Thanks - I am really open to all kinds of suggestions. I would love to use anthropology in whatever I do and market research is a good idea. I am unfamiliar with it however I shall do some research, thanks thxht. Also spidermanspiderman, I am applying for a Sociology lectureship at a local college of technology who say they provide training, so we shall see!

Thanks chickpea: yes I have - though nothing at the OU for me at the moment. Have been working causally at a local uni and have approached them for research/ teaching work in the Sociology department - however, in all honestly my CV does not look very exciting for any employer as I spent years as a 'trailing spouse' and the rest of my time working freelance as a journalist/copy editor and as a temp in admin. Reading through some of these threads I am really wondering if academia is the way to go for me - it just seems to be the best way to make use of the PhD research. I shall keep on looking and thinking, but at my age time is just getting shorter and shorter!

I am also in the same situation - and with no idea how to go about publishing from my research - though I would really like to get the data out there as it is still fairly unique. I too am in the social sciences. When I had my viva and the examiners suggested I publish honestly that was the last thing I wanted to do. Now I have had time away from it I can really appreciate what I have done and I am proud. You may feel differently in time to come excommunicate. However, the thought of having to publish on demand is really putting me off the idea of an academic career!

Thanks chickpea. They never offered any teaching work and I live a way away - I've been on maintenance status for years. Unfortunately I also have minimal access to journals/books so writing articles from my PhD research is problematic also. I am trying hard to think around this and am wondering about any other ways of using the PhD somehow

i felt just the same - I kept thinking they would contact me to say it had all been a mistake! It wasn't until I received official confirmation that I really celebrated. Just try to enjoy the moment!

I realise that this is a common thread however I could do with some advice. I recently finished my PhD in Social Anthropology. My case was unusual in that it took me 30 years start to finish (having returned to writing up 25+ years after fieldwork). As the examiners and many others have noted, this was a great challenge and a great achievement in the end, and it would be nice to finally make some use of the qualification. The examiners encouraged me to publish and return to the field. All this would be great of course, but I am rapidly realising that this is a bit of a pipe dream. As many others have found,getting a postdoc fellowship or even research post is difficult - especially at my age, now 53. So far, I have not even made it to interview on any of the jobs I have applied for which is incredibly disheartening. I have looked at teaching A Level Sociology, but that will require another years qualification and £9,000 which I don't have. Does anyone else have any ideas where I could look or go with this, or do I just write it off as a challenge completed and then try to find ANY job that will take me (as long as I am not overqualified that is!)?

Thanks both of you. Havntgotaclue that was very helpful and rubygem thanks for your encouragement. My supervisor is supportive but is very vague with his advice! He had already read the intro previously and not suggested amendments until the final read through, which is why it has come as a bit of a surprise this time round. I have always had a problem summarising and my issue is that because the data is old, the relevance of the subject matter has changed and it doesn't have any clear value any more!

Hi I am a PhD student who went back to writing up my PhD in Social Anthropology 25 years after I first started. As a mum of two it has taken me a long long time to catch up with theory etc and to get a complete draft done. In September my supervisor advised I would have to completely rewrite the introduction as I hadn't clearly laid out the thesis's contribution. I have tried to start this and have become completely blocked about how to structure it, what information to put in the very introductory bit, and how to bring in other texts. I have spent a month writing about 6 pages, which I keep going back over and changing. I have now got to the stage when I cannot see the wood for the trees. My supervisor is quite a train ride away and I cannot spare the time to go in to see him that often; he is also on sabbatical at the moment. Any advice please on how to get over this/ guides to structuring the intro/ comfort/sympathy. I am getting very stressed that I will not be able to complete in time or to a sufficient standard and all these years will have gone completely to waste