Im not sure what field you are in but some organizations eg Society for general microbiology, offer grants for trips such as these which would help offset your costs

You should think very carefully before you submit it....if i submitted a paper without my supervisors knowledge/consent, they would have been majorly annoyed with me. Last thing you want in your viva is an annoyed supervisor ;-)

To me Jones (1998) and (Jones 1998) are different styles.

Im not sure how to incorporate two referencing styles into one document....would that not make it difficult to read. My supervisor always insisted that referencing and formatting be consistent throughout the thesis....might be different for different disciplines though.

i think you can change it in the edit output option and it should stay saved.

2 weeks is perfectly normal. They cant offer you the post until your references check out, and its summer....the man is entitled to a holiday.

I wouldnt say the exchange rate is crap :) The pound is much stronger than the euro, so converting from euro to pounds will make your amount seem much smaller.

just print it out and give them a hard copy

Ive been invited to have an informal look around a department/research labs etc next week prior to the actual interview which takes place a few weeks later (for a post doc position). Any suggestions as to what would be appropriate to wear (btw Im female). Since the email states "informal" would a smart pants and jumper be ok? I have a lot of travelling to do to get there (flight and train) so I want to be comfortable and carry as little as possible with me. Has anyone else had one of these informal visits before?

I think we had your printers long lost brother in our lab :) the ink cartridges almost had to be replaced on a weekly basis! Im not sure about laser printers but I have a really good canon inkjet printer. I bought it 7 yrs ago for 160 pounds or so and its still going great. I printed off 5 copies of my 300 page thesis before xmas and only used 1 black ink cartridge to do so. cartridges are about 12-15 pounds - I do a lot of printing but only go through about 2 cartridges a year so i think its quite economical :) It also prints pretty fast and its never ever eaten a page on me in the 7 yrs Ive had it :) It might be better to go with a quality inkjet printer than a cheap laser printer if you can afford to.

Eueu, what is it that you are researching that you feel is so worthy of all this media attention? Not being mean or cruel, but you are a first year PhD student - I cant really imagine what you could have to say that would be so important. This is the time for learning and improving your skills. How many of your professors are household names? Does that make their work any less valid or important? Academics do not generally seek validation in public circles, but in academic circles through the process of peer review. Sometimes research does cross over into mainstream media, but it has almost certainly already been published in the academic world first.

Ive just finished a PhD in Virology and I cant imagine that self funding would be possible. Reagents are very expensive and hours in the lab are very long (for everyone in our lab anyway) due to time points and huge amounts of cell culture. There simply would not be time to have a part time job on the side to support yourself. Even if you have sufficient savings to cover living expenses I would encourage you to apply to funded positions - I have seen several advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Most lab based PhDs are funded - I dont know anyone that has done an unfunded one. Is there a reason these labs of which you speak are not attracting funding?

I (female) wore pants and a smart top, and leather shoes. I think its important to be comfortable. The examiners are there to examine your thesis....not your fashion IQ. Just look smart, tidy and be comfortable.

Hi there, Im not sure if this has been suggested already but would you consider taking a leave of absence from the PhD....This would give you time away from the situation and more space to make your final decision as to whether or not to stay. A friend of mine did this - she got her funding suspended for a year and got a job doing something else (She was also very unhappy in her PhD, very stressed and even a little depressed about it). She eventually decided that she didnt want to go back to the PhD but she found that having the option of going back after a year was a good safety net in case she regretted leaving.