PhD support group?

talksalot81

As bad as late completion/failure may seem to you, it is just as bad for those supervising you (maybe you know this - many dont). Many universities will impose restrictions initially upon the supervisor if you take too long (i.e. they dont get new students until you complete). If a trend becomes apparent in a department with many late finishers, the division/department as a whole can have restrictions placed on them. This is a major disaster!

If you really are concerned your supervisor really should be there because it is his/her reputation on the line too!

pboae

I really struggled at the end of my PhD and my supervisor wasn't particularly supportive, mainly because his research interests had moved on, and I was left plodding through it on my own. Just before I hit the 3rd term of my 4th year he suddenly realised that I wasn't going to complete in 4 years, and that would affect his funding, so he pulled out all the stops. I got virtually the whole thing written in a few months, he would take days off work just to read stuff and get it back to me ASAP. I handed it in on the last day of my 4th year, having been awake for several days getting it printed and bound.

So don't give up hope, it can be done and your supervisor will be very keen for you to finish on time.

magyar

Totally agree with the above two posts. My supervisor was an absolute brick and helped find extra money and tutoring jobs for a while. I didn't officially have a "failure" date, but I know it caused problems (sorry, Frank!)

The main reason for going so far into the fifth year was that I managed to take the three months working totally on the thesis, but then money ran out and I had to start working full-time, or nearly full-time anyway. Finally I got to the stage where I was offered a decent job on the condition that I wrote up within three months; that did the trick!

misskool

cupid_stunt wrote:

This is getting me worried now.

I have seen loads of people on here saying it took them over 4 years. Well if I dont submit my fully completed thesis by the end of september next year (after my 4th year) I automatically fail!

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I have had so many failed experiments and such that I'm not sure how easy it will be to finish within 4 years

cupid it'll be fine!! Much as it's hard to say this, a failed experiment is a negative result, which is a result. You can't publish it but you can write it in your thesis.

I know because I had an hour with my supervisor stressing about my results.
:rotfl: He seems very keen for me to finish now that we've run out of money to feed me.

XOO

Thanks for all the replies.
I am at Uni of Glos in Cheltenham. I check out that link after teh school run! Thanks melancholly.
I have applied for a PT job, hope to hear about it next mon, if I get it then it will be great, no money worries on top of the whole phD thing!
Children are 13,11, and 6 Boy, girl, Boy,
Better get to school to get 6yr old!
Thanks again, will post again soon
Sue

laserboy_2

pboae wrote:

I really struggled at the end of my PhD and my supervisor wasn't particularly supportive, mainly because his research interests had moved on, and I was left plodding through it on my own. Just before I hit the 3rd term of my 4th year he suddenly realised that I wasn't going to complete in 4 years, and that would affect his funding, so he pulled out all the stops. I got virtually the whole thing written in a few months, he would take days off work just to read stuff and get it back to me ASAP. I handed it in on the last day of my 4th year, having been awake for several days getting it printed and bound.

So don't give up hope, it can be done and your supervisor will be very keen for you to finish on time.

Any supervisor worth his or her salt will make pretty damn sure you don't submit late or submit at all. As pboae points out, it will seriously affect their funding.
My labmates and I really struggled to get cash for consumables and conferences because we started just as one of our predecessors in the group decided the final chapter was one chapter too many.
To make things worse, one of my contemporaries in the group submitted late.
Since that happened my supervisor has had no MSc. or PhD studentships awarded. To put that into perspective, I celebrated 4 years in my post-PhD job this week...
So, if you're thinking of jackng it in, please take a moment to think of the impact on others as well as yourself.

misskool

I'm really struggling with this.

when I did my undergraduate and started writing scientifically, I was expressly told that to write everything using passive voice and to refer everything using third person voice.

Now that I've starting looking a few thesis and started writing up, it seems that there's a trend towards the first person voice and a lot of thesis seem to have the "I" which I was taught never to do.

Opinions please? I'm getting writer's block thinking of clever ways of rewriting "I presumed" to "The presumption was made"

magyar

misskool wrote:

I'm really struggling with this.

when I did my undergraduate and started writing scientifically, I was expressly told that to write everything using passive voice and to refer everything using third person voice.

Now that I've starting looking a few thesis and started writing up, it seems that there's a trend towards the first person voice and a lot of thesis seem to have the "I" which I was taught never to do.

Opinions please? I'm getting writer's block thinking of clever ways of rewriting "I presumed" to "The presumption was made"

Well, I wrote my thesis nearly eight years ago now, but without question used the passive throughout. The very thought of writing in the first person is astonishing, and I hope it stops!

"I presumed" is hard to turn into passive, because something other than a person cannot presume anything, and you're not in a position to say what someone else presumes. Hence you can say in the first person: "I threw a ball into a dark hole. I presume it hit the ground".

Scientifically you need to say "The ball was thrown into a dark hole. Prior work by Newton et al [1] shows that it is likely to have hit the ground".

melancholly

misskool wrote:

I'm really struggling with this.

when I did my undergraduate and started writing scientifically, I was expressly told that to write everything using passive voice and to refer everything using third person voice.

Now that I've starting looking a few thesis and started writing up, it seems that there's a trend towards the first person voice and a lot of thesis seem to have the "I" which I was taught never to do.

Opinions please? I'm getting writer's block thinking of clever ways of rewriting "I presumed" to "The presumption was made"

there's a big split between UK and US styles - the US are far mroe informal and use personal pronouns more often. I still think it's best to avoid them - especially if your external is a professor who is likely to have a more traditional view. Any time I mark undergrad work which uses 'I' and 'we' etc, I put big crosses through it and tell them to avoid personal pronouns.

I always resort to 'It was assumed/presumed/found/demonstrated (etc etc) that....'.

remember to have some kind of a break over christmas!!

Voyager2002

misskool wrote:

I'm really struggling with this.

when I did my undergraduate and started writing scientifically, I was expressly told that to write everything using passive voice and to refer everything using third person voice.

Now that I've starting looking a few thesis and started writing up, it seems that there's a trend towards the first person voice and a lot of thesis seem to have the "I" which I was taught never to do.

Opinions please? I'm getting writer's block thinking of clever ways of rewriting "I presumed" to "The presumption was made"

I used the first person, both for my MSc thesis back in 1984 and for my PhD (submitted 1997). But I am in Science Studies rather than science itself. I suggest writing in the way that makes it easiest for you to convey what you have to say, but ask your supervisor of course.