Hi,

I've been having a bit of a poo time recently in my private life (death of a family member) and have been off for a while as a result.

Just spoke to my supervisor today and he suggested that due to phds generally overrunning plus having to make up this time off I should be planning to stay on til xmas.

The thing is my funding ends September and I have a mortgage etc which can't be covered by just hubbys wages so cannot possibly consider staying on like that but I have no idea how to tell him esp. as he's been understanding over the time off etc.

Any suggestions on how to broach this with him would be very welcome. Thanks

Spandangle,

Statutory Maternity Pay provides the same allowance i.e. 90% for 6 weeks and then £123.60 only as long as you have been working for an employer for at least 26 weeks before the 15th week before baby is due (basically a total of 41 weeks needed i.e. the entire pregnancy). So I wouldn't get that unless we put off trying for a baby until after I've found a job.

Maternity Allowance allows just the £123.600/wk for a fixed period but here also you need to be working for one or more employers for 26 weeks during the 67 weeks before due date but as PhD is not classed as working for an employer that would need at least 6 months in work afterwards & realistically its not going to be easy to get a job once pregnant so again we'd have to wait.

Unfortunately my other half is in a good but not fantastic job and we couldn't get by with our other children (we bring up my one together & he has 2 who live with his ex who he pays maintenance for) and a new baby on just one income but could muddle through with the extra small amounts discussed above whether still in PhD or afterwards.

We're getting married in August this year & as I don't want to be obviously pregnant then we may start trying 6 weeks or so before but that gives us a very limited time in order that the baby be due still during my studies. Last time I got pregnant within a week of starting to try so I guess I'll just have to hope for that again.

Just thinking it through in my head, but RCs with PhD students like to see themselves as being akin to an employer and if I was on a fixed term contract with an employer where the terms of maternity leave were set out as being those for Statutory Maternity Pay I would expect to be paid it if my due date fell at any point inside the dates of my contract. If anyone has any experience of this though I would be especially grateful.

Cheers

I know there are numerous posts on here already about this topic but wondered if anyone could help me out with gaining a better idea of how the maternity leave is really likely to work if me and my other half do go ahead and start trying for a baby.
EPSRC does not seem to be as generous with its maternity package as some other RCs – offering to meet the Statutory Maternity Pay deal only (i.e. 90% pay for 6 weeks & £123.60 for the next 33). However, my partner & I feel we can get by on this. Obviously if we were to delay having a baby until after PhD is finished I would still be entitled to a similar package even if we started trying more or less as soon as I get employed & didn’t wait for any extra employer-related allowance schemes to some into operation, however I am really keen to start trying ASAP as although I am not that old yet (26), I already have a 7 year old son and don’t want too enormous an age gap between them. Also, my partner will be 40 this year and although I know men can carry on having children much later in life than women I still like the idea of us being able to finish up our child-rearing and have some time together to do things as a couple before we’re too old and infirm. Although really a year or 2 difference between having a baby in 2011 or waiting till 2012 or 2013 won’t have that much impact on plans for old age, we would also like to have a second child a couple of years after the next one and when you look at things like that time seems to be constantly ticking away (well it does to me anyway).
The thing is that we are getting married this summer and so unless I want to waddle down the aisle will have to wait a bit to start trying. This means that we have scheduled in a cut off point where we will have to put off trying if I am not already pregnant as baby would then be due after my PhD is due to finish (funding ends Sept 2011) and so I wouldn’t be a student anymore or entitled to any maternity benefits associated with my research council. However , my real enquiry was whether anyone knew if there was a date after which maternity benefits would not be available e.g. if I were to be due in August when my contact finishes 1st September would I still be entitled?


Many Thanks
Gemz

I went to see my supervisor yesterday (absolutely bricking it!) and actually he was really lovely and concerned about it and said he felt he hadn't been providing enough support and guidance etc recently either and that I should now take a week off during which he will speak to my industrial supervisor, I will see a counsellor and hopefully we can all work something out together. I'm still a little unsure if this will work out (and whether in fact it is really what I want) but figure I ought to at least give it 4-6 weeks trial as long as it doesn't make me feel any worse. Speaking about it to him and my family and others on here has really helped so far so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll work out.


So thanks for all your advice and lets see how things go!

Thanks for all the support.

I have to admit I am petrified of what my supervisors reaction will be - my industrial sponsor had another student from the same uni leave after 2 years just a year ago (although under total different circumstances - her husband got a dream job and they had to relocate internationally) and although she seemed to think 'its just one of those things' my supervisor at uni has ranted and raved about it several times (and about how badly he feels it reflects on the university etc) despite the fact she wasn't his student and wasn't even based in the same department!

I have a meeting scheduled with him for tomorrow at which we were meant to be planning for a steering group meeting but as there's not much point selecting  goals and aims for the next 3-6 months if I'm leaving I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and speak to him then (GULP).

On a more positive note, I am in the process of looking through recruitment websites and putting together my CV at the moment and although I have lots to say about what skills I have acquired, I was wondering how to phase the whole "after some time it became apparent that I was not suited to this position" part of why I'm now leaving.

Any suggestions warmly received.

Hiya,

I am currently coming towards the end of my second year of a 4-year EngD programme but I feel that I have given my project eevrything I have to give already and that further progress in this field is beyond the scope of what I can effectively deliver.

I have been feeling this way for some time and have tried various methods to try to alleviate these feelings - taking short breaks during my working day, setting myself small achievable goals and trying to leave certain avenues where progress is slow for bit and return to other areas, however none of this has worked. I have begun to feel more and more adrift from my research and have begun feeling depressed and having anxiety attacks (which I am already trying to deal with via my GP). I feel like its my fault and this is happening because I am not working hard enough and as a consequence feel guilty when I take time off with my fiance and son and have found myself neglecting them just to sit in front of a computer paralysed and unable to progress or write anything or make plans.

In all this my major concern is that my family are therefore suffering which makes me feel worse and I feel like I've entered a vicious circle of action and reaction which can only be ended if I quit. I also feel i am wasting both my supervisors time as well as the money of both the research council and my industrial sponsor and think the sooner I can end that then the better for all involved.

Having come to this conclusion my main question really is what is the process here for doing this. I plan to speak to my supervisor in the next couple of days and explain the above and looking at my contract think I have to then put it in writing and work out 90 days notice. Does anyone have any experience of this kind of thing - is it likely I'll be held to this 90 days and if I do will I still get paid during this time? (as it seems wrong if I do as all I'll be doing is winding a few things down but if not I don't know how I will support my family).

Any advice welcome. Thanks

Hi all,

I'm newly registered here but have been reading posts from some of you for a while. I'm currently 1.5 years into a 4 year EngD and am starting to wonder if I'm really doing the right thing. During my first year due to the nature of an EngD I had quite a few courses I had to undertake in "key skills for industry" and yet I still got quite a lot of research done.

However, recently I have done next to nothing, I just can't get motivated and to be honest most of the time I'm not even sure what it is I'm meant to be doing. I love my research topic passionately but just seem to have hit a massive hump from where I can't pick myslef up and progress.

I just don't know what to do with myself - I don't have the kind of relationship with either of my supervisors where I feel I can discuss it and my friends and family don't really understand. Sometimes I just feel like waking away from it all but I know I'll be bitterly disappointed in myself later on if I do this (plus on a very selfish note I would have to get a job ASAP to support my son and don't know how easy that'd be currently). I really want this to work and can envisage the end result of my work being positive but just can't see how I'm going to get there.

I just feel totally lost and in need of direction. MAybe I'm just not cut out for self-directed learning? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions please for someone who feels tied in knots??

Thanks