Hi, I am afraid I don't know much about job prospects in the humanities, but I didn't want to read without answering you. What is your other option, if you don't do the phd? Is there any way you could do the phd part time alongside other work? I don't think your age is an issue in itself, but perhaps you have more financial commitments than those at the start of their working life? For what it's worth, I think that if you are passionate about the research and can manage financially, then do it, and worry about the career path later. Just because you might not get to live in the bahamas doesn't mean you shouldnt go there on holiday. If you get what I mean. Can't believe I just compared a phd to a holiday in the Bahamas!! Bed time for me I think! Good luck with your decision :-)

Thank you :-) Wow £400 is a lot.

I am not due to graduate yet so cannot log into Eve&Ravencroft to find out how much they charge.

Can anyone who's bought gown/hood/cap give an insight to the sort of price?

Thanks :-)

Hi, I'm hoping for some advice. For the last year I have been working with my old masters supervisor attempting to turn my thesis into an article. I work full time now as I graduated last year, this article is an extra I have taken on. It is not going well, as I am stressed at work, life is getting in the way and I have neither time nor motivation to carry on, I'm not even half way through yet and it's making me miserable. I don't want a career in academia, I was doing it just because I could. I feel terrible though because my supervisor has invested time in helping me with this and reading drafts etc. She agreed to help on condition she would be a second author. While for me it was a hobby, this is her profession, I don't want to let her down. It seems like it would be dreadfully selfish and discourteous to quit a working relationship just because I am fed up with it. I am sure she would never do that to me. Am I overestimating the importance of this decision, or should I follow through on my commitment? Advice/insight would be hugely welcome. With thanks x

Thank you everyone for your support and helpful wise words. I will be coming back and re-reading these posts frequently I'm sure (and possibly pestering you about other things too, come September)!
Many thanks :-)

Hello everyone. I will be starting a psychology doctorate in September and I am really nervous. The reasons why:
I am a chronic procrastinator
I get stressed easily
I get bad back / bad eyes staring at a computer
I am going to be totally broke for 3 years
I can only seem to write in the middle of the night

I am capable enough, when all I have to worry about is academic work. I got 78% in my Masters last year. But I wrote it all at night drugged up on caffeine. I literally sat at my desk all day, incapable of focused concentration until the world was dark and quiet and then I would be gripped by some form of terror of morning and the writing would come. I lived mostly on cheap junk food, because a. I was poor and b. I was too tired / stressed to cook.
I may have got a good grade in my masters, but my face and body seemed to have aged about 5 years in that 12 months. It was not a healthy lifestyle either physically or mentally.
Now I am thrilled to be accepted onto the applied psychology doctorate, but this will involve placements during the day and excellent time management skills. I can't stay up all night and sleep till noon. As a psychology graduate I should really know how to fix this but... I. just. can't. I went to see a counsellor a couple of times who was not particularly helpful. I know I have to break these habits, but they are seriously ingrained and most academics I know set an extremely bad example working all sorts of crazy hours- what is a realistic schedule?

Does anyone have advice about living a healthy, productive lifestyle while studying for a doctorate/phd? If you have achieved this- please share what you do! What's your routine? Any tips for focusing in the day when it's sunny / noisy / life is going on around me? I need an example to follow!

I've got 4.5 months to prepare for this course and undertake some serious personal development!

Many thanks in advance :-)

If photographs of people (taken from google image search) are used as resources during research (as conversation prompts during interviews/focus groups) without first obtaining permission (we're talking small scale masters thesis), can the findings of the research still be published? Even if the photographs themselves do not appear in the article? Could the researcher get into trouble re. copyright / ethics for using photos of people during their research without permission?
Any advice gratefully received!