Hey, if you can i would give it a few months to mull things over. Its the beginning of the PhD and you may feel differently after a few months. I also just started my PhD in the social sciences and i am a bit like, what did i just get myself into? Is this what i really want? But its the first stages and i know i will get into the swing of things.

I understand where you are coming from. I had to quit a really good job that i had just started to come do my PhD. My boss was none too happy of course because the interview process was quite a lengthy one. But at the end of the day he was happy for the opportunity the PhD would afford me. So my advice, take the time to consider then make your decision. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' decision.

Hi. Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too. Would any of these companies be willing to take you on as a part time/ free lance consultant? It seems they are really interested in you. I am not familiar with the engineering field but if say you could have one day a week to work the job and the rest for your PhD. That way you could get the experience of working to see whether it would be something of interest to you and still pursue your PhD and not lose out on the academic opportunity.

That said, my advice is to listen to your gut (instincts) and not your head. Do what you really think is right for you regardless of perceptions or what other people will think or what might occur in some unspecified future. I have quit/declined what others would consider absolutely amazing opportunities in the past and been told i am crazy/ i will live to regret it but i am in an even more amazing place now and looking back i am glad i took the risk.

hope this helps :-)

Hi, i just started and mostly love it as well though university bureaucracy is what irritates me about it right now, not the supervisor or the PhD process itself. Sometimes i think its factors related to the PhD (like waiting weeks to get assigned a desk, then getting one but not having a computer on it!) and not necessarily the PhD itself that may irritate some people. At least that what irritates me!!

ha ha ha! you just made me laugh out loud!! :)

Hi, as the saying goes you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. I love my mother but I have experienced emotional abuse from an early age from her and i totally understand how you feel. Now for me i had to live in the same house with her until very recently. My strategy was avoidance. not physical avoidance but emotional avoidance. I kept the relationship very neutral/shallow and did not open myself emotionally by telling her too much as she would manipulate that and possibly hurt me. Now this has been very hard because she is my mother and its only natural that i crave her attention and approval. But it has been necessary for my sanity. So i suggest you do the same. Keep up formal appearances i.e christmas card etc etc. to show that you are not the same as them and a keep a channel of communication open in case later things improve. but no more than that to protect yourself from that hurt and rejection. i wouldn't burn any bridges though. They are the only family you got so i know you crave some kind of love but for now it seems you will need to get that from your friends.

Good luck!

well i'm in the social sciences so don't know whether this is quite relevant but i know the general area around my research and had used the methodology that i am proposing before but zilch about the theoretical underpinnings which is slightly beginning to worry me. :)

I don't think you are expected to be an expert yet. if you were then you would not be doing the PhD on that particular topic now would you :)

Hey. First day/week as well.

Met my supervisor who seems like an ok guy. One of his students told me as much in confidence which is a good thing i guess. I was working full time till the 15th of September so kinda feeling a bit lazy right now to put in too many hours. But as they say its a marathon so right now just trying to set the pace.

I know how you feel Sze about being isolated. The other post grads in my department are all busy with their research so i haven't really spoken to any of them. I will be doing a few modules from next week so maybe i will get to meet people there and planning to go a few society gigs.

200 page undergrad thesis!? WOW.... interested to know what your subject area is. Even my masters thesis wasn't that long. But i hear you when it comes to word crashing. My dissertation had graphs and charts and i found it difficult to work with in terms of formatting. So i am also waiting for other responses!!

Hey. thanks for your thoughts. i guess my problem is coming from the fact that i just started said job after quite a long recruitment process. And i am feeling quite sad to be leaving as its a project i would love to work on but for me a funded PhD is more of a priority. It hasn't really helped that i haven't been able to pin my boss down, he is literally in and out of work!! I don't want to send him an email or tell him over the phone. Well, will just have to suck it up and do it.

The last time i was in the UK, it took me 6 weeks to open a bank account as they also lost my paperwork!! i hope this doesn't happen again. around 2 weeks would be fine. its just that systems and regulations change every so often so wanted to know whether the process has been speeded up or slowed down.

Thanks All!

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. Now all i have to do is tell my boss here that i won't be sticking around for the long term. aaargh! Anyone had to quit a really good job to go do a PhD? How did you go about it?

Hi, I am new to the forum in terms of posting but i have been browsing through for the last couple of years. It has really been helpful as i applied for a PhD and despite the gloom and doom in some of the messages, it confirmed for me that a PhD is what i should be doing.

I will be coming to Southampton in September to start my PhD in the social sciences. Just wanted some advice from any current Phd'ers who might in the area. I am an international student but was in the UK for my masters 2 years ago. So:

1. Anyone stayed in halls? I have applied for St. Margarets house among others and would appreciate feedback/pictures if you have any.
2. Do most PhD students get offices and generally shared among how many?
3. how long does it take for a bank account to be opened. I have read/hear anything from 3 days to a month. so just wanted some other views.

Thanks a lot. :-)

Hi. I am new to the forum. International student about to start my PhD in the social sciences October in the UK!!

Maybe we can add to the tips list specific advice to internationals i.e dealing with cultural issues that you may not even be aware of. For example, when i did my masters abroad, i used to wonder why i felt so uncomfortable consulting with my supervisor/other faculty. Later on, is when it hit me that the direct eye contact that is such a feature of western communication unnerved me. So much so that even when i had a problem i would avoid speaking to my lecturers about it because i felt that they were staring at me when i spoke.

So my tip would be, be self reflective in order to discover what some of your problems may be. They may be difficult to identify directly.