I am a final year undergrad student, and I want to stay in science, but it seems like you need a PhD to get any sort of a decent job. I do enjoy my subject, but the world of PhD's is a bit scary really and we're not told much about it. Has anyone started one feeling like this and found they really enjoyed it?

Hi,
PhD's can be scary but when things work out, they are very rewarding. The best people to talk to about living with PhD studies is to talk to the postgraduate students (so it's good you're posting on this site :-) When you visit potential supervisors make sure you talk to their students. They'll give you the inside story of what the supervisor, university and city is really like. I've found my PhD to have a lots of ups and downs, but it's always been interesting!

Yeah it's scary! You have days especially when you start and think - how did I get here? And then it dawns on you what you are trying to do! It's fun so far. I've heard it described as the best time you'll have as it's probably the only time ever in your career that you can just concentrate purely on your research without thinking about other things e.g. admin (the bane of most academics'lives), grant proposals, teaching and other commitments.

Cheers guys. How do I go about finding a decent PhD? Are there any universities that are especially good at research in certain subjects? Or any to avoid? Also, is it difficult living on only £10,000 ish a year with £3k tuition fees?