I cannot speak from personal experience but what you experienced is not normal. I think the vast majority of academia would agree what he did was wrong. He is a piece of work but you shouldn't expect everyone to be like him.

The only thing I would possibly suggest as an option is quietly tell other PhD students. In the first few months of my PhD I got told about several post-doc and lecturer "creeps" to avoid one-on-one. Nothing was ever said about what happened other than they were creeps to avoid. It is probably the most low-committal way to warn other people.

Hi thefrustratedcandidate,

I can completely understand your frustration and had a good friend go through something similar with visas (emeritus professor LOL). I agree with Jamie_Wizard. Don't annoy your examiners and it would be better if your supervisor/admin team pressure the examiner. Also, for your visa you probably need more than just an email but a full certificate which can sometimes take a while. PhDs at my university require final approval from an exam board (rubber stamp really) which only meets every 2-3 months that can also delay things. If you ask your admin department they might tell you how long after the approval it will take to get the certificate.

I really I wish I could give you better advice and I fully sympathise with you but there isn't much you can do at the 2 week point.

Hi Dontcareanymore,

Every viva is different and I can't tell you what to expect. However, I don't know anyone who failed with decent data chapters. The data chapeters are the "meat" of your thesis and if they are solid you thesis is likely passable. I wouldn't worry too much about your intro or formatting because fixing them would be definition of corrections in my opinion. Revise and resubmit or straight fail is if your results/methodology/conclusions have severe flaws and don't constitute a contribution to your field.

Goodluck!

There is a lecturer in my department who is notoriously like your supervisor, an anal perfectionist with no social skills or sense of time constraints. From seeing what they did I would suggest; make them focus on one chapter at a time then stop giving them drafts when you are happy, grow a think skin (they will never be happy so don't try), draft in support from second supervisors if possible, give them fixed dates and tell them you will submit regardless of their opinion. I wish I could be more helpful and I completely feel for your situation.

I did a full-time RA role during my PhD and have done a lot of teaching support roles. I feel it is quite significantly luck based. The best way is if you know the supervisor and they give you the role without a real application process. A lot of academics are reluctant to to do short-term projects because they can't guarantee they will get; A) someone at all, B) someone competent enough to do the work and C) someone that will finish the project. I was fortunate that my supervisor got me two of them herself and other academics are now submitting grants with me in mind because I somehow have a good reputation. I would suggest talking with academics in your department that know you, telling them that you want to short term projects or available to do mundane projects. It won't get you anything immediately but it might yield long term. Also, when trying to get work like this it is better to be seen as flexible than a specialist.

PS: I am assuming that you want part-time of short term research contracts in the UK

I would broadly say yes. It is your proposal and your own work. It may be on Turnitin but you haven't published it and if you tell the university/supervisors it shouldn't be much of an issue. However, as eng77 says, if someone else at your old your university has started working on your old proposal it would be a bit awkward .

Hi waitinggame,

Why are you worrying so much when you haven't even started yet? A PhD is three years for a reason and most students feel the same as you when they start their PhD. So please don't feel like an impostor because it sounds like you are setting yourself impossible standards before you have even started. I would consider looking at your PhD student handbook (it should be online) and look at what you are expected to do in the first three years. Probably in the next 3-6 months all what is expected of you is to have research plan and maybe a small literature review. If you can do that, you are completely fine and not stupid.

I agree with Nead it depends on your field and funding. If you win your own grants, departments will welcome you with ease. I also have a friend who is half way through a two year post-doc working remotely but her work is in computer modelling. Her university is a 5 hour drive away and was only expected on site twice a year for various things. Other than that all of her work can be done from home and the university is happy with that. It was an advertised role but I don't see why not if you can justify working remotely.

Hi pary,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. From the sounds of it you have made the right decision to leave such a toxic environment. To answer your question, yes you should be able to easily Master out. I would talk with your graduate department or your student handbook on the procedure and see what you have. Generally it is pretty straight forward as long as you have some data at least with a semi-decent write up. Although I would consider your financial situation before deciding when to leave. There is nothing immoral continuing with the PhD as long as possible simply for the money while you apply for jobs or decide what to do. It is easier to move on from your PhD when you still have a monthly stipend.

Done.
Your research looks interesting but I would add that I choose airlines for the route/airport. Lowcost airlines sometimes have a bigger range of flights to smaller airports compared to the full service carriers. So having a direct flight between two small airports is a massive effect on my choice that I couldn't mention in the survey.

Sorry about the delay, I have actually did some work once.
So they are making your work for free for a month? That doesn't sound good long term but if you can make it bearable in the short term at least the money always helps. I understand negativity can permeate from your job to the rest of your life but if you can establish ways to separate them it is an incredible skill for your future careers. I think once you stop caring and I mean genuinely stop caring, things get easier. As in the UK at least the education system is all about being "your best" at all times which we carry over into the real world when in fact we jut need to do enough. I am not saying have no pride in your work but find inner validation instead of relying on your boss.

I am still a PhD student in engineering, although I did suspend my PhD for nearly a year to work as an RA for my supervisor on externally funded projects.

hi dotdottung,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. No one deserves to be made to feel uncomfortable at work and I think you are right to plan to leave. Though have you considered talking with your director about the issues or with colleagues on how they manage? Sometimes there are easy solutions if you talk with someone. Saying that, can you afford to quit straight away or do you need to continue in the short term for the money?

Congratulations on the new job!
In the context of a cynical PhD student, do what makes you happy. Everyone is different and we derive happiness from different sources. So I wouldn't worry if it is worth the effort to get the job you want as long as you think it is worth it.

To be honest I sort of like what I do. I am not that passionate about my day-to-day work per se but I get a warm fuzzy feeling about my field and working towards a low carbon economy. I am a rather lazy person but knowing my work might help save the planet (however minuscule) motivates me far more than enjoying my work. As long as the day-to-day work isn't too difficult I am happy to get pleasure from my social life and treat my work as a job. I think it would be different if I was working on something that had zero impact or was more stressful.

Saying that, I did a placement year as part of undergraduate course and I enjoyed the work but hated my boss by the end of it. My boss was a nice guy and we got on well but his management style drove me nuts (everything was a priority) to the extent I turned down a full-time job there because of him. The work itself was very interesting and I was definitely passionate about the job, however my manager eventually killed my motivation because he never knew when to end a project. I could work on something on the side for a couple of months to the point there was negligible returns but he would still expect constant progress on it while still starting new projects. At that point I realised having a good manager was just as important as the job itself.

I find my PhD labwork rather boring and monotonous although my supervisor seems to value it. I can help other PhD students/lecturers and they appreciate my work which is a massive positive. Is it my dream job, not really, but a good work atmosphere can compensate for a lot of things.

Why do you ask, are things going okay?

EDIT: 1000th post!

I should have added that you can contact the admissions team to ask for an update. Usually they are helpful and can tell you what is going on.