Quote From Coarvi:
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Thank you. Yes, it helps.

Unfortunately this has nothing to do with being over halfway, or being a mum. I have been like this all the time, but it is getting worse now. I have kind of done what you suggest, but it does not work that well for me,but I will continue trying...

Quote From sbb0204:
I'm a PhD student and have just tried to get a mortgage with my boyfriend who is employed. We went through a mortgage broker and they said that very few lenders would consider our income. We tried them and get turned down because I wasn't able to provide a letter saying I was guaranteed a job in three years when my funding ends. However we were told that this is upto the underwriter and so each situation is different

Quote From MWolf:
I know someone in my program at Hopkins who has completed 3 years postdoc, her fellowship ended in June. But she is still around. Does that mean she is staying for another FULL year? (perhaps on a new fellowship) In other words:

Do postdoc positions, or academic outlets for postdocs, usually start at the beginning of the year (end august)? or perhaps semester? or it could be anytime within the year...?
Thank you

Quote From OatmealDurkheim:


Great suggestions, thanks! I'm not sure I got that last part, tho. Given that I didn't get into a graduate program yet (MA-then-PhD) and I'm not currently located in the target city/country, how could I get started in any semi-official capacity? I was mostly just thinking to work independently, maybe reach out to a few potential advisors for feedback (but that's it).

Quote From MrFox:


I find it mildly disturbing that you keep going around telling people (in this thread and in others) that no one should be doing a PhD without having obtained a 1st.

I got a high 2:1 in my undergrad because I didn't do all that well in 3rd year (dissertation was a 22/23 though), then I got offered a research masters with tuition scholarship during an internship without even applying. I passed my viva last month with minor corrections, and am now working with my supervisors to turn it into two papers. I will start medicine soon, but am also considering a PhD instead from next year on because I've really come to like research (problem is I prefer a field related to but still substantially different from my BSc and MSc, so need some preparation first).

And you want to tell me I'm unsuitable for a PhD because I didn't get a 1st at undergraduate? My supervisors certainly didn't think so, and neither did the examiners during my viva (they were quite eager for me to publish and mentioned they'd have loads of research for me if I did medicine at our uni).

The only reason I am writing about myself here is as an example to demonstrate that your exclusively grade-focused mentality is counterproductive. Some people are great at research projects but not particularly good at memorisation for exams - they can still make good scientists. Some people chose the wrong undergraduate and were perpetually bored in many modules, leading to suboptimal grades, but they may discover a field they love later on and still excel in it - again, who's to say they shouldn't do a PhD? You?

Quote From naturalproduct:
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I greatly appreciate your input, and I am incredibly happy you chose not to sugarcoat anything, because what you said, I will seriously consider and will probably hear it from others, so many thanks for your input.

Quote From canatanx:
Lately I've been feeling like I work better at home but I keep feeling bad when I am at home. Sometimes I actually get more done at home but I still feel like I should be an university at my desk even though I might not get much real work done there. Its a little annoying.
Just wanted to know if its okay and how others manage their work.

Quote From OatmealDurkheim:
I plan to enter graduate school (MA+PhD) in September 2018, which means I have something of a ‘gap year’ ahead of me. I want to use this unstructured time, this opportunity to develop and prepare on my own terms, the best way I can.

If you were in my position, how would you spend these spare 12 months before grad school officially begins? How would you prepare for what’s ahead, what would you focus on?

It goes without saying that I have already given these questions a lot of careful consideration, but I’m very curious to learn how others would approach this topic; especially, current PhD candidates, postdocs, and lecturers/professors. Knowing what you now know, if you could go back, how would you spend a spare year like that?

Some background:
- My field is social/cultural anthropology.
- My ultimate goal (grad school and beyond) is to prepare a CV and a research portfolio, which will aid me in launching an academic career in Europe.
- I have a BA in anthropology and an unrelated MA,
- I currently freelance (unrelated field); I have plenty of spare time, and can arrange my schedule in whatever way I see fit.
- I live in a mid-size European city (not a capital); can’t move anywhere this year, but can likely do some limited traveling.
- There’s a small anthropology department here, but I’m not affiliated with it, and never was. My degree is from the US.
- I can speak the local language fairly well.
- The grad school (next year) will be in a different county, and learning the new language will be one of my objectives this year. The language of instruction will be English, however.

Note: Not sure if I made this clear, but I’m not looking for answers such as “travel for fun,” or “get a new hobby.” All of these are fine, but I want to use these 12 months to prepare for the demands of grad school and the grueling academic job hunt ahead.

