Hi!

I'm thinking of applying for an ESRC Postdoc (not a pre-planned project), and have narrowed it down to 3 people as potential mentors - I think! One is an amazing professor at a great Uni who does exactly what I want to do, the other is a very good senior lecturer at a Russell Group but not as directly related to what I do, the final one is at a pretty poor university but is a senior member of staff and again almost exactly on topic.


The question is who I go for. I don't know the procedure exactly, but should I apply for the amazing professor then work my way down? If I get rejected by the ESRC with one, can I apply with another?

Argh!

Hey! I'd be more than happy to meet everyone (properly!)...

I voted A, and I am PROUD!

This is going to sound incredibly snobby... but is that a real course!?!?

Although this was about 3 years ago now (that is before the world ended!) a friend of mine and his girlfriend - both PhD students - managed to get a mortgage for a flat. Their parents coughed up the deposit, so they were probably in a worse position than you, but through a friend who was a financial advisor they got one. It may be worth your time to invest in a financial advisor despite the cost

Oh God not this cr*p again... are Profs Lube and Buillion going to come back and miraculously just be on this site at precisely the right time???

It depends entirely on the capacity in which you hope to work for the UN... policy? statistics? law? I just had a quick look on their website, and even for a relatively basic job as an Administrative Officer they are asking for 'practical' degrees not more broad 'development' studies:

Education
Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or Human Resources or a first university degree with relevant a combination of professional and academic qualifications.

Work Experience
A minimum of five years relevant experience in administration, finance, accounting, human resources or related field. Familiarity with the UN system and/or other organizations with two years experience at the international level is essential.

I agree with Kbara, and I'd think that even Economic Development was not really practical enough. If you look at most UN jobs, they require both a postgraduate qualification and usually 2-5 years "relevant experience" by which they mean practical work in the geographical area(s) you wish to be involved in. As Kbara noted this is not theoretical abstractions of development.

Yup - I did the same as Bonzo... poor supervisor got nagged at! Plus they should also ask your bank for a status enquiry as to whether they think you can meet the commitment. To be honest it sounds like a rather inexperienced letting agent who takes such a narrow approach. I just moved house last week and although my stipend looks a bit crap (plus is due to end before the end of the contract), they were happy when my bank said that yes the new rent was high but that I have never missed paying rent and I have managed my account relatively well.

Whooop Whooop! After everything that has happened to you over the past few weeks, and also the work you have had to do with your research job and struggling for cash, I can honestly say that I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge kisses and hugs from Manchester

This sounds like a toughie, but to add to pineapple and rjb, there are some questions you need to ask before you take a leap (in either direction)...

Does your supervisor have any other PhD students - if so do they receive similar supervision? I very rarely see my supervisor (3x in just over a year) and many of my colleagues are in a similar boar, but when I do, or when he comments on my work it is *quality* supervision. My previous supervisor I saw all the time (like pineapple in the beginning it was 1-2 a week), but her input was completely ineffectual... Maybe your supervisor does not realise you are unhappy. Have you asked for more regular contact? Perhaps he feels that as you are a part-time student you have other commitments that may impact on your ability to physically be in Uni.

Next up, is the other supervisor really going to be that much better? When I changed sup it was because I knew that the other supervisor had the qualities to push me to finish even though he was not an expert. Part of a PhD is independent learning, yes you still need support and guidance, but it sounds as though your colleague is being almost 'told' what to research, which can be equally damaging as no help at all. Is your supervisor an experienced member of staff? If not, then maybe you do need someone else who - especially given you seem to be having a rough time - can remotivate you.

One last thing, you may just be having the infamous second year dip... which we all go through to one extent or another. YOu need to be absolutely sure that things cannot work with the current sup before you go

Thank to HazyJane and others too:-x

Thanks rjb... I wasn't going to pick up on the rather personal attack (which is why I offered a reply steered away from the point); but as you have, I'll just add a little something.

Hildegueden (and everyone, I guess)... a PhD is a lonely and isolating experience for most people, especially during the last few months of writing up; but for some people it is almost continuous throughout the three years. This forum offers an outlet for those seeking advice, help, or even friendship. Whilst I cannot claim to have a monopoly on the 'PhD experience', I have clearly been through a lot (most of my problems have not even been posted here), and I try to offer tips where I can. Sometimes these tips are essentially a call for perspective on the person seeking advice - as in this case. We all lose perspective at times, often acutely when working alone or obsessively as with a PhD.
The benefit of this forum is anonymity, where we choose to reveal as much as we like about ourselves; but it is also a downfall as in this case where a poster feels they can make excessive and purely speculative comment on another contributor's PhD. The issues I have had with my PhD have not been to do with 'details', they have been fundamental.

And just to note, I am a social science PhD with mixed methods due to complete this Autumn, just 3 years and 3 months after starting. Which is not bad given I have had a change of supervisor, have had to work up to 20 hours per week in a shop throughout a full-time PhD, on top of teaching, in order to pay my dad's mortgage so he is not made homeless, and have had personal crisis after crisis (best friend's dad dying, another close friend moving from advanced HIV to AIDS, brother becoming deaf, another brother being sent to Afghanistan, mum having breast cancer, grandmother dying and being diagnosed with cancer myself).

But if you think that compared to all that the issue about LaTeX vs Word is a real problem then fine. Good luck to you, I hope you are very successful and have a great academic career. I just pity the student you may have in a few years who does come to you with a problem such as the ones I have had, as I am sure you will be as dismissive of them as you were of me.

The reason I have been 'under a cloudy sky' during my PhD is because I live in Manchester!;-)

No offence dear, but your pet dying is sad. Not getting the job you want is sad. Splitting with a partner is sad. You do *not* have a problem, thus no right to be sad.

Yes you are over-dramatising. Madly. Please get a grip!