I have exactly the opposite situation. I was the only english person doing PhD at a research centre in UK. I seemed to be left out of most activities/conversations, replied to with one word/one line answers, left to work alone whilst everyone else seemed to help each other...etc. I suppose its just the luck of the draw.

In a normal week I probably do an average of 40 hours (more when I am writing a paper or end of year report of course), seems a little light to me but some days I just cannot get going. Some weeks I will do next to nothing and others a lot more, I also spend time just thinking about my work, maybe an average of another 10 hours a week. It is a combination of laziness and the need to have a 'normal' life going out with friends etc. I just wondered what everyone else does ?

If you have been paid your maintenence in advance you need to repay the remainder from the day you leave to the date you have been paid to. Return all books to the library and walk away no problems you are not tied to any contract.

Probably worth a couple of weeks off to make sure you are doing the right thing. Everyone has a nightmare at the start (and longer) I am writing up now, never been that interested but just did the research,did some labs and tutorials for extra cash, kept my super happy and published a few papers. You could stick with it, do the minimum and get your PhD if you want one

Just wondered...how common is the last option, the 'fail no further recommendations'? Seems to me that if a student gets to his final viva without even masters quality work with corrections then someone hasn't been doing his job (the student obviously but also the supervisor and anyone who sat in on the 2nd year progress viva).

What would be considered 'original work', how many peer reviewed papers would confirm your work to be of adequate quality and original ? Is that how it is judged ?

yes there are other people from our group going and I proposed this but he said it is important I present my own work (but not that important as originally he was going to present it). Its in Greece so people would love to go in my place, including my Greek friend here who would be able to say hello to his family and kill a couple of birds with one stone. I have mailed him that I can not/will not go and have a meeting with him tomorrow so we will see if he is cool

Oh..forgot, I have explained it to him, over and over but he is adamant that I need to go and I am just stalling to see if I can get out of it somehow without p**sing him off. I have presented before and have no problem with confidence or delivery so the presentation practice isn't important to me and I find conferences really boring at the best of times

Its an actual presentation and it is a good conference but I have no interest in academia or 'networking' and the paper will be published in the proceedings anyway. My paper is ok but its not gonna be any great shakes, its just a publication to me. I haven't seen much of my wife over the last few years as I am doing my PhD in UK and she is abroad and we were really looking forward to this hol as it was the light at the end of the tunnel as I am going home to write up. I just don't want to fall out with my super.

I wrote a paper 6 months ago for a conference next week. My super said he was going anyway so he will present it. As I enter my writing-up period next week I arranged a quick holiday before I buckle down. He has just told me he cannot go and I have to go and lose my paid for holiday. I will need his help for the next 6 months and dont want to piss him off but really need my hol and really dont want to go to the conference. What shall I do ?

I had to show that the prof at the head of our dept was wrong in one of his algorithms that he has been proud of for 10 years and teaches our masters students. He wasn't happy and made me waste 3 months going round and round until he finally accepted it. He got a publication in a top journal for something that was wrong and I got a crappy conference publication showing he was wrong and how to correct it.
Actually he always thought I was stupid and passed me off to another supervisor when he realised I wasn't going to do any great work so I loved it when he had to accept it.

My opinion is:
1) You need to be aware of other peoples algorithms, a grasp of the basics and be able to say why you are not using them. It is worth having a good grasp of what is currently considered the "best".
2) It isn't original but might get a conference publication and is worth doing if you can put some spin on it, you can do it as a tutorial or as a comparison.
3) I don't think better experimental results without theoretical justification will get you far unless you can explain why they are better, which would be theoretical justification, as it may be simply they work better for this experiment conditions but are not generally applicable. I was always told to provide enough detail to enable someone reading it to understand and reproduce it

You can do it mate. I have quit and been talked into continuing every 6 months since I started due to lack of faith in myself. I am now about to write up and I still think I blagged my way through and know nothing. Just had 3 papers published in the last 6 months which was a shock as I thought they were crap. Just talk to your supervisor and keep him happy.

Hi all
Just wondered how much people get for maintenance particularly anyone on a DTA account as I have a horrible feeling I have been underpaid . I am about to finish my 3rd year and get 12000, last year I got 10500 and the first year I got 9000, however the ESPRC website seems to say I have been getting paid a year behind, seems that I should have got 10500, 12000 and 12300 anyone know the facts?

Another question..I have had a few problems such as illness so have been given a 3 month extension, do the DTA account allow extra for this or am I on my own now......I just cannot get a straight answer from my faculty office, cheers all