Quote From naturalproduct:


Yes ofcourse, I understand, the consistency will definitely be different for a final year mark very much higher than the other years' "average" marks, but I was really hoping it wouldn't hinder me greatly.

Other than doing massive amounts of reading around the project topic, and working hard, and efficiently around the lab hour clock, how would you advise to make an outstanding impression on my supervisor from as early as possible?

The 2.1 students getting into the PhD positions really make me believe there is some hope, I do chemistry at a top end Russel Group, I would assume they are not too different?

Thank you so much for your input once again, I really appreciate it.

Quote From naturalproduct:


Thank you for the response.

For PhD applications, universities will require a transcript of marks for all years, so I was wondering, whether a very good 4th year mark, would be looked upon favorably, seeing as if the final year mark is much higher than all other years, it would demonstrate that you are very competent at the height of your degree; and thus would show what a candidate is capable of?

The additional skills you've mentioned are definitely a must, I understand that, as it is no easy feat.

With regards to past grades, if one makes a very good impression on their MSci project supervisor, will that aid with the application, especially if it is to the same university department? (since the academics will know each other relatively well). So is that likely to act in ones favor despite the current low 2.1?

Many thanks for our input, it is greatly appreciated.

Quote From naturalproduct:
Thank you for the response.

Could you elaborate on why getting onto a PhD is "easy", because I had always thought it was difficult, as you mentioned, that it is strongly advised to have a first class classification.

You're correct in saying my grades do not support my case very well, does that mean you recommend to waiting until finishing the degree, and if the overall grades turn out very good, then applying?

Would that put me in a better position, as the MSci project year is the most relevant to doing a PhD since that is where the longest part of research is carried out within the entire degree?

I didn't completely understand what you meant by doing a PhD elsewhere, do you mean that I should apply in my 4th year but to other places? If so, what do you mean by "other" places? Because not everywhere will have the research field in which I am interested in.

Quote From Barramack:
The reality is that the non-academic sector values work experience and a track record of delivering more so than having a PhD (at least in Australia). In my experience, personality and technical skills can be far better trained in a work environment, rather than from a PhD. A PhD can be a very isolationist experience compared to working in a proper team environment. In the latter, there is far more accountability (i.e. not just to yourself and your supervisor) and pressure to deliver, and there is an opportunity to not just better your existing technical skills, but to develop a broader range of skills than a 3-4 year PhD can provide.

What I'm getting at here is that people need to be cautious about having expectations that a PhD will give you all the skills you need to be competative in today's job market.

Quote From TheNerdyWorkoholic:
First off, I constantly over-think, so I'm here for experienced perspectives, before I combust!

I'm currently working on my Masters Thesis. Long story short, I love research and decided to approach a supervisor, before I was assigned to someone I wouldn't be completely compatible with. The supervisor I approached, agreed and all was well.

The issue here is, it has always been me, being proactive and him being at the receiving end. I didn't pay much attention to it in the beginning because I knew I had to go the extra mile, until my latest meeting with him this Monday, where he said he was reviewing my weekly work and after a while got "distracted".

I was a bit disappointed with that, and I feel very alone. Don't mistake it however, because I work well independently and this is MY idea, but I still expected him to put in his bit.

In sum, I think I just need to hear whether I'm over-thinking and my thesis is doing me in, or I have a legit reason to be concerned.

Much thanks,
TheNerdyWorkoholic

Quote From mkb91:
Hi,

I recently submitted my PhD thesis (chemistry), and am now waiting around for a viva - date to be finalised but in 3 months or so. I'm also now writing up a paper from my thesis, meaning I annoyingly have to re-open my thesis chapters that I'd really rather never see again just to copy images across to the paper and so on.

During this, to my horror, I found a pretty significant formatting error in my final chapter (6) - basically, all my text got pushed a line down when I did a final seemingly insignificant change to a figure, meaning that from about halfway through the chapter onwards, the figure captions have been pushed onto the page after the figure itself. I've no idea how I didn't notice this, but I didn't, and the (one-sided) printed thesis will have this error. It affects about 7 figures.

Obviously I'm massively annoyed and kind of worried about how examiners will react to this, as it's pretty sloppy - I was somewhat rushed during printing and was more checking that the pages were in order etc. Has anyone ever done something similarly stupid and if so (how) did it work out? All the other chapters, which are the first 300 pages or so, are fine. I'm more concerned that the figures might not make much sense if they fail to realise this error...the figure numbers referred to in the text end up on the wrong page.

Any advice / similar experiences appreciated!

Matt