Overview of eng77

Hi. I have not spent long time in academia in the UK but I looked at many jobs and can write what I know.
Research associate: is a Postdoc, mostly in early stage. Just finished a PhD and has 0-4 years of experience.
Research assistant: can be either a Postdoc or Master holder. Some universities/departments advertise all their Postdoc jobs as "research assistant". This does not mean that Research associate is absolutely higher in seniority. The two terms "assistant" and "associate" are used sometimes interchangeably. But research associate always requires a PhD in all posts I have seen while "assistant" sometimes Master is enough. I do not know about Postdoc training fellow.
In terms of teaching, as a general rule, Research assistants and associates engage in small teaching duties or lab assistance unless otherwise stated in job description.

Hi. I agree partially with the Chochka and TQ. It is not healthy doubting your abilities and criticising too much. But be careful that he is still the supervisor. Papers which do not involve him and give him no credit are NOT the most exciting topics for him. In academia, in particular in the UK, supervisors care more about their publications. Their publications are more important to them than "their original duty" to support you. Sad but true. He should also have a "say" in how do you spend your PhD time. I know I sound a bit rough but I would like you to see the complete picture. Nevertheless he is still a bad supervisor.

Hi Chochka. I cannot say and advise better than what Tudor_Queen already did. It is your PhD. I though before that supervisors would like to see all their students finish their PhD and get the degree but they do not really care that much. For them they are people who come and leave. Leaving without a PhD will hurt only you.
There is a fine line (which I personally find it hard to determine) between giving up because you are really going no where and giving up because of a temporary problem. In your case, I think it is a temporary demotivation. Think of what can motivate you. Forget about the support of supervisors. Try to do small things now and work in non boring stuff and step by step you will be there.

Theoretically possible. It is usually said in requirements, Bachelor or relevant experience.

Hi EV,
I think you worry too much about it. Most PhD graduates do not have journals. As you already know, journals and conferences also have ranks. It also depend on the subject. If you have a coherent thesis and 2 or 3 conference papers, this should be enough. Papers help to "shut up" the examiners in case they claim that thesis lacks novelty. nevertheless if you have done original research and have a coherent thesis without a single publication, this could be enough for graduation.
Making a plan for publication for them would attract their attention to the point. Again, you have enough publications. You do not have to explain something about it. Defend your original research regardless of your published work and in case you need, use your already published papers in your defence.
You will do fine. Be confident. All the best.

Hi. This is perfectly normal. What you need to do is to write a coherent thesis which relates the chapters and the results to the original problem. If I like a work done by a paper by a PhD student, sometimes I search for the thesis of this student hoping to find more details about the work. So it is perfectly fine.

Hi. For submitting to more than a conference, I have not tried it. Most people will submit and if rejected, submit in another conference. If the time between the conferences is not too long, you can submit in one and wait. nevertheless it is theoretically possible and there should be no hard in submitting in two conferences. You may read the conditions while submitting if something prevents this.
I knew some who submitted the abstract without the results. It really depends much on the conference and the chances of getting accepted depends on what the reviewers expect in the abstract. Some conferences expect a full manuscript and if accepted, suggest modifications. Others need an abstract then if accepted the full paper. If your results are not ready anyway at the abstract deadline, submit what you have.

Hi. This is very specific and not my area but I would reply by general observations.
Jobs in London, south east and home counties are much more. Salaries are higher and of course living costs are higher.
It is difficult to find jobs in the north but in the west (if you mean Bristol) there is a good chance.
This is one of the bad things in life. Jobs are more in areas which are not very nice. Nice areas do not have many jobs. Are they nice because they do not have jobs? who knows?
If I were you, I would look first for jobs in the areas I would like to live in. If there is no available opportunity, I would move the less preferred areas. All the best.

Hi DarkDragon. I am very sorry to hear your story. I had a similar experience with 5 years work in a PhD exiting with nothing. I felt disappointment and shame. It is bad. No one can argue about it. What I would like to tell you how I coped with this and moved on (of course I still feel the pain).
First it did not help me to take all the blame on the supervisor and project. I had "enough" time to say no and it was obvious that things are not going in the right direction. You should accept that you share the responsibility of what happened along with others. This will make you feel better.
Secondly, prepare yourself for jobs interview. Talk positively in interviews about your PhD experience. Companies do not care that much about actually "awarding" the degree. They care more about what do you know and how can you fit with them.
Next, which is related to the last point, try to find a "good" job as soon as possible. Once you find a job then trying to excel in it, the PhD story will be a past. It will be a bad memory of course. But when you move on, it feels much better. It is like after breakup. You feel bad but you do not feel that bad when you are with another partner :)
Last but not least, although not getting a PhD is not the end of the world, do not fall in the trap of undermining the value of the PhD. PhD is still the highest academic degree. People who were awarded a PhD did original research and contribution. It is unfortunate that we could not do it, but accpeting this fact is a sign of strength.
Good luck

Finding a PhD funding is pretty difficult for first or 2:1 graduates. With 2:2 the chances are much lower because they have already enough applicants with higher grades. You are trying to convince posters that 2:2 is fine. In fact what they tell you is the reality of the situation. The point is not if it is fair or not. It is not pleasant news but you could think of alternatives. If you have a Master (taught or research) with a good grade, this would increase your chances.

You are doing fine by sending CV to different supervisors. Moreover you can add that you would like to have a short face to face conversation if they are in the same or a close by city. Do not be disappointed because some will never reply or reply negatively. Just keep your motivation and your day will come for sure. All the best.

Hi. As I personally have MRes, I do not think it is the best choice. The MRes is a non standard degree especially outside the UK. Also it takes theoretically one year but could take longer.
Now let us look for what we can do. You could email potential supervisors with a cover letter. You do not have to mention your grades in the cover letter. Just write them in CV. You might a positive feedback from a supervisor. In the mean time, you could apply in several universities for either MRes or another taught Master but in a slightly different field.
By the way, how do you plan to find the Master? do you think you can afford one year without a salary?

Hi. I am very sorry to hear this. Life is not fair. I do not have a magic solution but I feel your pain and encourage you to apply more and try to take courses of the required skills and document them in your CV. Look for online courses and write them in the CV and apply with confidence with your heads high. I am sure your day will come. I wish it comes sooner than expected.

hi. I have assumed you do not need to have more data or experiments. How far are you in writing? Is the situation really that bad?
There is no "standard" definition for the quality of a PhD. Is it publications? novelty? You might be surprised when you read some PhD theses in terms of quality and original research.
If the situation might be not that bad that you think. If so, sacrifice some time and submit the best possible concrete thesis aiming for a PhD and then who knows? There is an examination panel who decides.

I agree with TQ. Why not? I do not have statistics but the chances of appeals to be accepted is not particularly high. Just do not put too much hope and while doing it, look forward search for a job and assess the situation in one year or so. At this time, you would have known if you want (need) to do a PhD or not.