I see that maintaining lab space might be a problem. What I did not mention before, was that I do social sciences, which means that all the lab equipment we need is a big room with cubes in it.

But still... the only person I know in my department who works for her supervisor, is an overseas person. As a part-time assistant and-part time PhD student she works 2,5 days a week on her thesis and 2,5 days for her supervisor. Everyone is perfectly happy, as they both agreed to this rule and try to respect the boundaries.

On the bright side Walrus, you do not have teaching duties. 300 undergrad essays to mark every year and 4 hours of teaching per week really distracts me from my PhD.

Lets face it, we're cheap labor to the department :o)

This seems unfair indeed. I've done 4 1/2 studies this year and as I am funded by a departmental studentship, they will all form part of my PhD. We are now going to write a paper and the supervisor is the co-author, but that's OK because I had lot's of support from him. Whenever people do jobs for academics in our department, that are not linked to their PhD's, they get paid extra for that. I also find the answer of your supervisor very rude an unfair. Do you also have teaching duties on top of that? My arrangement is that as a part of my PhD I am obliged to teach a couple of hours, which I do, but It doesn't say anything about slavery to my professor. If he expects you to do things that are not in the contract, you have all the right to complain!

Hi guys, Do you think this changes with age though? My mum is a researcher with 30 years of experience and she is a workaholic monster. When at home, she gets up at some crazy morning hours, like 5 a.m. and by noon she has written half a paper. This is soooo frustrating to see. Are we also going to turn into insomniac monsters If we stay in academia?

Hi, I don't know If this is of any help to you at the moment, but I was really stressed this year (first year of PhD + in a strange country + my boyfriend struggling to get a job here, so both of us were living off my humble studentship) and what seemed to help me most, was going to the gym :) Physical exercise takes your mind off trouble and gives your mind a surge of 'happiness' hormones.

It works very well for me... and If you do it in the evening, you are bound to fall into a deep slumber!