What I would give for 14k a year before tax!

I live on $288 NZ a week and $200 goes on rent and bills in the house I share with two others. The cost of living is lower here which is just aswell because I could never live on this (UK conversion - 6k per year) back home. I shouldn't complain though. I'm doing full time research on a topic I am passionate about in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

To budget I mission to the market on Sunday mornings and buy lots of fruit and veges to base my meals on for the week. I only buy meat to cover one meal per week. I cook almost all of my meals from scratch. I also rarely drink alcohol which saves some money too.

Also, get a job if you don't have one already. I work 10 hours per week and it makes life a lot more comfortable.

Good luck

I know it is not meant to turn into a debate. But really, i don't find it at all surprising that most people voted no.

PPS - Just to clarify, in my experience words like 'slag', 'slut' etc are used just as much by women to insult other women. I find it interesting how some women use insults like these to define other women as 'bad' and put themselves up on some 'clean/good girl' pedestal . It's very interesting. Yes these words are used by both men and women, but women are generally the targets of the insults. The fact that you are male is not relevant from my perspective. As I said, I think these words can be very damaging and therefore I dislike the use of them in any context.

PS - My life has been seriously impacted on by these sexual stereotypes and NO this is not navel gazing. It impacted on how I thought about myself and what value I put on my body from a young age. I am not talking with an academic hat on, i'm talking from my own personal experience. Women who identify as feminists routinely get dismissed in this way and I really resent it actually.

Just don't make bad jokes. The you won't have these problems :p

Some women get really offended by terms like these because they have felt that brunt of these stereotypes at different points in their life. I personally tend to think a person is a bit ignorant if they make jokes about 'slags'. I wouldn't go in the huff, but I wouldn't laugh either because it's just not something I find at all funny. I'm not keen on the use of sexual stereotypes that define some women as inferior in any context.

I would just simply say sorry and that you didn't mean to cause offence.

======= Date Modified 10 Jun 2010 11:33:34 =======
======= Date Modified 10 Jun 2010 11:31:13 =======

From the details you have given I’d say Leeds or Birmingham. How much contact have you had with these prospective supervisors? I advise not going on rank and publication record alone. Some people can be hugely successful but a nightmare to work with. It is difficult to tell initially but I would try to gauge who you consider 'good supervisor material' in addition to their success in research, if that makes sense?

Just as a side note - I studied at Glasgow for four years and had a fantastic time. It is a 'real' city and very friendly with a down to earth vibe. There is a great arts scene but it certainly isn't a 'posers' city which is perhaps why some people don't warm to it. For me, that is part of it's appeal. The local accents (there are a few) often take some getting used to if you are not familiar with elements of Scottish dialect but once you get used to it it's really quite charming. When I finished at Glasgow I got a great job with a 22k starting salary and then a PhD scholarship overseas but I can only talk of my own circumstances - I’m not sure what the stats say re job prospects overall.

Go with what feels right for you and who you think you would most like to work with. It's fantastic that you have this choice.

I had an experience recently of someone blatently stealing my work after talking with her. She has a huge publications list so really I think she is a total loser for doing that to me when I am still starting out. We work in quite a narrow area of research and I think she has had it basically all to herself for quite a long time. She is however in a different discipline so the work she produced which I know based on an idea stolen from me is not actually that great considering she has years of experience. I wanted to scream when I saw the title of her chapter though. She had more or less ripped off the title of my thesis and shoved an extra bit on the end to make it look like her idea.

I think that you are right to be cautious, but not too cautious. In most of my experience, other more experienced academics have been nothing but helpful and encouraging and really I am sure they have so many brilliant ideas of their own thy have no need to steal any of mine. I think it is good to network and share ideas, but don't go into too many specifics of ideas you are just developing.

Catlinbond - I am a runner too and I know what you mean about it taking priority over PhD! I always get my run in for the day even if I have a big deadline. I'm in the last two weeks of half marathon training right now and will be working full time in my faculty for two weeks and also trying to meet a chapter deadline whilst keeping up the training. The last week will be fine as obviously need to do a mini taper but next week is going to be full on.

Exercise is essential for me while doing the PhD. If I didn't do it everyday i'd be absolutely batty (sprout)

That is awesome! Well done. I need some of that! That is a huge amount to write in a day in my opinion, you should feel proud. Hope you have a good nights sleep - you must after writing all that! (up)