Hi there,
you see though, I haven't actually made any good friends here so there's noone to miss :). Also, part of my problem is exactly that I have nothing else to do.. and all I do is work! My research is my life and I became so obsessed about it, that I can't think clearly anymore!

Oh, just to make something clear.. Of course, I don't expect to be funded anymore if I go abroad :)

Dear all,
after much thought on my PhD situation, I started to seriously consider finishing my PhD in my home country. Even though I know I will be more "alone" in terms of being away from the University, I believe that I will have more psychological support and be in a better mood to perform research... Has anyone else even thought of that? Or is possible to finish (by that, I mean do the third year and the write up year) abroad?

Another thing that concerns me is that I am funded by the University. If things don't work out, and I just can't go on.... does the University ask for a refund???? I know I didn't sign anything... but I understand that they expect their money to pay off! Any ideas?

Hi Seabird... he's had quite a lot of students... 15, 16 maybe.. all passed. But I can't help but to feel that I am a fraud and simply not good enough... I look at what I've done and go like: "So.. that's it? So what? Look at what X and Y did.. your work is nothing like theirs!"... Anyway.. I guess I need to trust my supervisor even though I feel he is being like my mother... telling me I am doing fine to get my spirits up, even though he might actually be thinking that I am rubbish!

I completely relate to you... I often feel I am not the person I used to be.. and I really miss my old self. I used to be optimistic, cheerful and fun.. and now I am just a miserable cow, and a bundle of nerves! I keep thinking that if the old me, met the today me, she would want to have nothing to do with me!

Simply.. NO

Hi all,
have you ever wondered what is actually expected from us, as PhD candidates? I thought my work was going OK, until I read a few papers and realised that I haven't actually done anything! I haven't proven any new properties, did not analyse something, did not come up with new interesting equations, results etc etc.. I started to feel that my entire thesis is turning to be 2 pages of a proposed method.. and 200 pages of examples! I know I should trust my supervisor when he says it's good for a PhD... but don't you sometimes feel your supervisor does not really pay attention to your work??

Anyone else feels their work is rubbish and not important for a PhD??? :S

Hi cc... sounds a bit like my supervisor... Mine also finds mistakes in things I give him to read, which before he said was fine... I am no place near the thesis write up, but I am sure I'll be just like you when I am... sooo desperate to finish! Good luck, hang in there.. you are almost done!

I often think about this issue too. I do a minimum of 8 hours of work, and most of it I am actually working, either writing, reading, or just thinking. I used to work more (a minimum of 50 hours per week) but I realised that I wasn't being more productive. I might have read more and written more, but I had to go back to whatever it is that I did, and pretty much do it again! So I try to stick to around 8 hours a day, and when I feel I just can't concentrate, I go home. BUT, that doesn't mean I don't have those horrible horrible days when my mind is just completely stuck to my research and I just can't switch off!

Hi there,
I think it is normal in the sense that you perhaps are intimidated by all those academics. I know I feel I don't belong in academia sometimes, and I just think that I am not (and perhaps never will be) as intellectual as the academic staff here. Having said that though, I am sure all those academics weren't just born like that so they too had to go through some "training" lets say. It's like being the new kid on the block, so I think eventually we'll get there

Hi verdy...
I think I don't quite agree with the statement "if you have a brilliant PhD you will get publications".. Unfortunately, I have seen many academics rejectings the work of others to promote their own work. Also, if you are working on an interdisciplinary area (such as me), it is hard to (a) convice either disciplines of your work and (b) make each discipline understand the other and subsequenty your papers.

I really do hope you are right however! I am just saying that I've seen cases where it does not.

Hi UFO...
as you can probably tell from my username, I am in computer science... Most phd students get 3 to 5 publications, but not necessarily in good conferences. I've also heard of a very few that had 2 or less.. I am concerned.. I am reaching the end of my second year and all papers I submited this far got rejected...

To be honest, this is one of the hardest parts of my PhD. I am working in an area that was completely unknown to me, my supervisor has no knowledge in this area either, and.. I am the ONLY one in the entire department working on this... The papers that we sent out were a bit experimental in the sense that we wanted to see what the community thinks of our work...

I am not trying to find excuses for myself, that's just the way things are... So I am not sure I'll ever get anything accepted for this research!

Hi all,
I recently saw this issue being brought up in another thread. To be honest, I am troubled in general about my low number of publications (0!!!), and I am concerned that it will affect my viva and ultimately, my PhD. My supervisor says that you don't need to have publications to get a PhD, and that the viva will test originality of work, contribution to knowledge, application of principles etc etc.

However, many other academics have told me that it is higly NOT recommended to go for a viva without publications.

I am wondering therefore if my supervisor was just trying to consult me and get me to stop worrying, or if indeed publications are not really needed... Any ideas/thoughts??
Cheers

I cannot agree more than you SeaBird.. At times I think we all PhD students are part of an alien psychological experiment or part of a twisted reality show!!!!

Hi all
I'd like to thank again everyone who is replying to the post, and I am happy to see that other people can relate and talk about their own experiences. I see myself in most of you.

I was feeling a bit better for the past few weeks but now I am afraid that I feel the anxiety crawling back...I am trying to do some mathematical research now and I am stuck, I keep finding mistakes and I am frustrated because I feel I am wasting my time. Some days I might be sitting here for hours and work work work but in actuality ... do nothing! I found a mistake yesterday that might mean I have to change a significant part of this research... Every time this happens I just feel that I am getting further and futher away from finishing this degree.... And as usual.... when things go wrong, supervisor is missing!