Hi,

You may want to do more research into the PhD possibilities in Germany. I've heard from many, many German friends (who are doing their PhDs in the U.K. and other countries, e.g. Canada) that it takes a very long time to complete a PhD in Germany (hence they all chose to do it abroad), because in Germany PhD students are essentially their supervisor's staff, and are often given so much work to do (for their sup) that they don't get enough time to work on their PhDs. In the U.K. however, (full time) PhD students are expected to focus on their PhDs and are encouraged to submit within 3-4 years. So this may be something you'd want to think about.

As for putting in applications for PhD studentship while doing MRes, obviously it depends on the closing date of the actual studentship(s). I had two separate studentships for my MSc and my PhD, and yes I did prepare and submit my application for the PhD studentship in the middle of my MSc year (but not at the very start).

As for whether the MRes would improve your chance of getting a PhD studentship. Afraid I can't comment because I'm not in your area. In my area a MSc is essential to get the research council PhD studentship, but even so the competition for studentships is very fierce, as there's a huge demand for them.

Good luck!

Procrastination and self-forgiveness

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/05/cure-for-procrastination-forgive.html

I agree with Sue that you're in a lucky position to be able to find 16 jobs to apply for! I've been looking for months but so far only found 2.. Sound like there are lots more academic jobs going in your area. So keep trying and hopefully you'll land one soon!

Good luck!

Don't worry! By the sound of it this is your very first draft of the lit review. It doesn't need to be perfect. The initial draft of lit review is meant to form a base that you then work on and develop further later on. In the course of your PhD you'll come to realise what other things you could add to the lit review, and what to cut out. You will be in a better position to judge what/how much literature to cover and which angle to approach them from once you've done some empirical work (if you're in science)/more reading + writing (if you're in humanities). So for now just try do your best and remember that it doesn't need to be perfect because you'll have to work on it again and again in the future - that's just the way it is.

Good luck!

Hello! Thanks for the welcome :)

algaequeen: I can understand why you felt like that. I'd totally freak out too if I were you. But try not to worry about it. It's not as if you can do anything. Just focus on the thesis. In any case, as examiner he should base his judegement entirely on your thesis and not influenced by gossips about you as a person/colleague.

Sue: glad you had some time off! It's important to have a substantial break from time to time. I felt like I was heading towards burn out, but after spending some time socialising with friends yesterday (after weeks of working away in my little world...) I felt much better. Good luck with getting a complete draft done too! I plan to get a complete draft done by the end of this month or early June, so I can get some feedbacks on the structure of the thesis. It's a really tight deadline, and it doesn't help that I'm in the middle of preparing a job app (which is taking more time than I expected...), but has to be done!

Good luck everyone!

Good luck Chrisrolinski!!

I have no idea actually! I'm funded by a research council, so does it mean my work is jointly own by them and I (and my uni)?

It's completely normal to feel like this. But you've just been here for a very short time, and I promise things would change very soon. When I started I hardly knew anyone but over time I've made many good friends. It's just one of those things that takes time I guess. Does your department have regular pub/other forms of meet-up? It's a good way to know more people. Have you considered joining some societies? At my uni we have a society for postgrad students, so going to their socials proved to be a good way of meeting people and making friends. There are also national societies and sports societies too. I'd suggest going along to different socials to get to know people. Good luck!

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I'm bit of a latecomer but can I join?

I'm aiming to submit sometime in July. Ideally early July would be great but not sure how feasible it is. Definitely aim to submit by the end of the the July though.

Having read part of this thread (it's a looog one!) and seen how many times people have to revise their chapters sent me into a bigger panic than I was already in! At the moment all my empirical chapters are written - 1/3 of it only 1st draft, 1/3 of it at 2nd draft and 1/3 of it at 3rd draft. I'm now going to write my Intro chapter. I only wrote a tiny part of it years ago, so I more or less have the entire 1st draft to write now. I've been avoiding this chapter for ages but can't hide from it anymore seeing as I want to submit in 2 months' time! Really worried if I can get everything done in time. But I really have to submit by the end of July (or within the first 2 weeks of Aug, pushing it) because of various practical, non-PhD related reasons... So pressure is on!

Hope everyone have a good weekend. And I'm going to be brave and tackle this much-dreaded chapter
:-s

Congratulations!! (up) Good luck with the Viva!!

I do it once every 3 months or so... It's never really by choice, but sometimes I just have to when I want to make a deadline. I would work til sometime between 6-8am, hand the finished work in, and then go to sleep. When I wake up in the middle of the day I usually feel rubbish, tired and kinda disorientated so I'll take it easy for the rest of the day e.g. do non-demanding work like filing... In an ideal world I'd never pull an all nighter as I just feel so rubbish afterwards. But sometimes I feel I have no choice. I'll try my best to avoid pulling all-nighters but as my submission date is looming I foresee quite a few in the coming months! :(

Thanks for all comments and advice! Will put an application in for this as well as keep an eye out for other suitable posts. :-)

Ok, now back to working on my thesis...

I'd say go ahead too. It's be very good to pick up ideas and talk to people at the start of your work (well at any stage of your work for that matter). No need to be nervous about mentioning to your supervisor at all. In any case it shows your initiatives. And like sneak says you have nothing to lose. Obviously if you get accepted that's great, but I would check out funding to see if you could still attend if you're not presenting. Given the conference is in the right area it'd be beneficial to go even if you're not presenting.

Good luck!

You're almost there!! Keep going!! Soon it'll be over! (up)

I can't wait til I'm in your position, when the end is clearly in sight!

Good luck!! You can do it!

Hi all,

I have this ongoing problem with my supervisor. He always takes AGES to read my drafts (from weeks to over 3 months), and his feedbacks are not particularly detailed and critical. This is really not helpful and I'm getting quite worried as I really want to get the complete draft done sometime in June (then submit sometime in the summer, the sooner the better of course). I was just wondering how long your supervisor usually takes to read a chapter (say 8000-10000 words)? And do you tell them when you need it back by?

Thanks!