I am a second year PhD student and completed my first year part-time but made very little tangible progress and am now full-time. I have been suffering from lack of motivation for this project for probably as long as I have been doing it.

The way I see it, there are several problems that make it unlikely that I will proceed to submission and get a PhD.

1. I like the topic but don't love it.

2. My progress has been painfully slow (non-existent at times) in comparison to any other project I have taken on and successfully completed.

3. I can visualise how my entire project will come together and know I'm capable of pulling it off but in reality know that just because I can do something doesn't mean it's right for me to do.

4. I'm sick of the poverty of student life. Even before I went full-time, I was subbing and teaching/lecturing part-time - earning decent money for parts of the year and then being absolutely flat broke for other parts of the year and can't envisage spending another 2-3 years like this. (When I finish this year I'll have spent 10 years of my adult life at university)

On the other hand, I like to finish what I start, and am determined not to walk away with nothing to show for the past two years. Basically, while I love teaching and lecturing, it isn't the only thing I would be happy doing with my life, so a PhD is not essential to my life/career plan.

I've basically decided to see out the rest of this academic year and work my a$$ off to get a decent M.Phil thesis written and hopefully passed by next Sept. I suppose I've already made up my mind, so am not really looking for advice but just to see if anyone else on here have had a similar experience.

If you got an M.Phil, either by choice, or because you weren't awarded the PhD at the final hurdle, how did it affect your life or career?

I feel relief at this stage because I know that the M.Phil is very achieveable in this timeframe but just hope that I don't come to regret leaving without finishing the PhD.

Also, I wonder how having two masters degrees (one taught and one research) on my CV would be viewed by employers outside of academia. My discipline is humanities/education/media.

It sounds like a horrific experience and while you managed to get through it, and more importantly PASSED - I understand how the bad experience would colour the feelings you have about the Viva. I know if it was me (or when it is me - I have couple of years before I get that far), I would have gained a lot of satisfaction from the process of completing a PhD and having created an original body of work and that my supervisors seemed pleased with my progress but I know for a fact I would be obsessing for months over how I feel the Viva went or should have gone.

At the end of the day, you achieved your goal - you completed your PhD, had the full support of your supervisors, survived a horrible, uncomfortable and stressful panel and passed your Viva! Congratulations where they are due - well done!!! (up)

======= Date Modified 17 Sep 2011 00:02:43 =======
If you haven't created a FB profile by now, then you really shouldn't bother. Social networking in the way that Facebook offers is overrated and can be quite annoying. I only joined in 2007 because some friends from university who were living in a different part of the country were raving about it. I honestly didn't use it for about a year and then got really into it - but am definitely not feeling it lately.

I check Facebook a few times a week but (and it may just be my experience) less and less people seem to be actively using it. They may be logging in and checking out other people's pages, but they're not actively posting. Then at the other end of the spectrum are the countless people who insist on sharing highly inappropriate and private information at inopportune moments - info I have zero interest in knowing!

I keep threatening to delete my profile but haven't gotten around to it. I'm actually sorry I joined up in the first place. As for the South Park episode - it summed FB up perfectly (in all of its worse and most extreme moments). As for networking, Facebook is not a good tool to expand your professional contact list, as it's so informal and unbusinesslike. You'd be better off setting up a profile on LinkedIn (Can I mention other websites? If not mod. feel free to edit!), or do what I have done and set up a blog/website that deals only with your research interests and details your academic and professional accomplishments.

Another issue with Facebook is that most people set their profiles to private, so that while companies or members of the public can search and find your profile, they can't access your full profile. Also it's doubtful that most companies would use Facebook as a networking tool when there are so many other avenues available to them. In summary, if you don't have a profile set up then don't bother with one unless for personal use/curiosity but not as a professional tool.

======= Date Modified 07 Sep 2011 21:19:18 =======
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think you're right Delta and Sneaks, it is definitely possible.

Thinking about it, I have lived on much less, especially when I was doing my undergrad in the UK and living away from home with no students loans (wasn't eligible at the time). Looking back, I don't know how I survived it, let alone had a social life.

I don't smoke and hardly drink but I suppose I have become accustomed to a particular lifestyle. I tend to buy whatever is on special when it comes to food, cleaning products etc, but I do have a tendency to buy named brands. And up until recently I had been buying designer make up, and I get my hair done - highlighted & cut several times a year - although I do save a small fortune as my friend is a hairdresser does my hair in my living room for less than half the price of a salon. And even though the majority of clothes I buy are on sale, or are from cheaper department stores, like Dunnes and Penney's (Primark), there's probably a whole lot more I could be saving myself.

God, even writing that makes me realise that I've become accustomed to a good standard of living - there are loads of things I can cut back on there. Mainly making better choices with the little money I do have. When I think back to even 3-4 years ago I was living a completely different lifestyle - studying, saving for tuition fees, working in temp jobs and spending extremely little money simple cos I had none to spend!

I think I just need to reevaluate my lifestyle and acknowledge that if I want to finish the PhD then I need to make sacrifices. I've done it before, I just need to readjust to living a student lifestyle again.

Hey, I'm relatively new to this forum. I know there are a couple of older threads on similar topics but I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself and also ask for advice from fellow PhDers.

I'm in the second year of my PhD (Yr 1 part-time) and am due to start full-time research from 1st Oct. I am based in Dublin, an extremely expensive city as anyone who has lived or visited here will attest to. I will have limited funding which will give me approximately EUR€14,000 per year, including grants (approx. GBP£12,300).

I have worked through all of my finances and reduced monthly payments and various utilities as much as I can, but after rent (sharing), utilities, food, loan repayments and running a car, every cent is accounted for.

I've been working as a teacher on temporary/substitution contracts for the past few years but there is a public sector recruitment ban in Ireland for the foreseeable future, so it is unlikely I will pick up any additional work this year.

I am used to having very little money and spent most of my 20s (I'm 30 now) scrimping and saving for the bigger things I wanted (such as my BA, MA, travel, car etc.). I'm not a big drinker and am not into nightclubs. I've travelled a lot, lived in the UK, Australia and Canada so can handle not taking any foreign holidays for a few years. I also don't spend a huge amount of money on clothes but would like to have the option of buying something if I feel I need it.

I will have zero disposable income left over once my bills are paid - that means no money to meet friends for coffee/drinks/cinema, get my car serviced if needed, buy make up if I run out, get my hair cut or taxis if running late etc. Basically, it leaves me with zero money outside my bills and essentials. My car and the gym (paid a year upfront) are my two main luxuries.

Obviously I can look for part-time work, but Ireland is in a deep recession at the moment with unemployment at approx. 14.4 % so there is very little available and I spent so much time working last year that I have a lot of catching up to do on the PhD.

My question is, can I live like that long-term, as in for one to three years? How do other people manage? How much disposable income do other PhD researchers have per month? And is the scrimping and saving worth it?

Unfortunately there is minimal postgrad funding available in Ireland across all disciplines, and much of the funding that was available has been cut or taken away entirely. I am a current PhD student in Ireland, and the main funding opportunities are to a maximum of €16,500 per year + fees. There is currently no provision for rent, bills, and in most cases expenses while doing a PhD. Also, there is no student loan system, or Career Development Loan, as in the UK, so if you are unfunded, you are pretty much left to your own devices.

Most full-time PhD students have to work in order to fund themselves, and may receive a very small maintenance grant from their local authority, but you must satisfy residency criteria for that, as far as I know. Hope you find a way to make it work, if you are successful.