hi there

i passed the viva in the end, with minor corrections!

so very happy with that after all my worrying.

Hi there

i am due to sit my viva on friday 16th nov for my mphil thesis.

I submitted it early september before i started 2 months of training for a new job so it has been the last thing on my mind for a long time.

I had originally started the research as a PhD but decided to downgrade it to an mphil as i didnt have the passion or interest to continue with the phd.

it has taken me 2 years to write the thesis and in general i have not been the happiest person in the world during it - to be honest i cannot wait till it is all over with.

i am pretty sure my future career will not involve the area of my thesis (my current new job doesnt), but i guess things can change.

anyway what i am trying to say is that the combination or my general low interest in the field and the last 2 months of not thinking about it has got me very worried that i will not do very well at my viva.

is there anything i really MUST do to do the best i can at the viva?

obviously i need to know everything as well as i can but should i be practising any essential questions or summarising things, knowing references thoroughly etc etc - adding post its to my copy of the thesis etc?

ANY help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I think my greatest fear is that i get asked a load of super in depth questions that i just dont know the answers to - 2 hours of that cud be hell :/

thanks everyone
david

Hi there

i am due to sit my viva next friday 16th nov for my mphil thesis.

I submitted it early september before i started 2 months of training for a new job so it has been the last thing on my mind for a long time.

I had originally started the research as a phd but decided to downgrade it to an mphil as i didnt have the passion or interest to continue with the phd.

it has taken me 2 years to write the thesis and in general i have not been the happiest person in the world during it - to be honest i cannot wait till it is all over with.

i am pretty sure my future career will not involve the area of my thesis (my current new job doesnt), but i guess things can change.

anyway what i am trying to say is that the combination or my general low interest in the field and the last 2 months of not thinking about it has got me very worried that i will not do very well at my viva.

is there anything i really MUST do to do the best i can at the viva?

obviously i need to know everything as well as i can but should i be practising any essential questions or summarising things, knowing references thoroughly etc etc - adding post its to my copy of the thesis etc?

ANY help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I think my greatest fear is that i get asked a load of super in depth questions that i just dont know the answers to - 2 hours of that cud be hell :/

thanks everyone
david

hi people

just a quick update - i had the talk with my supervisor - and no it wasnt as scary as i had built it up to be :D

he said he would support me if i did a phd or an mphil - and i chose to change over to the mphil, which i will aim to finish in feb/march of next year.

so at least ill get something out of 18 months of study :)

you know what actually, as i have not had my 1st year viva interview based on my report, i may not 'officially' be a phd student yet... ill need to look into that.

======= Date Modified 03 Nov 2011 11:14:16 =======
======= Date Modified 03 Nov 2011 11:11:52 =======
yes i have been intimidated by people who i feel are very dedicated and also 'super intelligent' in my phd office.

this can be the case especially when you set out in your 1st year of phd study and are surrounded by 'experts' in the field who can be very dedicated to their work, it can seem like a very steep learning curve to get to that level (which it is i guess) and this can seem very daunting.

i have also found that certain phd students (or ones who have already become Dr xxx) can be quite pretentious (i guess as they seem to value their knowledge as superior to other people), which doesnt help not getting annoyed by academically successful people like that - but i think this is down to the individuals personality as other Dr xxx's that i know are very friendly and easy to approach.

however you have to remember that everybody has to start somewhere on the path of learning, people were not born with 'instant super knowledge' - so it is possible for you to get to that level if you have an interest in the field - which leads onto dedication and using your intellect to get the work done.

sadly i am lacking in the dedication part of the equation haha, but hopefully i will be able to get some thing out of the work i have done so far.

======= Date Modified 03 Nov 2011 10:54:32 =======
hi again

thanks for the advice.

i am going to see my supervisor tomorrow morning and i think that will be the time to talk through my current situation with him.

i am going to try and break it to him gently without going in with all guns blazing etc etc as both of you have said.

i am still a bit nervous about it but its something that has to be done... i am actively seeking jobs at the minute but of course i have stated that under no circumstances that my academic reference be contacted until i say so.

as far as the mphil option goes - does anyone know of the procedure to 'convert' it from the studies i have done so far as a PhD course?

thanks again!

hi there

i have decided to leave my phd after 1st year and move into the world of work.

it just isnt for me and i wish to get a job where i have set targets etc etc. rather than working on my own steam for 3 years in a subject that i do not have enough enthusiasm for.

however i have not had 'the talk' with my supervisor yet about leaving - even though he has an idea that i have not been doing as much work as i should - i had to have my 1st year report deadline delayed by 2 months as i did not have enough work done for the original date.

however i got the report in and am waiting on feedback from it (not that it really matters now)

the question i want to ask is - how do i approach telling him i want to leave AND still use him as my academic reference for future jobs?

i still need to enquire about converting my 1st years work into an MPhil but not sure I have done enough to attain that level of qualification at this stage - so not really relying on that.

any advice would be appreciated :)

yeh true, will just take any opportunities and if i talk to a few people then that will be enough.

there are lunches / coffee breaks during the day and one evening meal on the 1st day, so ill either just stare at my potatoes or have to talk to someone.

