i was a reserve that was put forward for the esrc open competition and I was successful in that. its a similar experience. everyone inc sups told me it was highly unlikely as open comp is v competitive. I had another plan in the works, so id advise you to get one too. I got an email 2 weeks before course start date (!) and that was it. my advice is assume you haven't got it, fully deal with those feelings now and start working on another plan. at least start working on it.

im also in the last three months. I don't really switch off, and ive just accepted this is the way it is for the last few months. I even have dreams about my thesis where im trying to think through conceptual problems which is so weird, but maybe beneficial. I think in these last few months its just going to be 24/7, or 6 maybe. I would explain to him that its very temporary, but unavoidable. that I think is the only way to go. luckily im single, but living home with my parents...I also feel im quite rude. I cant really engage in conversations in the same way, im distracted and grumpy. but I think they know its temporary. he should too. remind him of the finish line.i wouldn't apologise too much because its just not healthy. good luck to us all x

Also - depends how long the scripts are re. marking...im in sociology and on 1st year 2000 word essays i spend 15 - 20 mins max, on 3rd year 5000 word essays i spend 40 mins. i resent spending more time because i'm getting paid to work at that speed, so why should i be exploited by the uni to spend more time just because i have better morals than the uni? i.e. im willing to be paid crap to make sure the student getsthe best feedback. thats the unis job not mine.

first year students rarely have much to say that requires much analysis though anyway i find. you can quickly tell if a third year has put in a lot of graft, and then maybe i will slow down a bit.

the more you do it the easier it gets. set a timer for 20 mins.

really try to invest into not overthinking stuff. its just the worst in the phd.

Who writes 2000 good words a day? Not as the day in day out trudging. 1000 good words a day is fine. Some days it will much lower, some days a bit higher. The person that says they read 3 papers and write 2000 words a day is being mean. If they mean 2000 words of thinking, fine, but 2000 words of medium-good draft...have only done that when I've had a deadline that I wasn't meeting.

Hi Everyone,

I know this is a bit of a ridiculous question, because everyone's PhD is very difficult, but I mean more - what if your PhD is based very much on theory (in social sciences) and you need to present on it?

I find most academics solve this problem by just reading the paper...I know one academic that to me seems like a genius...she can talk about really complex stuff off-hand and just present. Then again she is almost 20 years older than me...I try to tell myself this at least.

Worst of all I find it really hard to think on my feet with theoretical stuff and dread answering questions. I find it a challenge to remember my arguments with the stress of giving a talk. I do not believe it is because they are bad, and my supervisor is very pleased with my work and has even suggested publishing together, but really, I don't know how to present on this stuff.

Does anyone have any advice on this?

read this, its great

In the UK a PhD program is whatever you make it. If you're looking for 'left-leaning' then see if your favourite academic will supervise you. Give them your left leaning proposal and they will tell you if it's interesting...you will have your answer. Maybe avoid Oxford and Cambridge.

I'd say it's definitely not over.

(That's if your sup has faith that you're the type that can 'catch up' (it may not even be much catching up!))

It depends if you really want to do it. And that can mean either cos you like it or cos you're too scared of unemployment (for me it was the latter).

What however I think is massively important (because I had bouts of what you're doing in my 3rd and 4th year...I totally recognise this behaviour) is make a commitment and promise to yourself to be kind to yourself and really tackle the mental issues that make you a self-sabotage procrastinator addict. I think that will be harder than the PhD. I think also remember...these issues...they will probably pop up in other areas even if you quit. The PhD could be a great lesson in learning self-love, acceptance and care. As well as giving you the PhD that is.

It sounds to me like you've got other issues too. The PhD can def exacerbate all this crap, but it could maybe be a way to learn too.


But also, you know your situation best. In any case, be good to yourself.

Rendering informants anonymous is basic. It's not even academic almost, it's just common sense. Reading this together with your post on being 'held back' intellectually by your institution makes me think you might need to step back and change your perspective on a number of things.

hey what do you mean 'the importance of your research'? i.e. do you mean impact, intellectual contribution, political contribution/impact/significance...or your own personal sense of why its important to you?

i struggled with this for ages...because my field is sociology, theres always the rhetoric that your work should do some social good, i.e. throw new light on a problem, be put to use in policy, fight the corner of the marginalised etc...but i realised there is a big difference between an intellectual contribution to an issue, i.e. understanding something and describing it, and making a particular political intervention/approaching a problem from the position that you want to 'do good' or 'recentre the marginalised' etc. Sometimes actually political positions that make these claims can shrink and fix a problem and are unsuitable to see fine grain complexity/have a suitable scale of perspective to illuminate an issue more holistically. im writing about this in my theoretical frameworks now, and i am hoping it will insulate me to some extent against criticism about my research approaching an issue from an angle that is not usually taken.

is this the kind of thing that you mean or are you talking about something else? you dont say much in your post!

Hi!

I'm looking for a buddy right NOW in order to complete a deadline before xmas. looking for someone who is happy to check in at the end of each day or close to that until 24th...i want to finish this chapter desperately and cant get the motivation.

am in sociology, 4th year, write up hell argh!!

Hey! Can I ask...just out of curiosity, how old you are? You don't need to answer, as of course it's none of my business.

Chenille!! I went to Primark and got this amazing chenille jumper for 8 quid. It's 100% polyester but it feels so lovely and cosy.

What also worries me that if he is willing to overstep boundaries in relation to spilling sexual innuendos around his PhD students, he probably won't have much restraint when it comes to showing his disapproval of PhD students that come to be a problem(which could very well be you in six months time). This person doesn't seem to respect himself, his work place, or you. This would ring alarm bells.

On a personal note, the things he is saying to you...they don't sound like the things someone would say to someone else if they had a real, genuine and (self-respecting) sexual attraction. It seems like he is 'playing' to see what you will do. From what you are saying it seems like you are thinking a lot about this situation and enjoying the attention, which is human, but it seems its really playing into how you are approaching this (common) situation.

I am sure you can find another supervisor. Or you can simply behave professionally, and not entertain his comments. There is just so much at stake in this, and he has all the power. Look after yourself.

It sounds to me that he enjoys the dynamic of the 'adoring student'. I've noticed this so often in my dep. (sociology)...that is the reason I say it. The good-looking, charismatic male phd students who date undergrads that they teach...the head of deps and profs (and also the saddo 60 year old lecturers) that always make a bee-line for the pretty and unsure first year phd students at the start of term party...the postdoc that the (male) prof loved and convinced the rest of the (female) panel to accept. Rarely will you see it the other way round, unfortunately cos sexism still exists even in the spaces whose bread and butter is to espouse social justice. These men also are never interested in attractive women that are their senior, and rarely those that are their equal.

maybe i'm projecting from my experience (what i've witnessed, rather, not directly experienced) but i would just say please be careful. it feels so good to be wanted, and to be given attention to, and to feel a connection. however men that actively court a connection with someone who has less power than them...nine times out of ten it is exactly because of that power differential. and a man that chooses someone who has less power in such an explicit way...is almost always a creep, who can, as someone else said, turn into a psycho.

Its easy to lose perspective when emotions are involved, however remember why you are there - to do a phd. neither of my supervisors are directly in my field, however they have been just amazing. its not a necessity, its not even always desirable. Just be protective of yourself. don't allow yourself to be manipulated. i'm sure there will be many men in the future that you can have a great connection with on an equal level.