Hi all,

ARGH! Just found out today that my abstract has been selected for a talk at a big conference in a few months and I'm petrified! I'm only 8 months into my PhD so this seems a big deal! Obviously I'm pleased my work is deemed interesting enough for presentation but still......argh!!!! Scary! Any advice folks?

Some else who feels the same here!!

I'm only 3 months in and wondering why on earth I even started! Feel cheated on the description of the project and like nobody really knows or cares what I do everyday. Expect work 12 hour days, that seems to be a given!

so would jeans be ok? or should i stick to black trousers? Decisions, decisions! I'm being such a girl about this, i know, but now i've made it into such a big deal that i'm too scared to ask anyone at uni!

I've got my first conference soon......any tips on what to expect? Also, I know it's a very girly question...but what do people wear to conferences? Are you expected to dress smartly or is it all very imformal?
Thanks

awwwww that is so nice! Hope it all works out for you!

Dont know how you plucked up the courage though...I only have to look in the direction of my crush and I go bright red... I'm far too shy to even begin to strike up a conversation with him. We say hi when we pass each other but I always end up acting silly or bumping into him (literally!) hehe

I dream of the day where he notices me..... it could be a long wait! *sigh*

Applied for 4 studentships, interviewed for 3 and got offered 3. Wondering now if I made the right decision picking the one I did....

Thank you all so much - that's really helped a lot!

Well I managed to get a refusal email for a project I hadnt even applied for! I had emailed the supervisor to find out further details about the project but soon realised it wasnt really the area I wanted to work in so I didnt even submit my CV or an application form. A few months later I get this email out of the blue telling me I was unsuccessful in my application! Seems that people don't really take good care in replying/not replying/taking care when it comes to emails....
Still, getting rejected for a project you've not even applied for - I think that takes some beating!!

Bit of a random question.........Does anyone have any good tips/books/websites that would help me to get to grips with solution chemistry and molarity type calculations? I'm finding it really difficult to understand the "methods" parts of papers.... and even more difficult to know where to start with my own stuff! How did everyone else learn how to do all this, was it from your undergrad degree?
Thanks

Thank you all so much for your replies! I'm starting to feel a *little* better about things, but the gaps in my knowledge are really starting to show! Guess its a steep learning curve though, eh?
I feel a bit more at home in the department(s), just need to have the confidence to move forward with things!
I must say though, this forum never fails to put a smile on my face throughout the day, thanks!!

Hi all,
Well I started my PhD about a month ago but I'm completely lost! Everything I read makes me even more confused and I feel I have no direction whatsoever. I have 2 supervisors in 2 different departments (and disciplines) and neither of them seem to want to communicate with the other, or me. They're trying something new by using me to intergrate the departments, so i've to come up with a project that will merge them both........but i've got no guidance from anyone! You'd think that being part of 2 departments means double the people to befriend but no, I just dont seem to fit it anywhere cos I dont spend enough time in just the one place. The only person I really associate with is a post doc who seems to be getting very irritated with all my questions. To makes matters worse I'm living alone in a brand new city where I dont know anyone, truth be told, I'm miserable!! Help, where do I go from here? How did everyone else feel after they'd spent a month where they are now?
Sorry for the moan lol any advice is very, very welcome!

Thanks danb, you make it sound so simple! Maybe it's the fact that ive worked so hard to get here and had so many positive responses that now i'm worried i wont be able to live up to expectations. I just want to get started, this waiting is driving me crazy and giving me too much time to think about things! Also, my relationship ended because I chose to do this so that's making it even more of a big issue and I'm so scared i've made the wrong choice! Sorry for the ramblings lol

Hi all, I finished my postgrad MSc last autumn and since then was putting a lot of effort into getting a PhD place because I really thought that this was the direction I wasnted to go in. I got interviews and offers for the 4 places I applied for, picked my first choice place and I'm due to start there in a couple of months. I was so happy! Trouble is, now i'm really nervous, scared and worried that I've signed myself up for at least 3 years of hell! I'll be moving away from my current home and that's worrying me too. Did anyone else have these doubts about undertaking their PhD? I mean, I really do want to do it, I REALLY do! But i've got this huge fear of something and i'm not sure what it is....... is it just pre-PhD nerves??
Thanks

Hi, as I posted before, I've got an interview coming up for my ideal phd place. The project is exactly what i'm looking for but is being supervised by a professor seems to have quite diverse reseach interests and the division in which the phd is offered is not really where my background lies. I'm totally prepared for the interview with the supervisor and have good background knowledge of his recent work relating to the project, however my problem is with the other supervisors in the division. I've to have a 40min interview with 6 other supervisors within the division but i really dont know their background or much detail about what they are working on (i have looked at their webpages but i dont know much about the area) - are they likely to ask me questions about their research? I want to be fully prepared but I am confused about what to prepare for these other interviews, is it likely that they will ask more general questions as its not their project ive applied to?
Sorry it's so long, and thanks for any advice!

lol yeah I know it's a question that doesnt really have an answer, I'm just trying to think positively, trying to convince myself that i am the best of those who apply and then perhaps that will come across in the interview..... the truth is im very very nervous and somewhat lacking in confidence!