You could switch to another institution (if you have research council funding you can take it with you). But you would need to know who you would work with - and have had a conversation with them about everything, why you want to work with them etc, and have their support.

How are things now going in the current situation? It seems your supervisors are angry because they don't like either the decision to go part time or perhaps how you took that decision without asking for their advice etc. So I think if I wanted to try and mend things here, I would ask to meet with them and say it was important. Then I would just apologise if I had caused any upset by my decision / through not consulting them. And say that I want to move forward now with this PhD and outline any barriers to that (e.g., not being able to meet etc). Then the ball is in their court. I should think that would clear the air. Some people might disagree about the apologising part. It depends on whether you think you have offended them and want to fix that. It's certainly something you could try anyway as it seems things aren't great at present.

Hope things have improved since your last post. Tudor.

Unless you think that it would wreck your relationship with your supervisors (surely not?), I don't see how it could adversely affect your future career. You have RA experience under your belt now. What matters during PhD is maintaining mental and physical health, completing thesis, and (on the career front) developing and maintaining some good working relationships and also if possible getting one or more papers published. Hope this helps.

I am a little unclear on what you mean. Would it be possible for you to find a part time job that uses your computing skills?

The letter may have been lost in the post! Just contact them and ask them if / when they sent the letter! Congrats!

Cool! Did you get funding to do your second PhD or do you self fund? Just curious. I have to say though, another way to maintain your research edge when working for a living is to do research as a living! Or so I thought! Was this not possible in your case? I'm really curious about this stuff because I've considered doing a second PhD myself.

Hi coleman1981, congrats on passing viva. You can do it! It is so hard to work full time and then try to apply oneself fully to something else on weekends. It may sound mad but can you just set aside one day a week for the corrections? Personally, I need a day of head space or just can't function. I'd be doing that or else seeing I could reduce my hours at the museum if I felt I didn't have enough time seriously.

You said it in your last line that you really need to have a plan for completing your corrections. That seems to be the key here. Then you will know how long each element should take and when you will complete it. Are you a perfectionist by any chance? If so then now is the time to kill that and just get the corrections done as requested. I'm sure others who have been through the corrections process will have more practical advice.

I've found that some academics are a lot more in the know or at least willing to try, while others need a push or just aren't up for trying to find things out! Just personal differences I guess. But at the same time, also bear in mind they just may not have any options available other than the standard routes (eg research council funding). No amount of negotiating would work in that case. So don't be put off if it comes to just waiting and trying for that in the end. This does seem to be the most common way when it comes to applying for funding unless your school has its own pot of money for PhD funding. Again, good luck!

Also bear in mind that your supervisor is inexperienced (I think you said that he is new or ignorant of the UK system). This makes a huge difference. They may want to do a lot for you but not have a clue how to. Also if they are new they may not want to risk sticking their neck out or whatever to find things out (I wouldn't see it as that but some might - wanting to just keep their head down and all). You may need to keep reminding them to try and find out. And say things like, oh I heard of somehow who did x... someone was telling me that they were written into a grant by their supervisor, etc. This should ignite some ideas and prompt them to look into things. You could also be looking at opportunities elsewhere (jobs, PhDs), just to show that you are proactive and whilst committed to the current idea are not totally dependent on it / them.

This sounds really positive! In some ways I actually think it could be viewed as an asset. After all, you are less likely to leave because you have really considered is this for you etc, and had a taste of doing a PhD before. All the best and keep us posted!

Another option is to start anyway and just hope that you will secure funding later. I have a friend who did this. Her PhD is part time (I think) and she teaches to earn some money. She has sought out various sources of funding each year to keep her going. I don't recommend it, as it seems like a massive stress and burden. Much better to have a steady income.

What project will you do for your PhD , as there is a possibility that an RA role could be created that would support you to carry it out. This is probably unlikely though as your supervisor probably would have mentioned it as a possibility if it were one (eg if your project comes under the umbrella of some larger project and he could write you into the grant as an RA and/or PhD student).

Good luck!

I agree. But what you could do is identify multiple sources of funding you are eligible for. That way you're not putting all your funding eggs in one basket.

Thanks!

Hi all,

When you resubmit a paper having made revisions, are there some situations where it would be simply accepted by the editor without even having to go back to the reviewers to check with them that their comments were addressed adequately?

Cheers!

Jamie_Wizard! Long time! How are things???

Hi Adeyemi

It can be really difficult to navigate how to go about getting a PhD position. I remember being totally confused by it. So there are different pathways, and also different ways to getting on those pathways. Broadly, the first question to ask yourself might be whether you have your own idea for a project that you want to carry out, or you want to apply to work with someone else on their project idea. This will guide you. If the former, you will want to identify a suitable person to supervise and funding for your project (may be advertised on a platform like find a phd or maybe through just talking to potential supervisors). If the latter then you will probably want to identify an advertised project (usually on a platform like find a phd). Knowing the answer to this question is a good place to start.

Best
Tudor