Hi mjhr_87,

[ Insert William Dafoe spiderman meme]
I am something of a biogas scientist myself :)

I agree with Cat123, start looking in your final year, as most positions require you start within 3-4 months of applying. It is a bit awkward applying for postdocs and writing your thesis at the same time but most funding sources don't allow long delays over a few months. If you want to improve your chances of getting a postdoc I would focus on broadening your skills, networking at conferences and publications.

I am not a lawyer or an expert in your university regulations, but it depends on your university policy and it might come under your university's feedback/grading rules. I would argue that the first set of corrections were incorrect, did not adequately prepare you and that the issues should have been expressed at the first viva. As you met the original corrections, they effectively changed the assessment method mid-way through the process with no chance to correct it. That should break some university policy somewhere. However, I have never went through the process and I might be completely wrong.

Also, I would consider contacting the office for students if all else fails.

Hi Withhope,

That sounds grim and I feel for you. It must be soul crushing.

I agree with the advice of everyone else. Though I would focus on the procedural issues rather than the examiners are in inherently biased, as it is far less subjective.

Can I ask why did you need a second viva with major corrections? In the UK I thought second vivas were only for Revise and Resubmit and it seems weird that your external requested it. Also if the examiners were the same, they shouldn't be able to complain about areas that they previously thought were acceptable. Major corrections is a pass and it should be implied that anything not covered by corrections is of sufficient standard. Reassessing work that wasn't included in the corrections should be outside of their remit during corrections/second viva. In my opinion the examiners didn't follow the rules but proving that will be difficult.

Goodluck

Can you delay your PhD start data so you can apply for internal funding? Internal funding is a lot easier to get that external funding. Or even better apply for an already funded PhD. I am not joking in that external funding is very competitive.

The best starting point is asking your prospective supervisor. Ask if they know any PhD awards or where they apply for funding in general. Unfortunately there are no central databases of available funding but you could try Marie-Curie or the large bioscience funds, Wellcome trust etc.

I wish I could be more help and goodluck.

Hi sciencephd,

Have you had a serious conversation with your supervisor about your career or postdocs? I have a few friends who have gained postdocs with zero publications (including no co-author publications) based of their supervisor's recommendations. I know it sounds unfair but you can mitigate the publication issue with your supervisor's help. I don't know what your relationship with them is like, but simply asking your supervisor their advice/recommendations, so that they feel involved might be helpful. My second supervisor explained it to me once as; she didn't need someone who could publish as she could help with that, but rather needed someone to independently do the experiments, which you can't find out without a reference.

Hi kavourakos,

Honestly, if I was the PI, I wouldn't hold it against you. You dropped out initially in a professional and respectful manner for a legitimate reason. As long as you can explain why that reason won't cause you to drop out again, I don't think it will cause any issues at all. The PI is a person too and should understand life isn't perfect.

Goodluck

Congratulation's on finishing early, that is an achievement!
You would need to ask your department for the universities individual policy.
I know at my university when you submit all future bursary payments, however they don't ask for any money back if you submit 1 day after the processing deadline. As my university deems the end of the PhD is when you submit your thesis and not after the viva. I know it doesn't make sense as I wanted to submit early but it would have just made me unemployed faster :) So I would check with your department.

So your supervisor didn't notice the flaw either and agreed with your original plan? It is better to fix a flaw early that have to explain it later or worse repeat the data collection. If it is a real flaw your supervisor will be relieved and impressed you found it now and not after the data collection. It is easy to overlook thing so don't worry, just be happy you found it

Thanks everyone for your advice, it is reassuring. I think I am just going to treat each chapter separately but with no contradicting abbreviations. So I can keep the results chapters with abbreviations.

My department has a 50,000 word limit excluding references, tables etc. However, unofficially know one checks unless it is massively over. So I would just submit it and hope people ignore it.

A PhD bursary is tax free and doesn't count towards your personal allowance, so shouldn't affect your job. I have been told that it can sometimes affect your benefits through universal credit but not HMRC. Though if you are getting a full bursary will you be allowed to work 0.8 FTE? My bursary expressly stated that I was limited to 20 hours work a week outside work and I think it is UK Research Council rule.

Hi J202,

I don't think there is any stigma attached to either KTPs or thesis by publication, the latter is sometimes held in higher regard. Usually a thesis by publication requires at least 3 publications but I think it depends on the length of the publications as well as the overall contribution. You might be held up by journal delay but you can submit papers during your PhD so you have most of them in print by the time of write up. If not, you can say that the paper is "under review in X journal" or "prepared for publication in X journal. Also a standard thesis by-publication normally requires less write-up as you only need introduction and conclusion chapters and maybe a chapter linking them. I tried changing to PhD by publication but wasn't allowed but nearly of all of my results chapters are copied and pasted from published papers but with some additional data to strengthen on point as well as a massive literature review. I would just be concerned about the data restrictions the company might want as I know some people who couldn't publish anything because the company was overly sensitive.

Hello everyone,

Is it okay if I start using abbreviations half way though my thesis?
My supervisor is unsure as well, and I have realised that my results chapters abuse abbreviations while the intro, lit review and methodology have virtually none. I have clearly introduced all the abbreviations and once introduced they have been used consistently. Though do you think that is appropriate or is it an all or nothing thing?

Any advice is welcome

Hi designphd,

Woaw that sounds tough! I completely understand your shock at the result, especially when you have future research roles lined up. Previous posts on this forum by faded and behappy successfully appealed their vivas and they could help you figure it out. You should probably talk with your students union for more specific advice about your appeals. I have heard of people changing their examiners but it depends on the university. Normally your supervisor recommends them and you might be able to challenge how they were selected. Also, having two externals is rough as that is usually reserved for members of staff. Getting more appropriate examiners does sound feasible in your situation but I would wait for the R&R before deciding.

In my opinion your supervisors' advice is outdated. Publications strengthen your thesis as you can claim both a contribution to your field and that it has been peer-reviewed. It is far harder for an examiner to criticise your entire approach if a respected journal has published it as it looks bad on them. If you can get parts of your thesis published it would make appeals or complaints easier.

Hi sew,

Sorry about the delay.
If the PhD explicitly suggest contacting the supervisor it is usually better to contact them than not. Contacting the supervisor beforehand helps you not only find out more about the PhD role but lets the supervisor get to know you before the interview.
An informal enquire would politely state that you are interested in the PhD role, explain your experience/degree and show some general enthusiasm for the project.

Goodluck,
rewt