hi all..

my name is Jojo - anyone here remember me? i had a disatrous phd process: 6 years full time, 3 sets of supervisors, one terrible viva with a resubmit result and finally a pass. i just stopped by to see whats been happening on the forum and noticed that a few people are struggling. Don't give up! I'd like to help where i can.. i might not have the answer to everything, but i can share my experience and how i survived it. i finished my final write up (the third one in those 6 years!) end of January and graduated this last July.

I'm currently a Lecturer at a decent uni. So you can make it even if it looks like you'll never finish. if you're struggling with your thesis, feel free to post on this thread and together we'll see how we can help in terms of moral support and whether your thesis is redeemable.

I plan to be here a lot as I have postgraduate diploma exams (nine papers) in about 40 days - and i'm yet to open the reading pack we got in February.. but 40 days is a long time if you put your mind to it (learnt from phd-experience. lol) so i can still do it - and I plan to do a series of publications in the next three years - if only to keep the job! the phd-process never quite ends if you choose to be in academia, but at least the blackmail of a viva and a MPhil goes away after the Phd.

Don't give up. you can do it! Together we can!

J.

Hey JoJo!

I was thinking about you the other day, wondering how you were getting on. I remember your story whilst writing up my PhD.

Many thanks for your message. Good to hear you finally passed and obtained your lecturer job. Congratulations on both accounts!

I resubmitted my PhD back in mid August and I'll find out in October as to whether I've passed or not. Starting to feel sick with worry :(

Anyway, many thanks for your inspirational post.

Pineapple (aka Pineapple29!)

hi Pineapple!

great to hear from you and many congratulations on submission!!! am so happy for you, knowing what you've been through. :)

its October tomorrow so the wait'll soon be over.

saying don't worry is like saying don't breathe lol. but try not to worry yourself sick. keep busy.... doing any and everything. lol. go to all the places you wanna go, see friends (am assuming you don't have to defend it?) soon it'll be over. am keeping everything crossed that it'll go well - pass without corrections.

as long as you address most of the examiners corrections you should be fine. that's i think what saved me. i didn't manage to do them all but at least i did 95%.

best of luck.

will be thinking of you.

J.

Pineapple - are you still planning to register on the clinical phd you mentioned a while back?

======= Date Modified 30 Sep 2012 16:01:31 =======
Thanks JoJo.

I'll just have to wait and see I guess. I covered all of their major points and almost all of their suggestions for improvement. It wasn't perfect so I'm expecting some minor things to sort out (and these are minor points!), but I felt much better about this draft second time round. We shall see.

Examiners said no second viva voce, so this is it!

I'm enrolled on a psychology doctorate (not the clinical one), but due to no consistent income, I don't think I can afford it anymore :(

I decided not to go for the clinical psychology doctorate (for various reasons!).

In the meantime, trying to keep busy with the job hunt, going on long walks, seeing friends and trying to keep calm re PhD results.

So good to see you back Jojo :-) I'm so pleased to see how well things have worked out for you too. I'm have my viva on Wednesday so the fear is reaching fever pitch now - I remember well your experience :-/ It is good to see though that no matter how bad things go it can all work out well in the end :-)

Always encouraging to hear from someone further down the road. Well done for persevering!

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2012 09:18:20 =======

Thanks JoJo. I have to wait until the END of this month for a decision (resubmitted mid August). So the agony of waiting for a decision continues. Depending on what examiners say, this will probably mean I'll miss the winter graduation ceremony consequently pushing my graduation to summer 2013 and means I'm shackled to my PhD for another year or so (I started this thing in 2006!!).

Absolute nightmare.

:-( :-( :-(

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2012 11:47:41 =======

Jojo,

You've shown with your experiences that even when you've had your back up against the wall, you can still come through. I remember you, BTW. Well done.

Pineapple,

You're nearly there and at most you'll have a couple of minor corrections to sort out. The point it ends is when you receive a letter from your University saying you've been awarded your PhD. That will be sometime during October or latest, November. You do not have to wait for the graduation ceremony to know it's finally over.

The worst is truely behind you. (up)


Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Agreed. Graduation ceremonies are but a nicety. Your PhD is done when you get that letter from your uni. There's no need to feel that you're still in the process past that point.

thanks guys. wishing you all a good day.

am up early (4.30am!) preparing for a class that i'll take this morning then i'll try to do revision for the exam during the day. i've read through one of the nine subjects. on my second one. its tough reading for exams after so many years in research. cramming just stops being your strong point. lol. but anyway... i'm trying to think of them as journal articles which makes nine a small job lol. am hoping early mornings for the next two months save the day!

re publications: a certain journal has been reviewing my paper since June! and still no word from them. am starting to get concerned but keeping my fingers crossed for the best.

wishing all those writing up a good day!

"just keep going." everything is ok as long as you don't stop.

@pineapple - it'll all end when you get that email or call saying you've passed! woo hoo! :) who cares about graduation??? as long as you have the papers, trust me you couldn't be bothered if graduation was ten years from now.