If it is any consolation most 25 year olds who want to do PhD's are in the same financial predicament as you. I am 33 and about to start a PhD self-funded, I am doing my Master's right now and all the Master's students are 21-25 with no money left after this year. I worked from 25-33 and saved as much money as would allow me to come back to Uni self-funded. Not to put a dampner on the whole thing but it was a hellish journey of pain and suffering.

My advice would be prepare for the worst i.e. save lots of money if you have a job, and if you don't have one then get one. When you are doing your Master's get to know the PhD students and some of them can help you with your funding applications.

Take any work you can get your hands on - Tesco, Administration, anything! Save as much money as possible! How old are you if you don't mind my asking?

OMG Gove is an absolute clown. I can't believe he hasn't been assassinated yet. Free schools/attempts to abolish the inspectorate/doing away with Of Mice and Men and To kill a Mockingbird is what happens when Mr. Bean is allowed to be in charge of Education. He is an idiot. I can't believe he is even allowed near children never mind be in charge of their futures. What a fool. I can't wait until he dies.

Bleebles it surprise me that "ALL secured permanent positions" when and where did this happen?

It is just not the case that this happens in Scotland. No where near it. Nor Ireland, nor Canada, nor Australia, nor America. Where do you live?!!! lol

There is a lost generation of teachers in Scotland the government is now trying to cover up.

I'm guessing you are English.

Certainly sounds like a rough ride. I qualified as a teacher in 2006 and got a one year guaranteed position. Everything I did for the next 8 years was temporary. I did a number of 3 month, 6 month and one year contracts. I got sick of all that. I thought I may as well do it in Academia instead - which is what I always wanted anyway.

Hey this type of thing is more common than you may think. I have a PDGE English and was a teacher for 8 years, I served as Acting Principal Teacher for one year. I have spoken to at least two other previous teachers in this forum since I have been here - about a month.

I left teaching because it was boring as hell intellectually. 11 year old English is so low level it made my eyes itch. I also can't stand bad behaviour and all the political nonsense (although I'm sure Academic politics are worse).

Have you done an MSc? Definitely consider doing one before your PhD if you haven't.

Your experience as a teacher will absolutely help you. It will help you plan/do/review all your learning without doubt - something extremely beneficial to research which others sometimes lack. Your broad and specialised subject knowledge is also obviously a bonus. Teaching experience may also help land you work as a GTA should you want it.

Were you considering skipping an MSc?

Are you applying for funding?

CR1980 -

You are totally right in everything you have said.

Most of the time I can gear myself up for the competition but sometimes the strength of others just makes me feel sick to the pit of my stomach.

I am very good at my subject, have some solid original ideas and methodologies and am a good writer. I don't doubt I will get a PhD.

However the outstanding natural brilliance of some of my peers is sometimes just absolutely overwhelming.

Reading their work feels like going into shock sometimes.

I am 33 and only started my part-time two year Master's in September and in that time I have got two merits out of two assessments, been published in a postgraduate journal and organised an academic conference. I have also been commissioned to write a book review, and conduct an interview for a well-known online journal. I am going to be an editor on the postgrad journal. However I feel like a complete failure. I did a PGDE Secondary English when I was 25 and then taught in the UK for six years and France for two years. I served nine months as Head of the English department in one school. Anyway I left that because I hated it. It was so boring and a total waste of time. Now I have entered Academia again because I want to be an Academic. I want a PhD and a job at a University as a research assistant.

However as I mentioned I feel like a failure. I know another student who is 24, has got a first in his Undergrad, a Distinction in his Master's and is now doing a PhD. Everything he does is better than me and he is doing it nine years younger. He has given a conference presentation, had two book reviews published, conducted five interviews and had them all published, organised an academic conference and edited a postgraduate journal. His Academia profile has had 360 profile views and 450 document views.

My Academia profile (only set up yesterday) has had one profile view and zero document views (the document was published two days ago).

I am not jealous and I am happy for this person especially since this person is very likeable.

Can anyone tell me how to get over these feeling of failure and low self worth?

My self-esteem is fine, I just feel a bit incompetent (which intellectually I know I am not).

It is a bit weird feeling like this. I am usually quite audacious.

One of the most relevant academics to my research at my University, who often ends up marking my essays (and giving me good grades - he has given me two Merits so far and the last Merit was one mark off a Distinction) is the most arrogant and condescending piece of work I have ever met in my life. He writes one line of positivity on my feedback forms and then goes on a rant about what I could of done instead saying things like "Why didn't you use this methodology instead", or, "I don't agree with your thesis". None of it affects me because he is just another traditionalist with nothing useful to say. In fact it spurs me on to work even harder.

I don't believe in hope or luck but thanks for having good will towards me. I will do everything in my power to get a good supervisor, but I have a feeling I will end up with Mr Arrogant and Condescending described above.

I'm not really bothered because all I need is guidance on how to structure my PhD thesis (even that there are plenty guidance books on) and I will just argue against everything and anything he brings up to threaten my thesis with. I am not scared of him. I am a better writer and have better ideas than him anyway.

I am in Scotland and I doubt I won't get a position at my current University.

Hey Istanbul Girl just for moral support I have had exactly the same thoughts/reservations as yourself. What's worse is I want to do my PhD at the very institution I am studying my Master's at just now and still haven't found someone I would be 100% comfortable working with. I am halfway through my Master's as I am studying it part-time and will have to start emailing prospective supervisors very soon. It's a nightmare. I just haven't found the perfect match yet. I am told the perfect match does not exist. I think I will have to make compromises no matter what happens. It sucks.

You don't half go on a bit Huxley.

Bewildered/Robin where do I find the journal ranking please, I googled it but nothing happened.

Thanks.