Friend of mine is 67 and on a fully funded PhD. he is retired and fancied doing it... He wobbled a bit on year 2 but is due to complete in Jan.

Will worrying help you get a reply about your interview?

Depends who is asking.

To answer the OP, an MA will only help you in the job market if it is relevant. Will a 2:2 hold you back getting on to a PhD? Not if you get a good MA score.

I am sort of going to contradict myself here, at senior level, in business, at the very least a BSc is expected (ideally higher), but a BSc will not get you a job. Look at exec board details of companies to see qualifications.

Not in my version of Word.. just hold the cmd key and exclude the tables. Or add the tables as pictures - that won't be counted.

I hope they do (have regulations as IntoTheSpiral says) as mine didn't and the supervisors were massively vague! In my MSc I simply used this in the text:
"... RCA matrix (Appendix 6)."
The 'Appendix 6' part was hypertext, the appendix would then be titled 'Appendix 6 - RCA Matrix'. Helped when having to update every link.

I became a Word expert by the end of my MSc.

You are never too old to do what you dream of (unless you dream of being the under 15 world curling champion). I am 43 and about to start my PhD part time.. I'll be looking at 50 when/if I complete but for me it's not about getting the PhD but the journey. I know a guy doing his PhD at 67.

My decorator has a PhD... He worked for a guy who won a Nobel Prize in Pharmaceuticals but got laid off. You never know what is around the corner.. so don't worry about what you cannot control.

If money is a concern how about getting sponsorship through your job and do a PhD part time? Or get on a part time PhD course and get a job you want to do and get them to sponsor it? It's not expensive because the fees are not huge, you are earning (instead of being a full time non earning student) and companies LOVE to have PhD researchers working for them.

Dropbox or google drive are/can be local areas on your device so it searches those like any other folder on your pc. I actually use both! Why... I like dropbox's integration with a lot of apps plus I can selectively choose which directories to share on different devices i.e. I have dropbox on my work MacBook but only have a couple of directories on it.

What I really like on google drive is the photos part, any photo under 15mb is backed up for free i.e. it doesn't use your space allowance. So I have 15gb of pictures stored free of charge!

Why don't I just use google drive? mmm not 100% sure they will not index everything I have on there.

I personally don't think your BSc will hinder your career progression once you get a MSc.

Having spent 20+ years in Banking I will answer this purely from that perspective (not academia or politics) please bear in mind that only having qualifications gets you a foot in the door at the lowest level - with the opportunity to rise. With experience only, you may miss the chance of getting some of those interviews. It's a catch 22 situation.

Degree's, viewed in isolation in industry are not the silver bullet, people need to remember they do not trump experience and demonstrable achievements. But.. and here is the positive.. if you get a role and you have a relevent degree then you have an advantage and it is your responsibility to utilise your knowledge.

My advice on which to choose? Want to work in a bank - option 1. Want to work in academia - option 2. Now toss a coin and find out which one you really want to do.. if you are disappointed by the result simply do the other one :)

I like!


Well done.

Hi Kassiopi - well done on your MSc - merit is more than enough to get you on a PhD.

I like you wanted a distinction and my supervisor was sure I was on track and then my dissertation dragged me down.. totally out of the blue.. I was gutted. After a while I realised I had my MSc - no one outside of academia - has ever asked me my grade. Even applying for a PhD I have only been asked "did you get a merit or better?".

You'll be fine.

I am going to be no help what so ever Jane360 but normally there are application guidelines set out by the university - here are the ones from Birkbeck that I am applying to. One area says 1k words, another says 1.5k words and lastly one says 3k words, so I spoke directly to one of the senior lecturers and his reply was "I have never counted the words in an application".

What I was told is they are looking to see if they think you can do a PhD i.e what quality your application is, your proposal will look nothing like what you are working on in a years time anyway!!

You certainly have been through the wringer but you have done so well... just a bit of polish and you're finished.

Very well done. I'd be doing cart wheels if I was you.

This is supposed to be a positive thread not a negative question!!

Just would like to hear from a few people who did or are enjoying their PhD and why? I understand everyone has their our own intrinsic motivating factors for doing a PhD and it is hugely stressful but I am in the process have writing an application and reading some posts on here have wobbled me a bit :)

This is probably my favourite saying : "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb.

So go for it. What is THE worst that can happen? They turn you down. Big deal!! Obviously a week is a very short time to write an application but if the worst happens you then have the basis for another application :) The best? You're on a PhD!

This is my opinion - not fact - having a MSc improves your chances of getting a funded PhD position, maybe apply for a part-time MSc and get some funding through work? As long as it is work related and you can demonstrate to your employer how they will benefit I can't see it not being considered. Again the worst that will happen is they say 'no' and you will have demonstrated a keen ambition to improve yourself and them.. at the best? They fund your MSc, you get paid time off work to study and you are moving closer to your ambission and passion.

Plant your tree today :)