Aw :( I can sympathise with this feeling of not wanting to do it. I would remind yourself that whilst the next 2 weeks are gonna be a bit uncomfortable as you dread the viva, that's all it is - 2 weeks of your life to go through the motions until it's over. Then it'll be behind you and you'll feel amazing and strong for having the courage to face it and get through it!

It should give you somewhat comfort to admit that there's always room for improvement, so there's nothing the examiners will throw at you that you can't handle - simply thank them for the insight and admit it's a good suggestion.

Keep us updated on your feelings about it and how it goes.

Heyy I am interested in this! Would be great to have more support and buddies to progress with. I really struggle with motivation and accountability. I am in GMT time zone as well (will be BST next week woop :))

The doctoral stipend in the UK (outside of London) for 2022/23 is £17,668 tax-free. This is a 10% pay rise from last year 2021/2022.

Thoughts? Is this good, bad, reasonable, horrifying? Liveable? Is it fair?

Does it reflect how much PhDers are worth and deserve to be paid(?!)

Really useful reply... commenting so I can refer back to it lol. Also like your username xD

aw :( I can relate and was hoping for responses lol :c

It's really tough as a social science PhD student to create structure and routine... suffering from depression and anxiety makes it even tougher! Not having set structure or someone telling me what to do next can be really crippling and overwhelming. I'd love to hear your routines for inspiration.

one example is this: https://www.ithinkwell.com.au/for-phd-students

though it's rather scarce on free resources!

Hello! Is anyone able to share any websites, templates and resources helpful to PhD students like myself? I'm in social sciences/humanities/law.

I would be really grateful for any responses :)

It's interesting to see the structured routines of people who work in labs. It's really hard as a social sciences PhD to structure your day! I'm definitely in need of motivation and structure too!!

At the moment I'm facing quite a few big tasks that need starting and feel overwhelming, so I'm trying to break them up into manageable chunks and tick off small bullet-point tasks...

Aww don't worry, it's all about practice and gaining more experience!

I've been in your shoes a few years ago, had an embarrassing interview that made me feel negative about my abilities and knocked my confidence! In hindsight I realised that the interviewers were actually quite rude and didn't have good people skills, which made the interview a much worse experience than it needed to be. Would you really want to spend 3+ years working under people who don't make you feel comfortable? It's important that you gel with your supervisors and feel comfortable with them. You could take all the negative feelings you felt during the interview as a sign that these people simply aren't a good match for you.

I'm not sure if this is what you mean about them asking details about things they've already reviewed, but I remember feeling caught off guard when they asked questions about things that were very obviously stated in my proposal. And you feel confused like you're being tested or they're trying to catch you out, which makes you more hesitant and unsure. I think maybe it's just a case that they had simply forgotten about the details whereas we are very familiar with our own proposal, or they just want you to hear you repeat it. Either way, you've had the experience now and you have a better idea of what to expect for future interviews which is an invaluable thing.

Post-interview thank you emails are not obligatory, so don't feel pressure that you need to send them anything, and you didn't have a good experience with them anyway.

You're bound to think more harshly of yourself than you deserve, so don't beat yourself up. Do things you enjoy to take your mind off it, and when you do hear back from them, ask for any feedback so you can use it as a learning experience :)

... sounds like 'Removed62360' needs therapy to work through all their issues lol! Imagine typing out long dull essays about how PhD students should accept rubbish treatment and never speak out about issues, and getting triggered over suggestions that Vice Chancellors are overpaid greedy twits...

Luckily at my uni (an excellent Russell Group), the staff encourage us to speak out about areas for improvement no matter how complex because they actively want to improve the system rather than cling to outdated 'long-standing policies' for the sake of tradition :)