PhD programmes

[H18 SFR]

Has anyone here ever started/completed a PhD programme. I'm interested to find out about the process you went through. I can't find specific info via Google etc.

[HibbyScott]

Has anyone here ever started/completed a PhD programme. I'm interested to find out about the process you went through. I can't find specific info via Google etc.

Speak to Sylar on here. He's reasonably recently completed one!

[H18 SFR]

Speak to Sylar on here. He's reasonably recently completed one!

Thanks for the heads up.

[Hibernia&Alba]

Best of luck with it. What subject are you thinking of covering?

[Sylar]

Has anyone here ever started/completed a PhD programme. I'm interested to find out about the process you went through. I can't find specific info via Google etc.

I completed mine in 2013 - what particularly would you like to know? Feel free to reply via PM if you'd prefer :aok:

[Hibernia&Alba]

I completed mine in 2013 - what particularly would you like to know? Feel free to reply via PM if you'd prefer :aok:

What did you study for you doctorate, mate?

[Pete]

What did you study for you doctorate, mate?

I did mine in computing.

Well, mine was an HND but it's kind of the same thing.

[Hibernia&Alba]

I did mine in computing.

Well, mine was an HND but it's kind of the same thing.

No, Peter, a HND is nothing like a PhD. HND is below degree level, whereas a PhD is a postgraduate degree of three years. Nice try, though :na na:

[Holmesdale Hibs]

I did a PhD in maths from 2002-2005. I think the best places to look are departmental websites and jobs.ac.uk although I found out about mine when I went for a chat about a masters. The funding for my course was from EPSRC and was organised separately by the department.

My advice would be to weigh up the PhD against other opportunities you have at the moment. It's easier to go back to academia than to get a good first job so if you've been offered something I'd probably go for the work experience first.

Good luck with it all, what you thinking of studying?

[Sylar]

What did you study for you doctorate, mate?

Hydrology, particularly looking at how rivers behave around about northern Scotland! Thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging 3 years!


I did a PhD in maths from 2002-2005. I think the best places to look are departmental websites and jobs.ac.uk although I found out about mine when I went for a chat about a masters. The funding for my course was from EPSRC and was organised separately by the department.

My advice would be to weigh up the PhD against other opportunities you have at the moment. It's easier to go back to academia than to get a good first job so if you've been offered something I'd probably go for the work experience first.

Good luck with it all, what you thinking of studying?

Where did you do your PhD? I ask because I currently work in a maths department and feel like a total fraud! :greengrin

As Holmesdale says, jobs.ac.uk is probably the best generic site for finding them. There's also findaphd.com, which has a few more international ones. If you're interested in natural sciences or physics/astronomy, there are a few more places I might recommend (the Nature and Science journals regularly advertise but again, these can be quite international).

I'd also encourage you to think long and hard about the "why" behind doing a PhD. It can limit your opportunities when you finish in some disciplines and isn't automatically a path into a career.

The PhD itself is a hard, hard journey filled with self-doubt, steep learning curves and a plethora of pressures. On the flip side though, it's a highly flexible position (particularly if you're funded) that affords opportunities to travel, attend conferences, publish your work and work for some excellent institutions!

[Holmesdale Hibs]

Hydrology, particularly looking at how rivers behave around about northern Scotland! Thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging 3 years!



Where did you do your PhD? I ask because I currently work in a maths department and feel like a total fraud! :greengrin

As Holmesdale says, jobs.ac.uk is probably the best generic site for finding them. There's also findaphd.com, which has a few more international ones. If you're interested in natural sciences or physics/astronomy, there are a few more places I might recommend (the Nature and Science journals regularly advertise but again, these can be quite international).

I'd also encourage you to think long and hard about the "why" behind doing a PhD. It can limit your opportunities when you finish in some disciplines and isn't automatically a path into a career.

The PhD itself is a hard, hard journey filled with self-doubt, steep learning curves and a plethora of pressures. On the flip side though, it's a highly flexible position (particularly if you're funded) that affords opportunities to travel, attend conferences, publish your work and work for some excellent institutions!

Agree with all the above about a PhD, good post.

I think we've exchanged PM's before under different user names - we were talking about C++ compilers on Linux systems or something.

I wouldn't worry about feeling like a fraud, in fact I can see how it could work in your advantage. There's a lot of interesting maths around fluids and mathematicians in the field can sometimes focus on quite obscure aspects (like finding chaotic solutions in non-frictional systems or something) and use a tenuous link to hydraulogy to justify the funding. I'd personally say something like you did your PhD in is much more important and more use to the human endeavour.

Just noticed your Hampshire-based... I go to Quinn's for most games on TV, let us know if you're ever heading along, it would be good to hear about your work.