Well you're right so far - it's nothing like working a normal 9-5. Expect that slow pace to continue, but remember you need to pick it up when you have to, such as when things aren't working properly, during final year and during writing the thesis (I'm talking about science PhDs here). I remember my supervisors asking me if I thought I was working hard sometime during my first year. I replied no and they laughed - but I know what hard work is and honestly, I don't think I've ever worked 'hard' at my PhD like I did during my 9-5 (or 8-7, if you get my point).

You can also expect to have to manage your supervisor - many academics have no idea about managing people at all, so you have to ask for the supervision you need.

Google imposter syndrome. I think every PhD student suffers from that at some time or another, or continuously.. forever, yeah.

Every PhD experience is different. Mine was a great one, but some people go through hell during their PhD, for various reasons.

Generally no, that isn't one of the difficulties I suffer with.

Try free writing where you just write anything slightly relevant without checking for references, errors etc

Or make a list/outline of what you want to do

Or do something other than writing such as data analysis

https://www.gov.uk/work-reference

Basically it just says that employers have a give a fair and accurate reference. Obviously, that's rather subjective so not very helpful.

You can ask for copies of your reference if you are worried for next time; you're entitled to see it I believe. I've seen a reference written for one of my fellow PhD students, and I would judge it to be 'fair and accurate'. It wasn't a great reference, but it did highlight her positives and negatives fairly so I think that's fair.

Congratulations Dr Glowworm!

Hopefully I will be following you soon; my viva is at the end of October!

Most people are from the UK on here so you might not get many answers.

I think that's fine. Someone at my uni submitted with 29000 when the minimum was 30000 and he still passed, but that is in the sciences. Maximum at my uni is 80000.

That's a strange policy. Don't you know anyone at a uni that can help?

As with PhD projects, the postdoc experience is dependant upon many factors. What do you mean by an industry position? Does a research institute count? If so, it's not that different from a PhD at a university. There are the same issue with supervision, resources, horrible people etc.

1. Yes it's fairly difficult to get on to a PhD. You need to have a good BSc at the very least, and quite often experience in the area, possibly an MSc and decent interview skills where you demonstrate that you have the qualities required of a PhD student.

2. Sometimes you have to do both, but you can contact the administration team and ask, because sometimes only an application, CV and a cover letter is required when you are applying for a funded project.

3. If you are accepted for a funded project you will work on that project, but depending on your results you may deviate from the project as you go along.

68% is very good, you should be pleased with it, especially considering the circumstances. This will not stop you from getting a PhD. Depends on the field, but I know a lot of PhD students that don't have a MSc at all, let alone a distinction.

The other important point is, what has changed between your previous PhD and this one to make sure you don't drop out again?

Yes it's better to mention it. People talk. How do you know they don't know each other?

It may affect your application, some people care and some don't. I do know one PhD student that dropped out after one year from a very very good uni, and took a job as a technician for 2 years, and then went on to start another PhD, so it is possible.

It will affect your integrity though if you fail to mention it at all because it will see the light of day eventually.

Fabian, sounds like you will get a stipend, so that's good, but going forward, to avoid ambiguity, you need to ask direct questions such as 'will I get a stipend?', 'how much?', 'for how long?', 'when is it paid and when will I receive the first instalment?' otherwise you may get a shock when you start the PhD.

Supervisors are great at giving vague 'answers' that raise more questions. You need to be bold and make sure you get the answers you are looking for, otherwise you will find that this pattern is repeated throughout your PhD.

Just chucking this out there... it's best to ask in the interview what form of stipend is available, because if he says now that there is nothing available, you are going to be disappointed and may not be able to take the position.

But, if there's funding to cover fees, there's usually funding to cover stipend (this is what we call the non-taxable income that PhD students receive). However, I do remember reading on here previously that EU students may get fees covered, but not a stipend in some cases. Since your offer letter doesn't mention stipend, but does mention fees, it could be that you are not being offered a stipend. As Eds said, you need to email him and check.

I think his email confirmation would suffice, but if he says you are getting a stipend, then you should expect another letter confirming this, because that would mean the original letter was a mistake.

Generally, you would get one letter that says fees are covered and stipend is £14k a year.

I don't know, I will have to check the reviewing guidelines to see if that's grounds for rejection, or just major revision. I also have the option to edit the text and say specifically what they need to improve, so I could do that. Since they have cited the reference, it's probably a language thing/not understanding how to paraphrase properly rather than something deliberate.

I checked with my supervisor as well and he said he thinks it's ok to review for these journals but he wouldn't want to publish in them as they are not reputable and have no impact factor.