It probably wouldn't be a problem - I am doing the same but in Italy.

I know exactly what I am doing - at least for two years I have to go back to my teaching job as my employer is paying for my PhD with this as the condition. If I don't I have to pay all the money back

If you already have a supportive supervisor then I would go for it! I didn't know that about women your (and my!) age dropping out - eek!

I have only just started but at the moment I love it. After eleven years of working (with 3 hours commuting a day) organizing my own time and not having to catch the train is enough to make me enthusiastic - add to that the chance to really study something I am interested in and I am ecstatic - hope it lasts!!

I think you need to ask the others to be quiet! There are plenty of places to socialise but not in the office. I have a noisy three year old at home, if I couldn't work in the office I would go mad.

I learnt at sixth form and it took about a term (only one hour a week though). Lots of typing "a jaffa salad" (only uses middle row of keys!) and then you gradually add in the other keys. I really recommend it as it has been so useful over the years. When I learnt it nobody really had a computer (I'm only 35 but it seems like a lifetime ago!) and a few friends thought it was a weird thing to learn if you didn't want to be a typist - they're probably kicking themselves now (well, probably not, but you can hope!)

I've just been reading a book about the best way to study (anything to avoid real work ;) ) It suggests that it is better to work in bursts of 20 minutes and then take a 5 minute break to do something different. So my (rather banal) question is what do YOU do in those five minutes to recharge your batteries?

Hi, I can't really help but I wanted to tag my message on yours if you don't mind! Do any of you EndNote users use cwyw with Windows Vista? If so, are there any problems with it? I've heard that it can freeze up but I don't know anything official. Thanks.

Thanks for the advice. I am in a bit of a strange situation as I am currently living away from home to attend uni but will move back next year. Atm my son goes to nursery 3 mornings a week and my mum looks after him for some of the rest of the time. I thought I would be able to work more in the evening but tbh I just feel too knackered after putting him to bed! Will have to reconsider childcare arrangements for next year but it should be easier as I will be back home so will have my husband to help out (hopefully!)

Hello everyone. I have only just started studying but already I am having a few problems. The main issue is my 3 year old. Obviously he's not a problem as such - he's adorable but I do find that I am doing less work than my fellow students. For example, this evening I should be reading up on research methodologies but ended up having to read Thomas the Tank Engine. How does everyone else manage juggling studies and children? And the million dollar question: how much work do you think you actually need to do per week to get ahead? Thanks for any advice.

Hi - I am based in Italy but am doing my PhD in the UK. I am currently spending five months in the UK but will be going back and forth for the rest of my time (doing the bulk of my research in Italy). I can't really say what it's like though as I've only just started! I plan to Skype mainly - will see how it goes!