Hi everybody

I have been having a very long PhD process and had my viva in December 2011 with the outcome of minor corrections.
I began my PhD 2004 and "finished" 2012 (still waiting for acceptance of corrections).

The main reason why this has taken so long is partly because of my supervisor (who just do NOT care about the amount of work I do and just wants more and more and more) and partly because I had two kids during the process.

My situation is this. I have not published any of the material and I am dying to do so, in order to get a post doc. However I cannot stand working with my supervisor anymore who appears to think I am his personal slave :-).

He refuses to make deadlines and tells me he cannot commit to any real strict plan in order for us to publish. He is the most stubborn person who wants everything done his way and I am sure it will take another 3 years to get the stuff published (I am not kidding). A a person, he really just think he knows best and he is impossible to work with.

I have taken the initiative all the time during the PhD, he takes two months to answer that he want something else, regardless of how long time I have been using, then I end up doing what he wants eventually. A real nightmare. And my thesis was 400 pages and I did not even present all my data. I knew I was being used all the time but he never once said OK lets submit. He told me that he did not know if I would pass. And honestly, the VIVA was ridiculously easy. I should have handed the stuff in in 2008 and I am so bitter now.

I really do not know what to do ? Can I just publish the material myself ? Who has the rights to the material I have produced during my time as PhD student ? What can I do ?

Hope somebody in here can help me, as I just do not want to let it all go but on the other hand I have been used for so many years that I just can take it any longer.

This will depend on things like who funded you and what your university's rules are on PhD students and intellectual property rights. Your oiginal contract / letter of appointment / funding terms and conditions should say something. Similarly try looking at your university / faculty research office website for the rules on intellectual property. Someone in that office should be able to advise you if things remain unclear.