I was talking about publishable papers but the info about conference papers was useful too!

Bilbo, thanks for the advice as well. I think I might try to brainstorm a few article ideas over the next few months and then start drafting in between chapters, as Mark said - that way, hopefully I'll be in the writing frame of mind and getting an article together shouldn't be as difficult as it seems right now. The whole thing really stresses me out but I guess everyone's in the same boat.

Well that's made the choice clear I suppose! :P

Thanks for your advice, Mark. As you say, I guess it's down to workload. I think I'll try to write a very rough draft before telling my supervisor about it so at least I can say "look, I've done something...and it could actually be good!" before she has the chance to dismiss me.

As a side-question, I'd be interested to know how forumites (esp current students) go about writing papers - dedicating a big chunk of time, only once or twice a week, or even a little bit every day?

Hi all,

I'm a second-year humanities PhD without any publications yet apart from a book review in a respectable journal. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on getting published before the PhD is over but I'm never really sure if that's more for sciences or humanities or maybe both. Other students in my department have had stuff handed to them from their supervisors which makes me quite jealous to be honest, though that stuff isn't peer-reviewed...it does make their academia.edu profiles look way more impressive though!

I study historical material, and have some stuff that is interesting but probably won't end up in my thesis for reasons of scope. The material could make for a good journal article but I'm hesitant because I know that it would take a *lot* of work to get a high-quality article written, and my supervisor would probably be discouraging only because she wants me to focus my energy on getting my thesis done. For those wondering, I don't want to publish stuff from my thesis because it'll severely reduce the chances of a book deal and quite a few PhDs in my small field do manage to get book deals.

Is it worth putting in the time and effort or should I leave it until I'm done drafting my thesis next year? I would probably aim to write 6-7000 words inc footnotes. I thought it could be a productive distraction from the PhD work sometimes...but I'd be worried to talk to my supervisor about it, and if she isn't encouraging, possibly trying to it on my own (I would almost certainly need her feedback!)

Thanks for your help.

Hi Jcc,

I don't have first-hand experience of this but a close friend is being supervised by someone without a PhD and is finding the experience very positive so far. I think it mainly hinges on whether the supervisors really know what a 'PhD-standard' piece of work should look like. Their supervisor has supervised PhD students before and is a leading expert in a very very niche field. Can they recommend any completed PhDs for you to peruse, for example? If one supervisor is inexperienced at supervising students, the other supervisor really ought to be more experienced. This is my situation, though both of mine have PhDs.

I'm not sure if there are official minimum requirements but if you're really worried, your university should provide a neutral third-party for you to speak to. You should do this before you get too far along. Hope that helps, and good luck.

Hi all,

I've been accepted to take part in a project that consists of lectures, seminars, and fieldwork (art and architecture-based) for early career scholars. The project will take place over several months in three different overseas locations and the lectures will be given by some impressive experts.

So, yay, I'm pretty happy about it because it comes with some prestige. However, as I'm not *producing* anything (unless they ask me to give a short talk about my personal area of expertise), how can I cite something like this on my CV? I can't really put it under 'articles/presentations'...can I put it under 'training'? My CV is a bit...vacant, shall we say, so everything looks a little random on there.

Thanks for your help, wise forumites.

Hah! Nice.

It seems a little silly to me that you're 'not allowed' to use Dr until graduation. I always thought the graduation ceremony was just an opportunity to celebrate with others and take some nice photos. What exactly can the university do if you decide to call yourself Dr before then? That's a genuine question for people who know more than me. As Ian said, I thought graduation was kinda 'window dressing'.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses. Sorry for taking ages to reply. The website's stopped telling me when someone's responded to my threads...probably my fault.

I've definitely taken a second look at my submission plan, and decided that it's worth trying not to rush, especially my supervisors seem to love taking their sweet time getting feedback to me. I suppose I should be grateful that I get feedback at all. And as you said awsoci, life does tend to get in the way...I had to have emergency surgery in my first year and couldn't walk properly for five months so I know that firsthand!

Hi Ian,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply.

I'm a little curious now when I hear people say they finished their PhD in three years because it seems that between submission and final acceptance, there's got to be a minimum turnaround time of a few months. That would mean they're submitting well before the summer (roughly speaking). However, I guess if you are granted an early viva and pass with no corrections, that turnaround in theory could be just one month.

Question is, with the timetable I've outlined above, could I conceivably say I finished my PhD in three years, or is that pushing it? I don't want to sound like I'm being sneaky! I'm just genuinely wondering what people with PhDs think (and put on their CVs).

Thanks again,
N

Hi all,

I'm getting quite confused about how long it takes to actually *finish* the PhD after submitting. Obviously, I'm sure this varies widely between individuals and institutions but I'm looking for some rough guidance...my uni website has just made me more confused. I would ideally like to be able to say to potential employers and on my CV that I finished in three years but I'm not sure what exactly counts as 'finishing' (hope that makes sense).

