PhD support group?

CrazyChemist_2

misskool wrote:

:rotfl: :rotfl:

What's exciting then?

Don't get me started on Buchner funnels :T one of the newer academics was from egypt and he couldn't say "buchner" instead it came out as "bookhnuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" and Hirsch was "Heeearsh" it was hilarious :rotfl: and he didn't see the comedy so kept repeating it again and again :T :rotfl:

misskool

Chemists.....:rolleyes:

free_radical

I have got my viva on Monday at 2pm!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

melancholly

free_radical wrote:

I have got my viva on Monday at 2pm!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

lots of luck for that (although i'm sure you won't need it!) - and if it's at 2pm it won't go on beyond 5 latest - with a 9am start they can go on all day!

i'm going home now - more than enough time spent at work for a saturday!!

hope you're nearly done too misskool!

free_radical

melancholly wrote:

lots of luck for that (although i'm sure you won't need it!) - and if it's at 2pm it won't go on beyond 5 latest - with a 9am start they can go on all day!

i'm going home now - more than enough time spent at work for a saturday!!

hope you're nearly done too misskool!

That's what I'm hoping!

I am enrolling for a 5 year medical degree in the morning and then have my viva at 2pm! Quite a busy day!

misskool

free_radical: Good luck for your viva on monday!! Afternoon starts are great, they're meant to be shorter.

melancholly--long day here yet...phenol/b****y chloroform extraction. decant, spin, decant, spin...etc etc..

laserboy_2

free_radical wrote:

I have got my viva on Monday at 2pm!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

Best of luck with the viva; don't be too disappointed if it feels like a bit of an anti-climax after all the hard slog to get there.

I finished my PhD (Analytical Chemistry) nearly 4 years ago, but wish I had found something like this board whilst I was still at Uni. There are so many excellent tips and it would have been great to know others had the same doubts and concerns.

Here are some tips (biased towards scientists):

If you get the chance to do EPSRC Grad Schools, take it. I didn't get the chance despite being EPSRC funded, but wish I'd pushed to get on one. Everyone I now work with who went on one said they got some excellent advice.

Similarly, EPSRC funded students should have the chance to go on at least one overseas conference. Don't miss out - not only is it a free trip abroad, but its a great chance to find out the latest advacnes in your field.

When things are going badly, don't despair. No PhD runs smoothly throughout.

Also, no PhD is finished within 3 years.

Don't be afraid to apply for jobs before you finish. Interview practise is always handy, and some companies will wait for you to finish writing-up. In fact, the best thing that happened was a job offer dependant on me submitting before I started - that focussed my mind a lot.

Demonstrating in undergrad labs and marking are both easy sources of extra cash (£12ph when I was phding). And even better, the experiment I marked came up in my job interview...

As a PhD you can still have a free overdraft, so max it out and keep the money in a savings account. Drip feed money back in as you need it. Also, to avoid temptation, see if your landlord will let you pay 3 months rent in one go as soon as the grant is paid.

Once the funding runs out, you can still apply for the university's hardship fund. Early in the academic year is more likely to succeed (before the undergrads have drunk their loans). I got a total of about £2k.

If you get a job offer whilst writing up, use it to your advantage. I signed on for 2 months near the end (I was broke and desparate) on the basis that I had a job to go to and was looking for temporary work to tide me over.

Take time out. You cannot work 7 days a week and/or 12 hour days all the time. Do something away from Uni. The best thing I did was join a badminton club that was not affiliated to the uni - I even acknowledged them in my thesis.

Finally, don't despair. It will come good in the end (it is in your supervisor's and uni's interests that it does). Ultimately you are being paid (a small amount) to do something that interests you and to spend time with like-minded people.

Chin Up!

CrazyChemist_2

misskool wrote:

Chemists.....:rolleyes:

biologists........... :rolleyes: just don't appreciate the finer things in life

Good luck with your viva free_radical :beer:

misskool

CrazyChemist wrote:

biologists........... :rolleyes: just don't appreciate the finer things in life

:rotfl: We appreciate the finer things in life...trust me, I'm appreciating how small RNA is right now.

Don't you ever sleep btw? thought you were at the lab all night last night.

talksalot81

CrazyChemist wrote:

biologists........... :rolleyes: just don't appreciate the finer things in life

What about biochemists!?