Having been pointed in the direction of this forum by fluffymonster, I've been visiting for the past couple of months and have found it to be very useful - phew, I'm no longer the only one feeling isolated, panicked, stressed, lost etc!

I just wanted to say hi to everyone here and I look forward to chatting with you (and most likely whinging a lot!). I'm in my second year of a full-time, fully funded PhD, in which (very broadly) I'm exploring young people's aspirations for education and employment in the North East of England. Very small-scale, in depth qualitative research, which is just the way I like it :) I worked in contract research before this, so the research skills themselves aren't the issue for me, rather the isolation of working for your doctorate - but it seems we're all in the same boat judging by the posts I've read.

So, that's me in brief - and I have lots of questions relating to my upcoming Mid-Point Progression, any advice will be gratefully received!

We are definitely all in the same boat!
I am kind of new to this forum and so far i have found it great! welcome!

Hello Suz, good to see you here. I thought I would be easy to spot!

Hope you find it useful, I have to say I have learnt so much from this forum, it is a fab place to be.

Hi there!!! I'm in my first year just approaching upgrade so sweating a bit at the mo!! I did my first degree in the NE (Durham)so I am reading your posts with a NE accent in my head! Welcome on board, I am a sporadic poster but read daily, lol x

Thanks for the welcome guys

Having read some of the issues other people have had, I actually feel in a pretty lucky position and shouldn't really whinge at all!

Yep, I'm a Northerner and studied both undergrad and MSc here in the NE. Never ever contemplated a PhD, in fact I always said I'd never do one...which I sometimes think about when I'm feeling super stressed and totally out of my depth! My Supervisor is just great though, I had worked with him previous to this so that also really helps.

Fluffymonster, yep, you weren't too difficult to spot, seeing as you'd just done such a fab job of getting through your Viva when you told me about the forum!! Thanks for pointing me in this direction though, it really has already helped to find that there are loads of us struggling with the same issues as well as loving all things 'research'.

welcome