I started in Oct 2013. My current plan is to submit in early Oct 2016 (end of the summer holiday), so it counts as a Summer Term 2016 submission (have checked w uni and this is definitely correct).

Assuming my examiners don't take a million years, my viva would hopefully be no later than Dec 2016. With the optimistic hypothetical outcome of passing with minor corrections (a girl can dream right?), then maybe I'd be done and dusted by Feb 2017. Not sure how far I need to book graduation in advance but I could attend the March or May ceremony.

So...if that's my rose-tinted timetable, when have I actually finished? Oct 2016, Dec 2016, Feb 2017, etc?

Afraid I can't provide any advice either but I do echo annabelle9090 and jennypenny's thoughts! I came onto the forum to ask a similar(ish) sort of question so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one worrying about these things.

I'm a 2nd-year PhD in humanities and just turned 29. Not in a massive hurry to start a family but aware that we can't wait forever. I had no idea that some funding packages allowed for maternity leave! I'm fairly sure mine doesn't :( I also know that my (male) co-supervisor is very against babies and PhD mixing...

For people who had babies during the PhD - was there a specific stage of your PhD that made it easier? I was thinking of starting to try for a baby during the final stages of write-up but am worried about the impact of morning sickness or 'pregnancy brain' on doing a viva or trying to revise/resubmit. I also worry about getting a job with the intention of then taking time off - it feels dishonest but practical for financial reasons.

Sorry, I'm really not trying to hijack the thread - I hope my questions (and answers) will be useful to the OP.

Hi everyone,

Thanks a lot for your replies. I don't need to commit to paying for the course yet so I might see how the first two weeks go. But having read your replies, I'm inclined to just do it for my own interest and not pay for the official certificate. As I mentioned, we do have formal teacher training in my uni but I'll have to wait until January to start.

Mentoring sounds like a good idea...I'll look into that. My university is known for not providing much opportunity for teaching at PhD level because one of their selling points is UGs/PGs being taught by lecturers/professors. My dept is also really small and we have a really low staff:student ratio (5 staff for 11 PGT/PGR students). My husband suggested tutoring secondary school students, which he does part-time while doing PhD research but I'm worried about the time commitment (and dealing with teenagers!).

Much to ponder...thanks again for your help!

Hi everyone,

I've come across some short online courses on websites like Coursera and EDX. There are a few I'm interested in - one in particular concerns university teaching from Johns Hopkins. The time commitment is a few hours a week for 5-6 weeks but for a 'verified certificate', there is a fee. My uni offers teacher training but only once a year and I'm living away from campus this year so I've missed it.

If anyone has experience/knowledge of these courses, (a) are they worth my time and (b) would they look alright on my CV, or a bit 'meh'?

Thanks for your help!

It doesn't seem like you can take time off right now, but try to relax and do things that you enjoy. If you don't have many uni friends, do you have other friends you can speak to on Skype or the phone? I now you said you want to talk in person but Skype is better than nothing. Bottling things up makes everything seem so much worse. Vent on this forum and be open with your loved ones. If you're feeling low, they'll surely want to help. Outsider perspectives can be really helpful. Maybe try to get in touch with your uni counselling services, if at least to talk about the loss of your dad. If the project if not what you thought it would be, that is certainly something you should broach with your supervisor. Hope that helps a little. Best of luck to you and hope everything works out. N xx

Hi rubix, I'm really sorry to hear you've been having a rough time of it. I'm also very sorry for your loss. I actually know how you feel. It sucks majorly, and only time will make it better (the pain never really goes away fully but that's life unfortunately).

I haven't been through exactly what you're going through but I've certainly had moments of "I hate this, I want to give up and go home". I guess my main two pieces of advice would be: (1) trust your gut (2) don't give a flying fig what anyone else thinks - that includes disappointing/angering people, and feeling embarrassed.

Firstly, by 'trust your gut', I mean, take some time to really figure out how you feel. Probably there is a nagging voice somewhere in your head telling you either to stay or to go. Perhaps you're scared to admit how you really feel? Even in my darkest moments of feeling inadequate and depressed, I knew I always wanted to stick with it because I love my project and I believe in it. However, it took a year for me to feel really comfortable as a PhD student. Only you know whether you need more time to settle in, or whether it's never gonna happen. But as a recent graduate, you have time to restart a PhD later!

Secondly, it's easier said than done but at the end of the day, you have to do what's best for *you*. If other people choose to be upset, and direct that at you, that's their problem. Yes, obviously it'll make you feel bad but you'll get over that if you really feel it's the best decision. Please don't feel embarrassed. I know people who quit PhDs after 4 or 5 years, and no-one mocks them or thinks they're stupid. Just that it's unfortunate that things didn't work out. Anyone who thinks less of you isn't worth your time.

(continued)