I think that being employed (and paid) as a technician will make a difference to what you might expect to get in terms of your identity as a student. If your primary identity is research technician, and the PhD is something you have chosen to do as an 'add on' (rather than it being a studentship) then I can see the university will treat you as a technician - esp in these days when money is tight in academia.

To be honest, I think this is fair. As a technician you'll be getting perks that students dont get (NI and pension contributions, and, I suspect, a salary that is higher than a stipend). And while PhD students might get support to go to conferences, other technicians wont get the chance to go at all!

TBH I'd start talking to people sooner rather than later. If like for me your MA results dont come out until well into the autumn semester, I wouldnt wait that long. It is suprising how long it all takes, and if you havent yet got a supervisor in mind it wouldnt hurt to start to identify one (by talking to people but also looking at who is working in your area) and get in contact. I suspect you may be eligible for fees only from the AHRC, but if there are things like university scholarships then getting in early is probably a good idea.

Well it's certainly true that if you are not eligible the chances of your application being successful are zero. Best to check with someone who has experience - maybe the postgraduate admissions officer in your department could help? The careers centre may also be able to give you ideas about various sources of funding, other than the AHRC, to which you could apply.

If you are eligible, I believe the success rate for applications to AHRC is around 25%, but as you'll be looking at a 2008 start at least you will have plenty of time to polish your application

Although not my reason for doing a PhD, a perk is getting the title Dr to avoid the miss/ms/mrs dilemma (for those occasions where a title is required)

wooooo Piglet. Congratulations!!!!

ESRC pay the university and the university pays you (I think this is universal?). So arrangments for payment depend on your institution. For me it is monthly in advance. If I left one week into the month I'd have to pay the three weeks back.

I think you need to find out just what your options are - do you have a atudent advice centre? or talk to the PG advisor, or even the PG administrator, to get the facts sorted. You certainly should have the option of intercalating, to give you time to consider whether you do want to continue the PhD. The fees thing sounds a bit weird, but until you know for sure it is going to be hard for you to decide what to do.

It sounds as though you are very clear that you are not going to need a PhD for your future career, so you are right, there is not much point going through the anguish just to get 'Dr' before your name. But talking to the careers center might be useful to give you an idea of things you can do if you drop the PhD.

isnt this the problem though? if we all only said things we were sure werent going to offend anyone then we'd be left with utter banality. As a PhD student you are not going to get far without learning to accept criticisms and opinions that are different from your own and expressed different ways, without taking them as a personal insult. At least Otto's contributions allowed us to get some robust debate.

I had a space in an open plan office shared with 30 students. It wasnt practical, not least because a lot of my research was telephone interviews, but even without that I found it very hard to concentrate. People did manage to work there - there was a stric rule of silence and most people wore headphones too. Third years got moved, supposedly a demotion because it was a portacabin 15 mins from the department, but it's actually an improvement because there are only 6 people per office. However, by then I'd already got into a routine of working at home.

Like you, it was hard to complain because I have friends in another faculty who get no desk space. A friend was in a situation similar to yours, and complained that she only took the place because she got told she'd have an office during her interview. she did get to avoid being moved into open plan but it was a huge fight.

jojo maybe you need to learn to phrase your questions appropriately. You ask if you should carry one with subsequent chapters without waiting for feedback. Then you say this is not possible in your field. If you already have the answer, why ask the question? Clearly, not everyone can wait for feedback - because its not the answer you want, does not make it sarcasm.

Like D2I says - feedback, what's that?

dont wait, not unless you want to be sitting and twiddling your thumbs for months between each chapter. I'm now half way through my second draft of whole thing; the only bit I've had comments on is draft one of intro chapter, and that was only general remarks not red pen.

I think you should quit now and stop wasting everyone's time including your own. Sorry if that sounds harsh, it appears that you have no interest in, or apptitude for, doing a PhD, which as you've found out is very different from a UG course.

You are blaming everyone and everything except your own inability to get stuck in. As Sue says, this IS what a PhD is like - and I think that even if all this was to magically change be solved, you'd find something else that wasnt quite right and stopped you working.

Quit now and give someone else a chance to take your place and go and get a job that provides the structure you need.

Or do they mean a professional doctorate (doctor of ..... not sure, if it would be psychoanalysis, I know there is a doctor of clinical psychology) as opposed to a PhD (doctor of philosophy).

not that I know much about professional doctorates, 'cept they are for, err, people in professional areas, and I think more about practice and for people who want to continue in professional practice (rather than become academics).

like the MD for medics.

me too.

or trying to. making up for spending the week sulking after last supervison meeting and not doing any work.

I'd also be very suspicious about anyone who suggests getting a PhD done part time in 3 years. Very few people doing it full time finish in three years. It might be possible if the research you are doing in your day job is forming the material you are using for your thesis, but this depends on cooperation from the institution you are working at.

It would also be worth checking the regulations for registration for the Uni you are going to study at. For a part time PhD you are normally required to register for 6 years in the first instance, and although you may be able to get dispensation to reduce this once you've got going, I think being allowed to reduce to 3 years would take some impressive powers of persuasion - universities want to get the fees after all.