TreeofLife, Dunham,

You may be being harsh here without fully understanding the situation. Albatross has indicated that whilst the samples were undergoing XRD, they were beyond her reach and thus outside her control.

All Albatross could do was ensure the samples were properly labelled and if an error has occurred within the lab, what could she do especially when at the time her supervisor has 'lied' by saying the sample were correct.

Albatross,

If you have labelled the samples correctly, can you prove this? I'd have thought you'd be allowed to be present during an XRD test at the very least to ensure correct procedure and not allowing access seems strange indeed. At my old Uni. we actually did the XRD ourselves!!!

Also, can you show that your supervisor has said the samples were correct then later said they weren't? If you've correspondence in writing and can prove you were sent to a conference with falsified data, you may have the basis of an action against your University should the situation be irretrievable.

That said, look at what you have and see what can be used. And yes, given the XRD database isn't updated until after Christmas, that should be the basis for an extension appeal as you cannot access your data until then.

As a first step, see if you can retrieve a workable, submittable thesis from this situation and obtain your PhD. After this, pass or fail, see what your options are as to whether further action can be taken against either the University or your supervisor. If you obtain your PhD, this may not be necessary.

Yes, the old adage "Universities close ranks" will apply, though this becomes more difficult for them if you have proof of wrongdoing or error in procedure.

Ian

There should be a rule that the 10 minute presentation presentation can only be given once 8 pints of beer (or whatever your tipple) or lager have been consumed!!!

Some of the outcomes should be fun!!! :-)

Ian

I don't know. If someone has enough dirt for square 39, I guess such information could be used to 'help' your position. ;-)

(See my PM to you.)

Ian

In my old department, it was circulated to new PhD students as a rite of passage on starting their PhD. The above is a slightly enlarged version of the one I saw.

Squares 9 (I related to this very strongly), 40, 42, 43 (which actually happened to me) and 44 I note are additional, as is the very hopeful square 39.

This newer version just had to be added to my blog when I saw it!!! :-)


Ian

Never was a truer word spoken in jest!!!

Please do not start me off on honorary degrees!!! :-)

Ian

I just read that and all I can say is what a mess!!!

That's just it. If someone writes a paper and later problems are found with it, then other people listed as co-authors can be implicated even if their names are present only as courtesy.

Ian

I have to admit I misread the heading for this thread as well. I thought she meant ditched in relationship terms. My mistake (sorry). :-)

Ian

Fair comment Eds!!! :-)

Ian

How badly do you want the PhD compared to the job? How far off finishing are you.

Economic sense is to take the job. Is it a temporary contract of one year? Suspend the PhD for one year and come back to it.

Is it permanent? If so, you have some soul searching, but I remember the battle I had to find another job after my second post-doc finished. As said, there's plenty posts on here from people unable to find work.

Would I have quit in similar circumstances to you? I don't know, however, if I knew exactly what problems I was going to face a few years later (overqualified, waiting for something better to come along, etc.) I'd have been sorely tempted to jump ship if a really good job opportunity came along.

Click on the link to view the PhD Game, which I think sums up the situation as regards PhDs, jobs and unemployment fairly well for many people.


Ian

I remember a while back saying something along the lines of because I'd spent an extended portion of my life in higher education or academia (in research) I'd find it very difficult to have a lasting relationship with, say, someone who'd left school at 16. I was quickly corrected by someone who'd gone through PhD, but whose husband had left school at 16 and was a carpenter or something similar (?).

My take is it's all to do with how well you can relate to someone. Obviously, the lady who corrected me and her husband related very well to each other and all the best to them for that.

However, I still feel going through the ringer in education and academia does in many cases alter our hot wiring. Many of us have been through PhD and having had those experiences, how many can honestly say we're the same person as we were at 16 or even when we finished our first degrees? We then run into mates who left school say at 16 and gone straight into work, and whilst we can have a few beers and a bit of banter, sooner or later unless there is other common ground then differences eventually show through. Similarly, someone above said as a social scientist, she tended to avoid people with science, engineering and technology backgrounds - even though they were on the same educational level, there was a gulf between them.

