity seems to be low, so I can hardly blame overwork!

Come back Dr. Wicked!

I have come to the conclusion that a Phd is 60% waiting around for somebody to email you back, or trying to get an experimental setup to work, or trying to get your computer to recognise your USB stick, or just your mouse, if your computer turns on at all, or wondering why the software license has expired, or spending months on a programming protocol because there is a / or a . in the wrong place, or waiting for people to come back from holiday (lucky them), or repeating something because the lab tech contaminated your sample, or finding that somebody has 'borrowed' your chemicals/equipment/lab bench/desk/girlfriend and waiting for them to return it.

Yep, its a bit frustrating.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on!

Ooops www.gradunion.cam.ac.uk

And yes, if you haven't received your Masters grade yet for example, it might take even longer...

It really differs when you hear from your College, but I warn you that it'll take a while. Your application has to go from your Department, OK'd by the funding body (if you have one), then the Board of Graduate Studies, who blow the dust off it and OK it, and then I think it might go out to your first choice College. Then it might go to your second choice, and then the College pool if needed.

I may have missed/added/reordered the steps but you can see that it'll take a while. Just be patient - if you are a funded PhD and the Department have given the OK then the University have to guarantee you a College place I think.

I think I had my interview in March and found out in July sometime, and that was my first choice College.

Check out the Graduate Union website www.gradunion.ac.uk/forum as they cover all of this all the time...(i think the website is down at the moment though).

Hope that helps.

Its graduation at my University.

Tell me if I'm being stupid (people often do so I won't be offended), but aren't non-red brick universities apparently the most prestigious, and red bricks are the post 1992 places? In which case I'm confused, because you say you're going to a good one in the first place?

Anyways, that doesn't matter. Its more about the reputation of your research department, group and ultimately your supervisor. I don't suppose you get much of a handle on that until you get there though...

No beer in your fridge? A school boy mistake...

You definately won't be able to park you car in College, only Fellows would be able to. Some outlying residences do have car parking spaces, but again, officially you have to register it. Its something to do with the environmental impact of the University, and a deal they made with the City Council.

The Babraham Institute is well served by buses; they come down my road every 20 minutes or so.