======= Date Modified 18 Oct 2011 16:03:15 =======
======= Date Modified 18 Oct 2011 16:03:00 =======

Hiya, I've just resubmitted my thesis for the second time after my examiners asked for major corrections (more experiments, and entire rewrite of thesis) after my first submission and viva. I'm working as a post-doc at the moment, so obviously need my PhD otherwise I'm out of a job! I was just wondering if anyone else had any experience of resubmissions with a second viva? I don't know for sure whether my examiners want another viva, however everyone i know tells me it's more than likely I will. I've worked realyl hard to get all my experiments completed and I think i've done all they wanted me to do, however I'm worried it's not going to be enough. Has anyone else been in this situation???? I'm so worried and stressed about it all!!

Heya,

I'm coming up to the end of the third year in october and I plan to begin writing up proper around that time. My funding obviously runs out then also and I'm wondering about how long it generally takes to write up. My supervisor says it will probably take an entire year, which i sincerely hope it won't as i've done a fair bit of the easy stuff (methods/materials) already plus I will have to try and get a job to support myself while writing up, not an easy thing to do in the current economic climate :S Anyway I was just wondering what other people's experiences of writing up were like and if they have any tips or amusing anecdotes to help settle my mind down :)

thanks,

Jonny.

Thanks for all the advise people. Had a chat with my supervisor and we're going to rethink the focus of my project. I think one problem i had was that i was trying too doo too much in too many areas where instead i should have been concentrating on one or two specific areas. Going to be reading up on background stuff to make sure that i actually know what i'm doing also! It was a positive experience in the end, but it did make me really depressed for a while!

My transfer viva went about as bad as it could have done. My report was 3x too long, they asked me all sorts of questions i should have known the answer to and i froze up and couldn't answer them and they had major concerns with my methods. I now realise that all my results i've got so far are worthless and i'm going to have to repeat all of them.

I'm 18 months in also so it's all coming extremely late. They said that i could transfer in a month or so if i rewrite my report and address their concerns in my lack of knowledge and make my experimental design tighter. This experience has totally demoralised me though and i'm seriously wondering if i should quit or not. My supervisor has faith and thinks that I will be okay and will get a phd at the end (she even says that there's a postdoc waiting for me at the end if i want it) but I don't think I will even finish successfully and frankly i don't think i care anymore. I really feel i've made a terrible mistake in doing a phd. any advise anyone?????

Nah it's really helpful, even if you have made mistakes. What i'm worried about is if i even really want to continue. I'm just really de-motivated and really starting to wonder if i want to even complete my phd. I'm almost 100% sure I don't want to work in science or teaching afterwards so i'm starting to wonder if there is any point continuing.

Well that all sounds quite negative :S I was maybe thinking of doing a postdoc and seeing where it went from there. I don't really want to keep doing postdocs until i get a lectureship or whatever tho, and to be honest the time doing a postdoc I could in another job, actually able to pay my rent :-S Amusingly i think working in science has made me lose a lot of the excitment I used to have for it :)

Hey everyone, i'm newbie to the forum and was just wanted to ask a question about life after my phd. I'm in my second year of a phd in biochemistry and am already getting restless. I'm starting to wonder whether i really do want to work in science and was thinking that it might be better to go into something where i can earn more money and earn it quicker. My question is what sort of prospects do science phd students realistically have to get a job in industry/academia. It seems to me that in academia there aren't enough good jobs for qualified people, which seems a waste when i could go into something unrelated to science and be earning far more money. Industry seems like a good place to go, but my supervisor is totally against that and says it's not worth it and i should probably stay in academia. I was thinking of going into pharmacuitcal sales as an old phd student of my supervisor went into that and seems to be doing really well for himself. But anyway, what do you lot think???? Thanks for reading :)