======= Date Modified 05 Sep 2011 11:33:42 =======
Hi all :)

I am attending my first conference related to my PhD area of study tomorrow at the Uni of Warwick.

I am not presenting anything, just over to absorb knowledge in my field of interest.

My supervisor has advised me to 'not be scared to talk to people' - but as I am going by myself I am a bit nervous :/

Anybody got any tips for a 1st conference trip?

My supervisor is expecting it to be very useful and wants me to gain knowledge that will help my own studies.

Should I be too concerned with 'talking to everybody' or just take it as it comes.....?

Thanks!
David

Hi guys

I am in the process of writing up first year dissertation, which has a 1st draft deadline this Friday.

My supervisor is just back from a months holiday and in that time i pretty much did no work - even after a year i am still stuck in the same work ethic as an undergraduate i.e. only seem to do work when i am given it or mini-deadlines set by my supervisor, or 'official' mid-year reviews or presentations etc.

other than that i have been struggling massively with learning my field of work due to lack of discipline (ok so thats maybe a fancy work for laziness...)

also the fact that the others in my group seem to be very into their work and are always taking about it, this is quite deflating when i dont seem to have the same outlook as them.

i also spend to much time on the bloody internets, which my supervisor has now highlighted, as well as too many 'work from home' days.

basically i have got the email from him now that i was expecting to receive about his dissapointment in how i am progressing etc etc.

so it has come to an official 'turning point' - either get myself into gear or leave the thing.

has anyone experienced such a situation and what did they do? just get on with it and work harder?

i have arranged a meeting with the 1-1 personal development officer to see if they can give me any advice on the matter.

thanks :)
david

Hi there people

Im in my 9th month of my 1st year of my PhD in Engineering.

Soon I have to have my first year report completed to convince my supervisors / examiners that I have enough potential to carry on my PhD into 2nd and 3rd years.

Apart from this being quite daunting as I feel i have not absorbed enough information / become knowledgeable enough - I saw someones report from a few years back along with a quick glimpse (accidently on the supervisors part) of the questions he had generated for the interview of the student who produced the report.

The level of tech. depth and knowledge that some of the questions asked for has made me pretty worried about how much i know at this point in my PhD and that I should have be doing so much more reading/work etc in my 9 months.

i guess what i am basically saying is that i think i have pissed about too much for 9 months and now the sh*t is hitting the fan and im going to be found out to be the fraud that i thought i was!!!!

being surrounded by the ones in my phd group who are so much more enthusiatic about the subject matter (i swear they go home and just talk about phd stuff all the time) isnt helping either as i cant seem to get myself to that level.

anyone have any experience of this situation?

ive said to my supervisor that i have been 'overwhelmed' with the work around my 6th month mark - but he replied (as i expected) with 'oh everyone feels like that' - which did not make me feel any better :/

thanks for reading!! :)

======= Date Modified 08 Mar 2011 13:31:11 =======
yeh i guess from reading back my reply ive pretty much decided...

but the tactic of sticking at it and looking for jobs at the same time sounds like a sensibe approach compared to just quitting asap.

i forgot to say also - before i started my phd, i had my final year project supervisor (who is now my current phd sueprvisor) and my last employer team leader as both my referees on my cv.

If i want to keep my supervisor on as a referee and i end up leaving - i am worried that he may not be too chuffed if i want to use him still on my cv.... any advice on how to approach that situation?

i dont have any other academic referees i can use from my undergrad degree that i would know well or who would know me well enough to do a reference if they were contacted.....

thanks for the advice.

hi there

i am in my 6th month of my phd first year, studying in the mechanical engineering dept.

my phd was suggested to me by my final year (of undergraduate degree) supervisor, which was going to be a logical extension of that final project.

i did well in my undergrad degree, gaining a 1st class hons. in engineering.

i intitially started my degree in 1997, but quit it in 2000 due to health problems. inbetween 2000 and 2009 i worked in various establishments, and then returned in 2009 to finish the final year of my degree as i felt it would help me find better paid jobs.

i had no intention of continuing on to do phd - even doing a final undergraduate year was tough enough after a 9 year break.

but as the job market locally was pretty bad, i decided to do the phd, even thou the subject of it was not of great interest to me to begin with - ok it was a technical field i had experience with in with my final year undergrad project, but i didnt feel passionate or deeply interested in the phd subject topic.

now that i am 6 months in of not really doing *that* much - i am beginning to realise how much work needs to be done very soon - pretty much a full literature review so i can pass my first year (called differentiation here).

this will be a serious amount of work and i am pretty much not motivated at all and do not really have an interest in the topic, which i feel i need to have to even start to get motivated in the first place.

i was thinking of taking a leave of absence (unpaid) to decide what i want to do, but maybe i am just prologing the agony and should quit asap?

has anyone else felt this kind of severe lack of disinterest and possibly doing the phd for the wrong reason?

thanks!
kms

yeh, i think ill need to make the move and invite myself to lunch, rather than waiting for them to 'detect' i want to go.... at least then i will have made the effort to see if i can get along with them a bit better, otherwise ill never know......