I think you will be ok. I'm 2.5 years in and I still don't have a lot to present at a conference; I just cross my fingers and hope something works by magic in the next year!

If you know where your work is headed, that's a good place to be in.

If you need more reassurance, maybe you can talk to your head of school or graduate advisers etc?

findaphd.com

I agree with Fled. Go with honesty. I think, if society doesn't appreciate it, so what, society is not going to change unless people try to change it.

You don't normally have to pay stipends back, but if you just received one in April, and you quit a few days later, you may have to pay the rest of that one back.

I wouldn't worry about your supervisor's health in relation to you quitting. He's probably got other things on his mind and likely cares much less than you are expecting him to.

Yes Chickpea you are right. The Open University is very good. I guess I was thinking about the online universities I see advertised a lot on FB etc - I feel these are dubious.

Hello Faruk,

Nice to meet you. Which subject are you studying and what type of course are you on?

I'd say do it - and make the work as related to your PhD as you can and that way you will already have written some thesis material. 15,000 words won't take that long anyway.

Personally I take every opportunity that comes my way because I can't foresee the future. I advise others to do the same - it may be too late to do it when you realise you need it.

I don't think any online master's degrees are useful, but maybe others disagree?

IT's not a lot different for a PhD app. Just put your education first, rather than work experience. If you have any publications, previous scholarships, conferences etc then add these too. If have specific technical skills that they are asking for, then mention this as well.

FOr the covering letter, put why you want the PhD, the interpersonal and technical skills you can bring to it and why you would be a good candidate.

Applied for 2, got 2 interviews, got 1.

I think it's the luck of the draw sometimes because I don't think I was a particularly stand-out candidate. I think I was just enthusiastic and determined in the interview and that's what they liked.

My supervisory meetings are booked for 20 mins but *always* last 45 mins to an hour.

I just look for visual cues from my supervisors as to whether I am waffling on too much and or if they are interested in what I am saying to know whether they want me to keep talking. If they make signs that they want me to get on it with and cut the meeting short I would say that I need to ask a few questions if they have time etc and if they don't, then I would book another meeting to get the questions answered.

If she is telling you what she wants, then you may as well do it, as it doesn't make any difference to you whether you tell her what you have done - you know what you have done - you only need her help and guidance if you are unsure of your approach.

Sorry to hear that :(

I'm not aware of any funding for resubmission. There may be someone else on this forum who knows.

There are several charities that will fund in hardship cases, or to support writing up students in their 4th year, so you could try for one of those. If you search online for funding opportunities, you will see there are thousands of them, but often you will only be eligible to apply for 10 or so. Many university websites also have lists of funders.

If your supervisors disagree, just do what you think is right (or if you don't know or care, just pick one route and follow that, maybe the one that will incur the least resistance from the supervisors). Part of the PhD is that you have make these decisions autonomously - your supervisors are there to guide you, not instruct you. They probably don't care too much about what you do, as long as you do something.

What is the job? A postdoc? Other type of research position?

You need to look up normal interview type questions and prepare for these and then think about your own research so you can talk about that in detail too.

Have you tried discussing what you need from your supervisor with your supervisor?

Thanks for this post.