i think it would be a mistake not to finish the PhD. As I think the majority of people have things go wrong during their PhD; bad supervision, resesearch doesnt go way wanted, or supervisor leaves, anything really. So i think alot of poeple end up just trying to get it finished. so to hope next time you will get your dream PhD experience is probably unrealistic. Who knows after your PhD you could get a postdoc that fits exactly with what you want to do, or get funding for your dream project. so the PhD is not the only time you potentially have intellectual freedom. A lecturer told me once a phd just a stage, with alot of unneccessary steps, to get through so you can do research what you really want in the future.

I disagree. ive recently seen job applications which specifically ask for a degree from a RGroup universities. I think this is going to become more prominent with there currently being a movement in the UK away from the idea that everyone should go to university even if its to a low ranking university to do a pointless degree. Also speaking to lecturers I have heard many saying privately they look at PhDs from a well ranked university better than one from one lower down.

I would not worry about the break, I had a 5 year gap working in an unrelated field, and still got funding for my PhD. although im in social sciences so may be different

I would say this article is pretty much what all lecturers have told me in private conversations about a PhD

I was wondering if you have tried to apply for jobs in other countries? all the people i know with postdocs have gone to other countries particualry in Africa.

Divorce husband and quit PhD. or maybe learn how to come up with a clear question

I have always wanted to do a PhD and luckily had a few offers of scholarships from a number of universities. In the end I chose to go the one with the best reputation. I think maybe because I never thought I would have the opportunity to study in such an institution I wanted to go there. It has however turned into a nightmare. I am in the social sciences and pretty much everyone else here is in the sciences so I cant to talk about my work or attuned interesting talks within the university. in addition my supervisors have no interest or real knowledge about what it is I am researching. The result being I can hand anything to them and they cant provide any real feedback. One of the universities I turned down has a number of people all doing research into my area and so I really regret not going there. I was wondering if anyone else had this situation? Do you think it would be possible to see if I could apply for the other university and see if I can get the scholarship offer again? Has anyone dropped out of a PhD form one university and started again in a different one?

think you will struggle to get a scholarship with a 2:2 and no distinction in Masters.

I agree I always write like that, never knew it was called free writing though, learnt something today :)

try not shouting in the job interview!!

Probably best to ask your supervisor, as they normally have a good idea of the type of journals you should be aiming for. If they don't help you should just look at the ranking of the journals and decide yourself how ambitious you want to be, in which one you send your work to.

Yeah they would my supervisor was telling me the other day, that because universities are marked down if someone does not submit within 4 years. He has put people into a viva knowing that it needed major corrections or may even fail. Which was not the best thing to hear from my supervisor who I have just started working with!!

I was talking to a PhD examiner the other day and he was in one viva were they all agreed that it was a fail, but the university did not want them around anymore as they were so bad. They knew the person would not have an academics career, and so they just passed them without corrections to get rid of them. This was in one of the top universities in the country aswell!! I was quite surprised but apparently that is more common than people think.

Guess there is laods that goes in in Viva's that no-one really knows about. I have just started so just two things that I heard which surprised me.

I don't understand why you have to reach a compromise with your supervisor. You can get it finished as quickly as you do the work. Surely what he is saying is that if you work at your present rate, it will take an extra year until he thinks you are ready to submit. I know people who have completed in 2 years and others taken 4 years nothing to do with their supervisors just how quickly they have worked. Maybe your supervisor said that you to try and encourage you to work faster

Would it not be best to find people by going to place where unemployed people go such as food banks?