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Thesis error could it cost me my PhD?
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No it is not enough to fail. I bet the examiners have seen this. You could prepare a printed copy of the figures to the viva. Meanwhile you could email the internal examiner with the situation and the correct figures in a pdf or DVD. Or better go to his/her office with two copies of printer figures and tell him/her the story.

I will deliver a guest lecture in the UK, but i do not speak English well
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It is fine. Students have lectures from non-native English speakers. Just do your best.

MSc/MSci preference in Physics PhD applications for Oxbridge
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This is also very specific and you need someone from deciding panel to tell you. In my opinion it is too early to ask before starting Bachelor about admission for PhD. After 3-4 years, criteria might be changed. Also it is a case by case. I would not worry too much about it in this stage.
If you want to be admitted to Oxbridge PhD, you might need to get first class. Also if you meet the requirements, there is no guarantee.

MSc/MSci preference in Physics PhD applications for Oxbridge
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You can check admission requirements. Your question is very specific.

failing before the PhD
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I am very sorry to hear this. They should have criticised the work not the way you present it. I think they have got the feeling that your results were not based on a solid theoretical background. Some examiners like to see the PhD student provides very good reasons for choosing particular models/topologies.
I would advise you to appeal as I have read here several cases with successful appeals. Keep in mind that the probability of accepting the appeal is not particularly high. So hope for the best and be prepared for any outcome. I wish you the very best.

Post doc tips ?
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Congratulations. General tips I find useful in starting any new jobs:
- Arrive on time and spend your time working and leave on time. This sounds basic but not everyone is doing this. If colleagues see you early at work, spending "most" of your time doing real work not hanging around or checking Facebook and leave on time, then it is a good start.
- Do not try to prove that you know everything. Ask questions. Try to have the right balance between independent working and being afraid of asking questions.
- Now for Postdocs. PI expect you to help PhD and Master student. They expect you to write papers even for experiments carried out by others. They expect you to take care of some administration stuff. Usually Postdoc is the right hand of a PI. I think the key point is to work independently but in a different way than a PhD student. A PhD student cares only about his research with little interest on what is going on in the institute/research group. A Postdoc involves in wide topics and in the group. A Postdoc could do a research in a different topic than his PhD research.
To conclude, work hard without killing yourself. Do not try to prove that you know everything. Expect a different and wider scope of work.

Post. Doc. Research Associate, Post. Doc. Training Fellow and Post. Doc. Research Assistant - diff?
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Hi. I have not spent long time in academia in the UK but I looked at many jobs and can write what I know.
Research associate: is a Postdoc, mostly in early stage. Just finished a PhD and has 0-4 years of experience.
Research assistant: can be either a Postdoc or Master holder. Some universities/departments advertise all their Postdoc jobs as "research assistant". This does not mean that Research associate is absolutely higher in seniority. The two terms "assistant" and "associate" are used sometimes interchangeably. But research associate always requires a PhD in all posts I have seen while "assistant" sometimes Master is enough. I do not know about Postdoc training fellow.
In terms of teaching, as a general rule, Research assistants and associates engage in small teaching duties or lab assistance unless otherwise stated in job description.

Bewildered and confused by supervisor
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Hi. I agree partially with the Chochka and TQ. It is not healthy doubting your abilities and criticising too much. But be careful that he is still the supervisor. Papers which do not involve him and give him no credit are NOT the most exciting topics for him. In academia, in particular in the UK, supervisors care more about their publications. Their publications are more important to them than "their original duty" to support you. Sad but true. He should also have a "say" in how do you spend your PhD time. I know I sound a bit rough but I would like you to see the complete picture. Nevertheless he is still a bad supervisor.

Am I failing?
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Hi Chochka. I cannot say and advise better than what Tudor_Queen already did. It is your PhD. I though before that supervisors would like to see all their students finish their PhD and get the degree but they do not really care that much. For them they are people who come and leave. Leaving without a PhD will hurt only you.
There is a fine line (which I personally find it hard to determine) between giving up because you are really going no where and giving up because of a temporary problem. In your case, I think it is a temporary demotivation. Think of what can motivate you. Forget about the support of supervisors. Try to do small things now and work in non boring stuff and step by step you will be there.

Masters without completed Bachelors
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Theoretically possible. It is usually said in requirements, Bachelor or relevant experience.

Viva with no journal Publications
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Hi EV,
I think you worry too much about it. Most PhD graduates do not have journals. As you already know, journals and conferences also have ranks. It also depend on the subject. If you have a coherent thesis and 2 or 3 conference papers, this should be enough. Papers help to "shut up" the examiners in case they claim that thesis lacks novelty. nevertheless if you have done original research and have a coherent thesis without a single publication, this could be enough for graduation.
Making a plan for publication for them would attract their attention to the point. Again, you have enough publications. You do not have to explain something about it. Defend your original research regardless of your published work and in case you need, use your already published papers in your defence.
You will do fine. Be confident. All the best.

Thesis as collection of articles
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Hi. This is perfectly normal. What you need to do is to write a coherent thesis which relates the chapters and the results to the original problem. If I like a work done by a paper by a PhD student, sometimes I search for the thesis of this student hoping to find more details about the work. So it is perfectly fine.

Submitting to conferences - two questions
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Hi. For submitting to more than a conference, I have not tried it. Most people will submit and if rejected, submit in another conference. If the time between the conferences is not too long, you can submit in one and wait. nevertheless it is theoretically possible and there should be no hard in submitting in two conferences. You may read the conditions while submitting if something prevents this.
I knew some who submitted the abstract without the results. It really depends much on the conference and the chances of getting accepted depends on what the reviewers expect in the abstract. Some conferences expect a full manuscript and if accepted, suggest modifications. Others need an abstract then if accepted the full paper. If your results are not ready anyway at the abstract deadline, submit what you have.

Microbiology-based research jobs UK
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Hi. This is very specific and not my area but I would reply by general observations.
Jobs in London, south east and home counties are much more. Salaries are higher and of course living costs are higher.
It is difficult to find jobs in the north but in the west (if you mean Bristol) there is a good chance.
This is one of the bad things in life. Jobs are more in areas which are not very nice. Nice areas do not have many jobs. Are they nice because they do not have jobs? who knows?
If I were you, I would look first for jobs in the areas I would like to live in. If there is no available opportunity, I would move the less preferred areas. All the best.

Discontinued PhD after 6.5 years
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Hi DarkDragon. I am very sorry to hear your story. I had a similar experience with 5 years work in a PhD exiting with nothing. I felt disappointment and shame. It is bad. No one can argue about it. What I would like to tell you how I coped with this and moved on (of course I still feel the pain).
First it did not help me to take all the blame on the supervisor and project. I had "enough" time to say no and it was obvious that things are not going in the right direction. You should accept that you share the responsibility of what happened along with others. This will make you feel better.
Secondly, prepare yourself for jobs interview. Talk positively in interviews about your PhD experience. Companies do not care that much about actually "awarding" the degree. They care more about what do you know and how can you fit with them.
Next, which is related to the last point, try to find a "good" job as soon as possible. Once you find a job then trying to excel in it, the PhD story will be a past. It will be a bad memory of course. But when you move on, it feels much better. It is like after breakup. You feel bad but you do not feel that bad when you are with another partner :)
Last but not least, although not getting a PhD is not the end of the world, do not fall in the trap of undermining the value of the PhD. PhD is still the highest academic degree. People who were awarded a PhD did original research and contribution. It is unfortunate that we could not do it, but accpeting this fact is a sign of strength.
Good luck