Fear - that's normally a good starter!

Eh Tetraselmis.. that's pretty rough. I have no advice on funding etc but please do remember your health is THE most important thing in life. Everything else is secondary.

Done.. good luck

:)

I could not afford to quit my job and go full time research. A wife and two kids have made sure of that! If I ever did do a Doctorate I think it would be a DBA over a PhD purely as I do not wish to go into academia.. and then I wonder if a DBA would help me in my career?!?

Of course it's not all about career.. career.. career. So would a DBA make a difference to anyone? Would I be doing it for vanity reasons.. would I just annoy people by saying "err it's doctor AOE to you".

Ignore me... I am just blabbering on..

Any reason you cannot do both? Take the job and do a part time PhD? Only you know what you truly want to accomplish in your life.

I am in a similar situation, I have a very good job but have an itch to do a Doctorate. The question for me is - if I put 4 years additonal hard work into my job (above what I do now) that is the equivalent time spent doing a Doctorate where would I be in say 10 years time?

Hi Shasebert.. this is going to sound a bit patronising but it's not meant to be - simply answer the questions honestly. It's your application to get on the programme and if you genuinely want to be on it and have a deep interest in the subject then that will shine through on your answers.
They are not looking for you to outline your dissertation they are simply trying to determine if you are the right candidate for the programme. I had to go through the same exercise to get on my MSc and stressed over it and when speaking to the lecturers after it was apparent I had no cause for concern.

When I did my MSc viva the two examiners didn't agree with each other!!!

If a PhD is what YOU want... then go for it. It sounds as tho a MPhil does not fulfil your requirements - so why even bother doing it?!?!

I see a lot of people beating themselves up on this forum - which I find unsettling, but not wanting to sound overly dramatic or zen 'like' I will quote Mr W Chruchill 'Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.'

Have you raised the issue with him? Have you said "I am struggling to complete my research due to the amount of unrelated work I am being given. Is this a common issue for students?"

It's amazing how many typos/mistakes you make and don't realise. I walked into my suprvisor's office once and the first thing he said was "do you know when and where to use apostrophes?"
Me "I thought I did until you said that"
He then handed me a sheet of how to use apostrophes accompanied by an uncovincing "don't worry - it's a common mistake".
I read the hand out but I knew it.. I really did.. reread a couple of chapters of my dissertation and I had made the most basic mistakes! I felt like I should be learning GCSE English Language not a MSc.

I hate it when people don't indicate on roundabouts.

Now ask your parents who is the checkout girl???

Well done.

You have a topic but have no question. Frame your research as a question and then you can review the appropriate literature to see if it has been answered.

I wish my supevisor had been stricter with me as my lit review and proposal ended up being far too broad and I would never have completed my dissertation in time.

Ecommerce and retail are very much my domain - ideas? How about how bricks and mortar can retain customers against pureplays? How to globalise ecommerce platforms? Is there are requirement for localisation for global ecommerce sites?

Feel free to pm me if you want more ideas :)

It's a nice touch but will not get you the role.

I would leave it until after the decision has been made and then it may lead you to extend your network.

You should not make it personal, thank them for the opportunity, their time, wish them luck in the future and the possibility of connecting.

You may do 'business' in the future. The person they offer the role to may not last and you'll then be top of their list etc

I understand that they were told - I was implying they should take some responsibility to prepare for it themselves. I struggle to beleive that being told once "do not prepare for it until after submission" you nor you fellow students would ever raise the question again or prepare for it. That is certainly not my experience of a MSc.

If that is what was communicated by the supervisor I would be raising a formal complaint and demanding an extension.