Hi folks, really just looking for a bit of a pep-talk from anyone who's been here before... My viva was a little over two months ago, at which point I was given a Revise and Resubmit, which was a HUGE blow. I was working at the time (although, fortunately, my contract came to an end on 31st March) but have now had a month and a half to - theoretically - work full-time on the revisions. Financially, I need to just get this done. Emotionally, I need to just GET THIS DONE. But it's been such an enormous blow to my self-confidence that I find myself just staring at a computer screen all day long. Today, I got as far as opening up the current chapter (chapter 1. Yay. Negative progress...) and procrastinating the day away. I have zero confidence in my ability to deliver what's asked and I'm afraid to even try. Supervisor 1 is uninterested at best, supervisor 2 claims interest but has about 8,000 other PhD students to look after. I think the problem is that I just can't get past the fact that I didn't deliver last time, despite pouring heart and soul into the project, and I can't manage to believe that what I'm doing this time will be any different. Supervisor 1 is the only one who read my thesis last time and she told me it was up to scratch so how the hell am I supposed to believe what she says this time around? I genuinely don't think she cares one way or another at this point, I was a late addition to her workload after my original supervisor left the university between year 2 and year 3, and she has no interest in my project at all. It's not even her area of expertise. Sorry this is such a Debbie Downer of a post but I'm really in the depths here and I could do with a bit of perspective...

Thanks.

======= Date Modified 16 May 2011 21:46:35 =======
Hey Eimeo, really feel for you. I haven't submitted yet- I've got 4 months to go- but a friend of mine got a revise and resubmit on his PhD about 18 months ago and was also devastated. His supervisor had predicted no problems, and even texted him the evening before to say that he had been out with the external examiner for dinner and that he had nothing to worry about with regards to the viva. The following morning he had a 4-hour viva and a revise and resubmit. I happened to overhear his supervisor discussing it with his chairperson a little later on in the day, and they were saying how it was completely unpredicted and it was just bad luck that the examiner was as picky as he was. On the plus side- he completed his corrections, and passed about 8 months later without having another viva, even though initially he was told he would need one. So even though it's horrible and must feel really unfair when your sup said it was fine, I guess unfortunately there is no accounting for especially picky examiners. I'm not sure what to recommend regarding your position with your supervisors, but would it be possible to submit any of your work for publication in the meantime? It can be a bit of a drawn-out process but at least then you have feedback, and if successful it would suggest very strongly that your thesis is a worthy one. Having said that, you shouldn't have to rely on strangers- could you speak to your chairperson about your situation and see if he/she has any advice? Either way- just keep going- you can and will do it! Best, KB