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.

Hi anne_with_an_e,

Congragulations on submitting your corrections! It must be such a relief.
I don't want to be rude but you PASSED your viva with major corrections. Major corrections is not a failure. Revise and resubmit is a failure. Plenty of students who have received majors have went on to have successful careers because at the end, all PhDs are equal. No one cares if you got major corrections or typos, they are both passes. The fact that you have gotten so far despite your significant obstacles is probably more of an achievement than someone who coasted through. I know, it is easy to compare yourself with your peers and base your self worth of that, but in reality passing the viva is the only thing that matters, and you passed it. Also, your resubmission will mostly likely be accepted and then you can move on with your life. I am trying hard not to be rude but you sound so despondent about a situation that is actually positive. You are nearly there so don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! Look at this as the successful ending to a difficult chapter in your life and a new beginning to the next.

I can't give you much advice about the job hunt as I am behind you in the process. So I can only wish you goodluck.

If you want to do a masters do a masters. I wouldn't overthink it too much because you are just opening yourself to self-doubt. It is only a year and you don't lose much by trying. Your masters course is independent of your bachelors and as waitinggame says you can improve at the higher levels. It will take a lot of work and commitment but you will get out what you put in.

Also, I would add that depending on the masters course, a lot of the credits are based on your dissertation/project work. Which, you usually have some flexibility with to avoid topics you are less confident with. So if you think you can excel there you can compensate for low grades elsewhere.

How many publications do you already have?

While your current university doesn't offer it but other universities offer short 1 year PhD by prior-publications for external candidates, such as Kingston below. So you wouldn't have to move job or commit for a 6-8 year period. If you already have a few publications I would contact the admin team to double check your eligibility and work from there. Having publications makes the whole process easier and having them before you start is even better. If anything, you need a narrative to connect the publications together.

Goodluck!

https://www.kingston.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/available-degrees/phd-by-prior-publication-portfolio/

Honestly, I have no idea if it is possible but I completely admire you. Have you considered taking a stepping stone via science communication/outreach? They always struck me as hybrid jobs between science and humanities that you might be qualified for while allowing you to build some good experience for a humanities career.

About a week after my interview, I got a call from my supervisor saying I had the PhD but it took over a month after that before I received an official offer. So 3 weeks isn't too unusual.

Hi Blue Elephant,

That is a narrow title! I do not envy you but I agree with ZH0224. Focus on the project as a whole and not what you are missing. A good structure that I recommend is to break the project down into stages such as; brief literature review, experimental plan, objective 1 with methodology A, objective 2, etc, data analysis, how this will affect the field. It not only gives your presentation a structure but hows that you can break down a big project into smaller chunks. You do not need to be super detailed, just discuss a few papers (and cite them), what you think is achievable for each objective and any potential risks. You might not know all the experimental techniques but it is easier to teach someone experimental methods than how to do research. Even if you don't how to do the methodologies, you can say that you will follow X protocol in Y paper and hope they don't ask to many questions.

Also, I wouldn't throw out all previous experience as non-relevant. I worked in a recycling plant before my PhD and gained a fantastic knowledge of sampling errors. It wasn't relevant to my PhD but I mentioned sampling issues anyway and instead of getting asked questions on the methods I didn't know they asked about my weird sampling method. Just be creative and you might be able to fit in your previous experience somewhere.

Hi nicop92,

I would talk with your supervisor and students union ASAP about this. It seems very very weird that they have downgraded you to an MPhil but want you to continue working on your publishable research. Usually having publishable material is good barometer of how good your work is and just seems strange that they acknowledge that but downgrade anyway. I would fight it saying that you have a made a "significant contribution to literature" and give the papers as evidence.

Hi maithuylinh,

Three weeks is around normal especially if they are interviewing a lot of people. If you haven't heard anything in 3-4 weeks you can send a polite email to the admissions staff or whoever organised your interview, asking if there is an update. I wouldn't worry because you might just have been unlucky and been the first person interviewed, so don't stress over it, it is normal.
Goodluck!

The minimum PhD bursary through UK government funding is just over 15k per year, so most universities offer the minimum. You can get ore if you live in London but the money is tax free and they can't force you to do unpaid teaching. Depending on the department/university you get extra money as a teaching assistant in tutorials or marking which was about £1,500 a year for me (taxable though). Some universities or non-UK government funding sources pay more, though I don't know any specifically.

The site I used was findaphd.com which has a lot of UK based options. For particle physics, you should check the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Centre (EPSRC), who don't fund many PhDs directly but through doctoral training centers and grants awarded to supervisors.
https://www.findaphd.com/funding/guides/epsrc-funding.aspx