Hi all!

New to the forum - just found out about it towards the end of my PhD journey!

A few days ago I submitted a revised version of my thesis to the examiners. I passed my VIVA back in August with major corrections. The amendments have really taken it out of me, working full time and making the changes has been a struggle and I've lost sleep, weekends and quite a bit of my sanity!

I think I've answered all of their questions - I was also working with a proof reader to correct quite a long list of 'minor' changes (grammar, in-text citations etc.). I made the mistake just now of checking back over the thesis and have spotted a few of these mistakes are still there (!). One of the mistakes is at the start of a new section, and I know one of the examiners will definitely spot this.

Is this something to be worried about? I struggle with the concept of these corrections - can they just turn round and say "NOPE, FAIL!" and then my entire 4 and a half years has been in vain? It seems so weird to be thinking that my entire academic career hinges on where I've put an '&' instead of an 'and' - I'm just annoyed with myself for missing it.

It's also made me think that there are definitely other errors in there too. What would the outcome of this be? Would they ask for it to be submitted again do you reckon if there were still minor errors?

The nightmare never ends does it? Really want this just to be over so I can move on with my life.... Good luck to anyone who is on the road to the PhD, it's tough and if you are struggling you are not alone!

You'll be absolutely fine! Don't worry about these minor errors - they will just tell you to correct them. You can still get a decision of "pass" with small typos to correct; they often don't bother to give "minor corrections" for this.

Hang in there, you're so close to the finishing line!

Thanks tree :) This is what the PhD does to you, has you obsessing over minor things like this!
I broke my own rule looking back over it... I did just make myself feel better by looking over the actual content, quite satisfied that I've answered all of their questions.

My poor GF is in her third year and struggling... does anyone ever finish the PhD without mental scars?!

If they do, I don't reckon they've done the PhD properly :P

Haha yep my thoughts exactly. I don't know anyone who didn't suffer for their art.
My PhD went very well, passed with only a few minor corrections which took 10 days to fix but the process itself did so much damage that I left academia immediately to run my own business instead. I think I could be a good academic at the right university but 9 months on now I still can't face going back to start the postdoc route and have turned down two positions which were offered to me. My confidence isn't there when it comes to working to someone else's timescales and expectations. I still have thoughts about taking the plunge again with a postdoc but then I imagine the pressure again and I get a strong "nope".
Thing is that I am a pretty strong person and I have suffered damage from the PhD. I honestly have no idea how people cope when it all goes seriously wrong. The problems faced by Tudor_Queen and faded07 for example might well have prompted me to walk away from the whole thing. Offering advice is easy but actually having to act on that advice? Totally different ball game. I guess we are strong in some ways and as weak as a lettuce leaf in others. That's what I have learned.

Hi there CP, I don't think they will just turn around and say 'fail' for some typos. My corrections experience is a little different. We don't have a viva but we do have presentations before submission for examination, then the thesis is examined and the reports are sent back to your internal committee 'panel chair', who pass the results on to your supervisors and the admin staff. My result was a pass with no corrections and a pass with something between minor and major corrections. No one would actually write down or say what it was, even when I pressed them.

Anyway the corrections required from the second examiner included some typos regarding commas on a specific type of APA reference, using a semi colon consistently for the word 'socio-economic', and a couple of other typos. The major bits were I did not include a couple of references that my examiner would have regarded as his and another's seminal work. (I didn't choose my examiner but I am pretty sure I now know who it is and I have included the seminal work). I did include work from my examiner, but not these specific references as my thesis had a different sort of focus. This person also wanted me to expand on some aspects of my lit review (a couple of paragraphs in specific sections). There were some suggestions or requests also that were clearly not relevant, and on my table I outlined why I would not be making these. I was given 6 months as a part time student, being told that it would be 3 months if I were full time, and it really took me probably around a fortnight to complete and return to my internal panel chair. So I am currently waiting to hear from the Grad Research people as to whether it is all good. So a part of me wonders whether everything is okay and another part of me is relatively relaxed about waiting for the panel chair's response.

I do think the process is hard-all of it. I think the worst parts for me were data collection and having to rework so many types of data collection, given participant disasters, but actually all of it has been hard. I am now past the age where I want an academic career and I have a successful career in Education, which is very fulfilling (and equally stressful, including the management of students, staff and parents who may be struggling or challenging to work with). However, I think the process has made me a stronger person and one less likely to agree or accept other's unsubstantiated opinions. It is hard though. Many best wishes for the rest of this process.

Sorry-typed this very quickly before heading off for the day- I meant to say using a hyphen consistently for the word social economic in my first sentence, second paragraph. See that is what corrections does to you, lol.

haha Pjlu, I read that and wondered what on Earth you were on about!