It's not a case of "because I've an education, I'm better than you". That's utter bollocks and an arrogance I don't like. There's plenty ordinary people lived fulfilled lives without that "education". It's simply that our experiences change us in different ways and the common ground we need to form a lasting relationship will shift and change with that.

It's not necessarily education that causes changes and thus what we want out of a partner. There are other things that can form common ground such as hobbies, travel or (a no no for some) work.

Ian

You're best bet would be to try re-registering at your original University and with your supervisors' support, you should be able to.

However, given that you have completely withdrawn it is very doubtful if any outstanding funding due to you before you quit would once again become available. You may have to finance any remaining period from your own pocket. That is unless your supervisors have made arrangements to cover at least the fees of any remaining study.

The only instance I know of where someone has re-registered on their original PhD after quitting is Brian May of Queen fame. However, money would not be an issue with him. :-)

Ian

I had minor corrections and as much as it was tempting to take a breather before I did them, I opted to push through get them done. As you've discovered, once you stop then it's difficult to start again.

You're within the six months so there's no need to contact the examiners. Just get the corrections done and over with, submitted and finally have your life back. Then you will properly have your PhD.

Ian

I went into my PhD after five years out after Masters. I personally found it an advantage, as I was was older and finally mature enough for the challenge. I also couldn;t have tackled it straight after masters, as at that stage I was weary of being a student and the break recharged me in that respect.

Starting is about reading as many relevant key papers as you can, fulling in th eothers as you go along plus any new pieces of work you become aware of. However, I concede constant literature review is boring and I'd advise also beginning to use any equipment you might use, say, in a Science or Engieering PhD.

It was during this early fiddling around I managed to achieve my first original finding and as a result i got a flyer at the start. However, don't expect that to happen as a PhD is a marathon and not a sprint. It's more likely you'll obtain your original data once the programme proper begins in earnest.

As regards writing a review paper, that may depend upon subject. This is one area I would sit down with your supervisor to discuss how to go about it. The review paper may form the basis of your literature review in your final thesis, this critical appraisal is the key.

Ian

Like it or not, this is par for the course. Even if you only stay an hour then excuse yourself for childcare reasons, it shows willing, making a massive difference in colleagues' perceptions of you!!!

Referring to my earlier post and comments you've made since, I was also in the situation that my research record wasn't current. Yes, I tried to publish my existing data and managed to push out several papers from it. Glancing at scholar.google.com shows people are reading and citing them.

However, an additional problem was academic and research posts were going to fresh PhD graduates and I basically stood no chance. I'm still in the real world job I mentioned I'd found earlier. A point comes you have to admit that not everything follows that golden path you might have planned for yourself, simply to ensure you're earning a wage. It's also easier to find a job when in a job.

I'll be blunt. Your PhD is only important to you. Be proud of your achievement, but don't believe the world owes you more because you can call yourself "Doctor".

Ian

Kathryn,

Dare I say, been there got the T-shirt. I ended up in your situation due to a very poor post-doc experience at a Uni. other than my PhD Uni. I'll not bore people with the story, however, I took on what was meant to be a "moving on" 2nd post-doc away from my PhD Uni., I fell out with a post-doc assigned with my mentor and ultimately the project leading Prof. I left without a reference, making my job hunting especially difficult. Put simply, my face didn't fit and they should never have employed me as I was not suited to the post.

The feelings you are having are vitually the same as mine back then. I felt that what I had to offer was worthless and I had a skills set no-one wanted. I attacked the jobs market for both academic and real world posts. The responses you'll recognise, in that I was too academically oriented, I would move on as soon as something better came along or I'd find the job boring.

In the end, I restructured my CV to emphasise my real world skills, demoting my academic achivements largely to the second page. I also learnt how to better sell myself. Wording in CVs and interviews should be about what you achieved and what positive outcomes resulted, rather than about "what you did". I made the language more positive and saleable as well. I had per-PhD industrial experience to fall back on, helping me to finally land a job albeit outside academia.

A further factor was I was called back to my PhD Uni. for some unpaid work, which helped reset my references. You have teaching experience, thus you might become a trainer in industry.

One key difference between you and I. I never regreted the PhD iitself, an orignal contribution, new knowledge, the reasons I did a PhD. And all that fun kit to play with too I never thought I have the chance to use. No regrets!!!

Ian