Overview of ElainaWalker on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of ElainaWalker

Signup date: 01 Jun 2011 at 7:08am

Last login: 01 Jun 2011 at 7:08am

Post count: 8

Recent Posts

If you only had a week to prepare for your viva...

ElainaWalker 8 posts
13 years ago

Hi Bean!

If you are getting 1 weeks time for viva that's quite enough. For viva it's important that you know your thesis well. Just be thorough with your thesis, keep on preparing notes on important points and consider the viva as an interesting discussion. And on the day of viva feel relieved that finally the day has come and keep the spirit up. Think that this is the part of regular process and be confident on your preparation. Then you'll notice that how easy the things are. Best of luck(up)

Am I being unrealistic?!

ElainaWalker 8 posts
13 years ago

Quote From EmmaB:

Hey Guys.....

I hope this doesn't come across as a moan, but I need some reassurance, or some voices of experience!

I have just completed the first year of my PhD. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a part-time fees paid bursary.
However, I am juggling a few things as well as studying and I'm not sure if I'm doing the 'right' thing!
I have a 2.5 year old son - so nursery fees to pay. A mortgage (nothing unusual there), I work 3 days a week for a Domestic Abuse help line, which is really stressful and energy-sapping. When I'm not working, I have my little boy to entertain so studying comes in-between times, ie at night. Part of the bursary condition was to teach a module, so much of my 'spare' time is taken up with prep for the teaching.

Now then, are there any other students here in a similar situation? And how do you cope?!! I feel like I'm not spending enough time on my study - and I certainly can't get involved with 'academic life' such as organising seminars/conferences etc because I just don't have the time.

Is it ok to just keep myself to myself, get my work done and get a PhD out of it - or do you think not getting involved fully will affect my experience and chances?

I really really don't want to 'give up', but I don't want to kill myself either!

Any ideas? any ideas on how to make enough money to live but not have to work a stressful job?!

sorry for the rant, just thought I'd try to find some experienced people. Other people I've spoken to haven't got the commitments I have and so find studying much 'easier'....

Thanks for listening :)
:p

Hey EmmaB

You should not panic at this moment. There are lot of people who are engaged in full day jobs along with doing PhD. Panicking at this moment can make your situation ever worst. So just think calmly how can you manage your time effectively. If you want you can browse the following sites, may be it can give you some suggestions.

http://careerdevelopment.brown.edu/phd/time_management.php

I would suggest search in job portals for high earning part time jobs, which may give you work from home options also. That would be better for you.

Find a suitable job for yourself which can earn you more, so that you can take care of your child and also pay attention to your PhD.

2 weeks have passed .. should i contact my prospective employer???

ElainaWalker 8 posts
13 years ago

Quote From ecas0002:

exactly 2 weeks ago i sent my application for an acadmic post at a university. on monday they contacted my referrees. they havent called me yet for an interview and im worried that one of my referres might have said something :/ although im totally positive that they didnt they have been referrees of mine before.

My question is... after 2 weeks waiting and having contacted my referres.. should I send an email asking them where my application is at? Please help

You have to be very much cautious in giving the name of your referrer. Because their one wrong comment about you can hamper your chance of getting the job to a great extent. But if you are confident that they cannot say anything wrong about you then there might be some other reasons for not contacting you. They may be taking some time to decide.

The employers have called the referrer on Monday and it's hardly 3-4 days. I would suggest you to wait for few more days. After that you can write a polite mail asking your concern.

who's on panel: to ask or not to ask

ElainaWalker 8 posts
13 years ago

Quote From 404:

I have another lecturer job interview approaching, but this time the names of panel members who will be interviewing me weren't included on the invitation letter. Before my last interview at another institution, I was given the names of the interviewers without having to ask, and this gave me the chance to look them up and find out what similarities we have in research topics, approaches etc. Do you think it would be ok to contact HR and ask for this info, or would it sound rude? One voice in my head says this is unnecessary and knowing who they are shouldn't make any difference, but the other says it can be quite useful. Hmmmm...

I don't think that knowing the interview panel will make much difference. Though sometimes it may be beneficial. But calling the HR and asking, does not sounds a good idea. It might happen that the HR will report to the interviewer and then it would create a bad impression on them. So go ahead and don't worry. Have confidence on yourself and then you can crack the interview.