Hi everyone. I've been following the threads in this forum for a while, although I'm kind of out on a limb for various reasons.

For a start, I'm 66, Have two First Class BAs, and am self-funded to do my PhD. I've been a professional freelance writer for 35 years with shedloads of books and publications, none academic.

The last 4 years have been a nightmare. I'd never realised how bad academia can be. It's pretty brutal, and Pineapple, what's happening to you is beyond the pale. There are so many of you I can really connect with. I've worked as my Prof's Research Associate, and we have a report, and a book, published. I took 6 months out of my full-time studies to do this work because I needed the money. I got paid 4 months. Then I had to take the brunt of the copy-editing on the book - another month. I also spent 2 years teaching MA students.

I passed my viva 5 months ago, with major corrections. These were because my Prof, my supervisor, who had seen all 10 drafts of my PhD said he 'hadn't noticed' that I'd included quantitative data in my qualitative PhD. The internal examiner, who gave me a hard time on this, was right, but I should never have been placed in that position. I passed my viva.

Corrections are now done, and I await final verdict on a PhD which was described as a 'tour de force' and 'the best-written PhD we have ever seen' until it came to the methodological error - schoolkid error. Cold comfort. I can do Lit Reviews like falling off a log. Research is my thing. I hadn't got a clue on methodology, and just took guidance from my Prof.

I hope this is now over and done with. I've hated losing my professional identity and my status. I'll never get an academic job as I'm too old, but I'm moving on. It's been tough, and I've lost £100,000 which I didn't have, so all this has been done on credit cards, and my son has been paying my mortgage.

I'll never again value academic life. I'm a reviewer on THS, but frankly, for an outsider, this entire business, and it is a business rather than a passion, is rank. Coming at this from my position, I have to honour each and every one of you who goes through this mayhem. My love and respect to you all. You deserve to succeed.