======= Date Modified 07 Nov 2012 00:24:25 =======
Hi all,
This is my first post here. I've been reading others' posts for a long time now and it's nice to know that many of the issues I've faced as a PhD student are normal. Glad to say I've submitted my PhD thesis and will have my viva soon (finished pretty much within the 3 years!). Right now, I'm (obviously) worried about my upcoming viva and what is to come afterwards in terms of career. Seems like securing a job is going to take a while.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think and share your experiences of coming to the end of your PhDs!

Coming to the end? I wish! So far it has taken me 5 years and I must resubmit. However, overall, it has been a neutral experience for me. What really hits me is the stress. I could do without it :)

======= Date Modified 07 Nov 2012 13:47:01 =======

I note you deleted alot of your initial post. Shame, as the questions you asked were fair enough.

1) You've no control over what questions you might be asked in viva. All you can do is to ensure you know what you're expected to know, that is the thesis and the related background theory. As you've saturated yourself with this over the months of write-up, you should know your material fairly well, however, I would revise it and the surrounding theory just to ensure you're better prepared for any awkward questions during viva.

Provided your thesis delivers a technically correct, succinct original contribution to knowledge that clearly demonstrates one of more new findings in your field (your supervisor should have been keeping you on the straight and narrow over this), you should be okay and not in theory have to worry about any more than minor corrections.

2) In answer to your (deleted) question over whether it's worth doing a PhD, I am quite happy to say that I would not decide to do any different if I had my time over again. I would still do the PhD, as to me it was a challenge I wanted to take on. It was the chance for me to do some original research that would produce something new and to work with people and techniques I would not otherwise have the opportunity to. As such, I got out of the PhD exactly what I wanted.

As to value to my career afterwards, I admit it has not really directly helped due to problems between a year and a half and two and a half years after (I'll not bore people by repeating myself here). A major problem with people wanting to follow a research or academic path is an oversupply of PhDs compared to available posts. Whilst many pursue a PhD with the aim of following such a career, it is always advisable for any PhD candidate to plan for a life outside academic and research-based environments.

There is always a chance the candidate may not see through a PhD (though you just about have), the candidate may fail or only end up with an MPhil (if you've done your work as per the answer to the first question, you should not worry) or they may gain the PhD and find there are few available positions in their chosen field. That is a chance we all take when we choose to do a PhD.

Unfortunately, it is generally cheaper for a University to take on a fresh PhD candidate rather than continue with the old candidate as a post-doc unless the old candidate as a post-doc is going to substantially raise the University's profile with their research. Also, many post-doc positions are taken by PhD candidates still writing up as a source of income whilst they complete and as they are not yet qualified, they can be hired on a lower wage than a true post-doc.

That said, we do take sets of skills into the real world (critical analysis, experimental design, etc.) that could potentially make us an asset to an employer. I wish some employers would see it that way though. It depends how we sell ourselves to some extent.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Was it worth it? For me, yes. More for the personal sense of satisfaction and achievement it gave me than for my career though, I have to say. Although I am now in a job I love, that I managed to get as soon as I had finished my PhD, I didn't need a PhD to work in this industry. If I had just started working instead of doing a PhD, I would probably be at a higher level than I am now and being better paid for it! However, I am more than satisfied with the choices I made and am very happy with where I have ended up (a pay rise wouldn't go amiss of course... ;-) )

Hi. Thanks for your replies. I agree that it was worth in the sense you get an opportunity to really work on something you enjoy. Not many people get a chance to immerse themselves in an academic subject of their choice for 3 years, travel around and get their work published! And it isn't exactly easy, but that's part of the enjoyment.

In terms of job prospects, a PhD isn't directly relevant to anything other than a research/teaching job and you really have to be the best of the best to get one as there are so few available jobs. I must be living in some sort of a bubble because the people I know have all done very well immediately after finishing their PhDs (unlike my own experiences and a couple of others on here, which is what drew me here in the first place). I've generally met two types of PhD students: (1) those who knew very long before finishing their PhDs that they wanted careers outside of academia and (2) those who always wanted careers in academia. People from the latter group who I have spoken to about jobs (I often bring it up as really need their advice) told me they only applied to  2 or 3 academic jobs and sometimes got a rejection here or there but ultimately ended up with at least one really good job offer usually BEFORE they had even submitted! When I share my experiences of rejections (though I don't usually mention the number of applications, which is 8 or 9 times higher), they seem utterly gobsmacked and really can't believe it.

So maybe academia simply isn't for me. I suppose I can look as the last 3 years as a very long "gap year" that some people have after their undergrads. I did something fairly useful and fun, but it was not a means to an end, probably more of a means to another means! It's hard not to sometimes think it was a little bit of a bad choice. I am obviously much older than other people competing for jobs in industry and have little relevant work experience. I'm not bothered by that too much - I accept I will have to start on very low pay and work my way up like anybody else - but I get anxious that employers will and prefer a fresh faced graduate or school leaver rather than a mature graduate.

if u're not interested of being an academician or researcher, u could consider the idea of being a consultant in ur research niche. being a consultant is kinda fun. u get to meet up with clients, travel and what not. the flexi hours are pretty cool too if u're not an early riser.