During PhD year 3 I worked entirely at home and usually through the night going to bed at 7am

Now I have a job and have to get up at 7am

It gets better after the PhD, so carry on working towards that doctorate, but look after yourselves along the way. All PhD students go through hell, so we're not alone.

I did my PhD in my mid 30s, as a career break !! Some break

I now have a fantastic job with lots of networking and am a stronger happier person.

If Level 1 is the tea-boy and Level 10 is the CEO, I have gone from my non-PhD career ceiling of L6 to L8. It may be also possible now to achieve L9 in 10 years, but never L10 - Im too qualified !! Make sense?

Have a chat with post-docs and academics in your dept about journal paper research ratings, and the most appropriate journal for your work. Your supervisor, if they are any good, should be able to answer these questions. Also visit the journal website regarding what areas they specialise in.

Good Luck !

There are many easier journals to go for. Make a list of all the potential journals in your field, and find out their research rating. Your uni will love you if you get a high quality journal paper published as it makes their dept look better.

You can get a PhD without a journal but it is essential for a good academic career.

I have heard of one chap whose paper was under review for 12 years !! But dont dispair the average time is between 8-24 months for a good journal.

Be prepaired for the likely scenario of taking 12 months writing the paper only to have it rejected outright 12 months later with no chance to resubmit.

The journal process is a painful one.

A good transaction journal can take a serious amount of work and pain. One of mine took 12 months work before submit, then an 8 month wait, then another 4 months of corrections, then another month before acceptance. ie it took 13 months between submitting and acceptance.

By contrast a good conference submission takes ~3 months work and is then either accepted as a presentation/poster, or rejected, by a dealine in time for the conference.

Conferences are mostly reviewed by PhD students or early post-docs, whereas a good journal use highly qualified world class experts who know your field very well.

kronkodile is correct.

you should be able to borrow previous theses from your dept./library and see what other successful people have done.

Did you expect the PhD to be a happy relaxing experience?

My advice is to take a 3 month phd holiday before formally dropping out. If you are capable of passing but hate it, I would get it and forget it.

I felt crap for the last 18 months of my PhD experience as there's sooo much pressure - psychological and time. But life is great afterwards, and some people pass with a good thesis and only 1-2 conference publications.

Get it, forget it.

helllo sue, mine took 10 weeks, as getting 4 professors diaries simultaneously booked is impossible. Minimum is around 3 weeks. Maximum can be 12 months. Typically 6-8 weeks I would say.

it's important to fill in all the forms saying you're about to submit well in advance as universities take their time getting everything sorted.

HTH

Most good scientists are a Myers-Briggs "NT" personality type. Not sure about other professions.

This could be a whole thread by itself - PhD subject vs Myers-Briggs type.

You wont know what is meant by doing a PhD until you do one. However the following satisfied my professor when I applied:

1. I had read the book "How to get a PhD"
2. I was extremely intersted in the focus area, and had an MSc (with distinction) level understanding in it.
3. Would likely publish a few journals and pass within 4 years.
4. Was very keen to do research and had a research personality
5. Can afford to pay fees or win scholarship
6. Is able to contribute to research institute project work and well-being.
7. Would fit in well.

My PhD certificate says the same as yours.

ie name, date, some words about having satisfied examiners for a phd.

it is however printed on nice paper with a gold stripe.

i take your point, it could have been in philately...

My advice is to drop the PhD and keep the relationship.

At my old uni, around 50% get minor corrections, 20% get major corrections, 30% do not submit.

I got minor corrections, captured them all in a list, agreed the list with internal, made the changes, gave the updated thesis and list to internal, who signed off.

With major corrections, I would do the same thing. Make an list, agree it with examiners, do the corrections, re-submit. You will get through it, it's just a lot of hassle and frustration.

Get it all done quickly, but make sure you answers all their critisisms and make sure your supervisor and internal is happy with it before the external sees it.

A friend of mine lost his mother the day before his viva and got major corrections as he fell apart in the viva, so it could be worse.