I'm in the same position, unsure over what to put in the methodology chapter and what to include in individual findings chapters. I'm still drafting and at this point I'm leaving the epistemological stuff, reflexivity and broad methodological framework in the methodology chapter and just the procedural stuff in the individual chapters. I hope that helps.

I've organised 2 conferences with one other postgrad student each time. To be honest though either of us could have done the work on our own. I think it's completely possible (depending on the scale of the conference). It just made it more sociable to work together on it. In some ways it was harder because we had to run everything passed the other person.

Good luck and likewise, I'm happy to help if you need any tips or advice

Good advice, thanks Mara. It is definitely something that we will weigh up between us and I'm not going to rule out. I guess I'm just conscious that I'm very often putting the PhD first and want to strike a balance and be a good researcher and a good partner! Quality time together is definitely important, I agree.

This amused me a little as I experience the exact same thing! I cringe at the sound of my own voice and want to crawl into a dark hole every time I have to transcribe. My tactic has been to focus on evaluating the other aspects of the interviews both positive and negative. From my recent lot of interviews for example I've realised that I need to allow people a little more time to expand on their answers before I leap in with another question but on the plus side I like how I'm able to build rapport with people. Focusing on these things distracts me from how much I hate listening to my own voice.

I also recently attended a voice training workshop at my uni which was somewhat helpful in giving me a few tips and techniques to make me sound more confident and make my voice stronger.

It might be that your voice is completely fine in which case he distraction techniques like evaluating your interview style rather than voice might help.

Hope that's of use! :)

GM

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a productive, happy and healthy year.

Thanks Marasp, it's reassuring to hear that it has worked for others. If I could come home every weekend I would definitely consider it as we probably won't get much time together in the week either way.

For now at least I've been honest with my supervisor and said that I'd prefer to stay in the UK for the next couple of years. I just don't want to miss out on big opportunities abroad if I can find a balance.

Hi,

I'm around 9 months from submitting my thesis and talking about postdoc options recently with my supervisor. He has recommended I apply for postdoc funding available to work elsewhere in Europe (I'm in the UK).

The positions are usually for 12 to 24 months and look like a fantastic opportunity to boost my career. The only thing holding me back is the fact that my long-term partner works locally and would want/be able to move away with me.

Does anyone have any experience of working away from their partners for short periods and any advice? I've only ever been in situations where I'm away from my partner for up to 3 weeks at a time. If I was to take up a postdoc position in Europe I could probably only come home for a long weekend every 6 to 8 weeks (I'm foreseeing).

Thanks for reading

GM

So this is kind of following on from a previous post of mine where I had a mini panic about having very little funded time left and lots of work still to do!

A few people suggested some different jobs that are ideal (or just convenient) to earn some much needed money while still have enough time and energy to finish up the thesis.

I'm not planning to start work until I have at least a full draft but will still have lots of editing to do.

Job recommendations that have cropped up so far are things like: teaching assistant, research assistant, translator, private tutor and the less ideal but easier to find: fast food or supermarket work.

Any other experiences or ideas for good paid work while finishing the thesis?

Cheers

GM.

Thanks everyone for the advice, it's got me thinking about the skills I have and don't have. I'm not a natural at computer stuff so might have to rule the web design stuff out but I do enjoy tutoring and do a little at the moment. I'm sure if I advertised that more widely, I might get some interest. Also, the grant or loan option is always there too so hopefully there'll be something. In the meantime, just got to crack on with the thesis I guess! :)

Hi Keyboard Plodder,

My experience isn't completely identical but my supervisor is very supportive and rarely critical. My first draft of my first year progression report was described as 'a bit lumpy but a start'. Even after re-drafting this, I only scraped through my progression and onto my second year and felt in hindsight that my supervisor could have been more honest and critical.

My confidence was very low in terms of presenting (I would go bright red and sweat and come away with a migraine!) I'm actually a lot more confident now after 5/6 conference presentations (so I think it does get better with practice). The main one that boosted my confidence was presenting at a postgraduate research forum at my university. It was dead informal and just me presenting to 6/7 other students and getting about 20 minutes for feedback and questions. It was a daunting idea but really helped my confidence and my writing. It helped my confidence in seeing the things that me and my supervisor take for granted when discussing my thesis, for once I was having to explain and justify all those little steps that I wouldn't normally in a supervision (but might have to in my viva!). Maybe see if your uni hold informal forums like this to present your research at or even book a small room and send out an invite to your presentation on a postgraduate mailing list!?

Hope that helps.

GM.

PS. I just sent you a private message RE: another post. Clearly spending far too much of my Friday night on here :)

Thanks marasp. I guess the back up plan in always fast-food or cleaning jobs etc... I've got lots of pub, cleaning and some carework experience so I hopefully won't be short of minimum wage opportunities. Just with time being an issues, I'd rather work 18 hours in an RA job than 38 hours cleaning/serving food for the same £1000 a month (as I'm sure we all would!) After the thing is in and submitted I would probably welcome a 3 month break in a low-pay low-responsibility job! :)

I agree with Ian. Look after yourself, that's most important right now, everything else can wait. Under the circumstances, organising a suspension shouldn't be any hassle.

Take care

GM.

Hi,

I've just started my third and final funded year and it's going to be really tight getting my thesis submitted by 25th September 2015 and even so I need to be earning money from 1st October 2015 as this is when my funding runs out and my bills are due!

I can support myself comfortable on £1000 a month while finishing off my thesis/looking for something more permanent if needs be. At a stretch I can support myself on a couple hundred less (I know this from doing my undergrad!). I'm in the process of saving enough money to support me for 2 months (October/November 2015) if needed and I have a couple of emergency credit cards too.

Everyone else in my department lives with parents already and I don't have (and wouldn't really want tbh) this option.

I'm wondering how other full-timers/funded PhD's have managed. I have no idea how early/late to leave it before applying for jobs. As early as July or as late as September? I'm on track to have a full draft finished by 1st July. In an ideal world if I'm still finishing off, I'll get a part time research associate/assistant job for 2/3 days per week and that will give me both the time and the income I need.

How are others managing the end of funding, need for time and income situation?

Thanks both, that's really helpful. I've had a tendency to always set goals that are a little bit too high (eg. 2000 words) then inevitably fail to reach that and feel rubbish.... completely unproductive!

I'd like to point out that yesterday, after reading these posts in the morning, I re-set my goal to 1000 words and actually wrote 1980 as I was on a roll and it felt good (as you say RLD) to know that I'm ahead of schedule. It always made sense that setting realistic goals would keep me motivated but I'd never actually put it into practice. Amazing how such simple mental tricks make writing much more enjoyable :)

Hi,

I'm in my third and final funded year and currently writing for the next couple of months while I wait to collect my final lot of data.

3,500 words into a 15,000 word chapter and hoping to finish this by the end of next week. Other's in my office think this is incredibly fast but most are part time PhD students whereas I'm full time.

How do others motivate themselves through long writing periods and what kinds of daily goals do you set?

I'm thinking of setting myself a goal of 1500 words per day as this feels doable to me (and my supervisor also has high expectations) what do others think?

Thanks for reading!

GM.