Signup date: 01 Mar 2007 at 7:46pm
Last login: 01 Nov 2009 at 3:45pm
Post count: 2344
i started at age 30 and hope to be finished just before i turn 34.
i find it amazing that some people start a PhD at age 21. i started uni at age 20, that was the normal age to start university, after spending age 16-20 in "high school" or college or whatever you want to call it. starting a PhD at age 21 would have meant starting it just one year into a bachelor's degree. the educational systems from one country to the next are so different that it's near nonsensical to compare. so, to the OP: the ideal age to start a PhD depends not just on your personal circumstances, but also on the educational system of your country.
i would stop worrying about appearing rude and just do whatever you need to do in order to work! i.e. get those earplugs.
because,
a) what is more important - not appearing rude or getting some work done?
b) the appearance of rudeness can be taken care of with a few simple words of explanation to your officemates.
what about the others, aren't they disturbed by the noise? maybe everyone is just waiting for someone finally to take the initiative and propose "quiet hours" or even better, "noise hours" - from 12.30 to 1.30 noise is allowed, else not! it's all of you in it together - may as well make the best of it.
hi there,
i'm sorry but i really can't say! i bought it recently myself and am only using it for interviews so far. i wanted it to be capable of doing focus groups for another, later project. so i haven't tried it yet and can't tell you more than what's written in the manual!
i hope you can work it all out!
cheers, sh.
i heard that the UK is quite attractive for many academics, particularly those who have families. as in contrast to most other countries, you can actually get permanent jobs in the UK. they might be rarer than they have been, but in many other countries there are NO permanent jobs in academia short of professorships. becoming professor usually requires a singlemindedness that is difficult (not impossible) to combine with family life. so most family affine academics either face a life of moving around with their families every 3 years or so, living apart from their kids and partner who can't get a job in the same town, ... or moving to/staying in the UK, where they can become lecturers. not bad indeed!
my partner just started as a lecturer, 'sans' PhD yet, for 34'000 plus London allowance.
i did a typing course like that too, on typewriters, but i was just a kid then, early teens i think. ah the good times
but then i had this winter term break of serious chatting, in internet chat rooms, and that's when i really learned it. They used to call me the "chat-queen"
i really think once you know how it works and have had some practice, you just need to always do it. with every sentence you type you will become more practiced and soon it will be simple routine, as straightforward as handwriting, just faster.
jayney, uh I think you misunderstood - i was suggesting you could try drinking coffee, then sleeping for half an hour. instead of sleeping for half an hour, then drinking coffee.
as that way you will wake up after your nap with the coffee effect right there!
but i totally agree that exercise is the better option! but if the OP is effectively not getting enough sleep, due to juggling child care and PhD, then the "powernap" might actually be quite a good idea.
But there might be a problem with your question: Yes, she is the leading expert, and our meetings are useful. No, she doesn't know anything about my PhD. Well, ok, not nothing. But obviously, I am trying to find out something - I am doing research. So, obviously, she doesn't know the answers. And that's what it's supposed to be like, I think!
- Is your supervisor able to give you useful advice/comments after you send him an interesting paper/publication to read?
Do you mean my own writing, or just random interesting stuff? Never did the latter. For the former, when she gives me feedback, it's usually brilliant. But more often than not, I don't get feedback - because she is too busy, I guess.
- Did you find and define the topic of your project or it was defined from the beginning?
I found and defined it myself.
- Is your supervisor helping you in your research? How many hours per week does he/she spend for talking to you about the project and possible approaches, how to proceed, what to do, etc?
Hours per week? Are you kidding? In my first year, I saw her once/month for 1 hour. Now in my second year I saw her a total of 3 times, for 1.5 hours.
- After you talk with your supervisor about your project/problem, do you feel that you learned something or you feel that you just wasted your time and (s)he has no idea about what to say and (s)he doesn't know even the subject?
I "chose" my supervisor because she is the leading expert in my field. Our meetings are rare, but extremely helpful and valuable. I usually walk out there and can't believe how much useful stuff I just heard.
i can get terribly sleepy, too.
jayney, you could try having that strong cup of coffee BEFORE your nap. it takes about half an hour for the caffeine to kick in. that way, when you wake up (by yourself, thank you coffee!) half an hour later, you feel fresh and awake! rather than being drowsy and sleepyheaded for another half hour until the coffee effect starts.
often such relationship problems happen when you feel you are always giving, never receiving. is your PhD not giving anything back anymore? what did it use to be, that it gave you?
could it be that you're cheating on your PhD with facebook because facebook is now giving you that? do you really think your lover gives you that? or is your illicit affair not rather a cry for more attention? a message from you to your PhD: look here, i NEED you to give me something!
but you know, your PhD cannot read your mind. you need to let it know, you need to tell it what it is that you need from it. and, such as the nature of such relationships is, you need to be very proactive about it - make sure you get it. plan some time per week, per day, that you spend with your PhD - but NOT in the drudgery of "getting on with it" every day life, but purely devoted to that original passion, fun, and enthusiasm. not as a means to an and, just for the two of you.
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