[Closed] Ph.D. First Chapter Done

I just got major abuse for a paper I submitted that I thought was pretty good. 🙁 😳 Cellular Pathology to be precise.

First C I've had at uni for a paper. Spent ****ing days on it....ended up genuinely gutted. Most of the time I can get 60+ percent by doing say, a 2500 word report in one night.

My lame excuse is that for the past two years all I have done is Biochemistry and that I finished with anything remotely cellular/physiological in my first year.

I remember the first paper I submitted to a journal. I took it very personally what the reviewers said. Don't. They are just making up for what everyone did to them.

At this stage I just want this bloody doctorate and will do whatever edits are needed.

Yeah I don't. Actually I find the relative anonymity of university much better.... compared to 6th form where the teaching was much more personal and the competition between students higher.

I bit off more than I could chew for my compulsory laboratory project as well. I developed a project designed to study any chromosomal instability related to cisplatin exposure, over several generations post exposure. Lecturers had me do it, then I found out they had advised me on the wrong cell line (lecturers are never wrong are they? Cue lots of swearing) to use and had underestimated the time I needed to do it. One unrelated lecturer asked if I was trying to do my PhD before I finished my undergrad.

REALLY looking forward to the end of uni. 😀

Enjoy Uni, you'll miss it. Hence I am still here at 31 🙂

Nahh man, I like work life and home life. Also I've had enough of students. Two hours in the library and I want to gargle buckshot.

University pisses me off in that regard, I can never ever relax. You have to study for a lot of jobs/careers but there is still less crossover between home and your career.

I love it when I'm given intellectual freedom to attack subjects that are of my own choosing but that's the only positive.

Have fun with the thesis: I found it was the entire PhD in miniature. Initial optimism at finally writing up fades to a grinding demoralising slog, punctuated by minor victories and defeats. After you get really depressed you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, this optimism is then also crushed as you realise that a complete draft is nowhere near a complete thesis. After correcting and rewriting, you really start to feel close to the end. Unfortunately, the worst part is right at the end as you spend weeks doing typesetting, proofreading, making sure that you meet all the BS regulations that your uni undoubtably has.

When you finish, make sure you have a bit of a break...

HTH, Dr Choron.

According to my friends ... only medical, science and engineering will get you a job now while the rest of those art & humanity will only add debts. 😯

According to my friends ... only medical, science and engineering will get you a job now while the rest of those art & humanity will only add debts.

Not aimed at you in particular, but having to suffer the hipster "cool" arty and humanities type kids throughout school, 6th form and university......

One of them got 3,000 words rejection from a particular journal ... 😯

That's brutal! It's like someone writing an essay in tearing his work apart.

Yeah, I've had a rejection before that was longer than the paper I submitted, not good. On the other hand, I resubmitted it to a different journal 6 months later and it went through without corrections.

Peer review is probably the least bad option, but it's pretty bad. I know this from both the reviews I've received and the reviews I've performed...

choron - Member
Yeah, I've had a rejection before that was longer than the paper I submitted, not good. On the other hand, I resubmitted it to a different journal 6 months later and it went through without corrections.

this

Peer review is probably the least bad option, but it's pretty bad. I know this from both the reviews I've received and the reviews I've performed...

and this. Peer review sucks sometimes, especially when it is clear fashion dictates what gets published.

Choron: you failed to add the typical drop in personal hygiene. Or maybe that was just me 🙂

Peer review sucks sometimes, especially when it is clear fashion dictates what gets published.

Yep - I had 2 reviewers indicate 'accept' on my most recent submission to a well known short-format journal and the editor decided - nah - reject! All to do with fashion. But - not giving up without a fight - apparently you just have to wear the editors down and they will eventually give in 😉

Glad there are other folks in the same boat. Submitted chaps 3 + 4 to my supervisor two weeks ago.

currently polishing my lit review.

can you roll a lit review in glitter?

I quite enjoyed the peer review process. Especially when you had a reviewer who clearly if they didnt understand something decided it was wrong, made for intresting exchanges with the editor.

Keep at it OP! It all seems like (and is) a long time ago but I remember the slog only too well. A PhD is mostly a qualification in perseverance 🙂

I was so fed up with mine at the end that I couldn't be bothered to bind my personal thesis copy and never did.

Well, it is all starting to come together.

Starting is the operative word here.... ah, the sweet sweet honeymoon after the fast initial progress, how soon your hopes will be dashed, 😉

But, keep at it though. The end is at least in sight!

I've had a paper recommended for rejection for being both of the following:

1) Failure to demonstrate that a process could occur at all in nature
2) That the process in question wasn't novel 😕

Thankfully, the editor and the other two reviewers both disagreed.

Keep at it OP! It all seems like (and is) a long time ago but I remember the slog only too well. A PhD is mostly a qualification in perseverance

This!

I was so fed up with mine at the end that I couldn't be bothered to bind my personal thesis copy and never did.

But defo not this - having a lovely bound copy really is worth it - that for me was when I could finally say - done it! and put the blooming thing to bed. 🙂

But defo not this - having a lovely bound copy really is worth it - that for me was when I could finally say - done it! and put the blooming thing to bed.

Yep not really fussed about it at the time and definitely not bothered now. I'm involved in much more interesting science now!

It's certainly an endurance race, not a sprint.

There is a level of satisfaction you get though, on completion of a PhD, which is unlike almost anything you get in 'normal' life. Half relief sure but something that you won't forget. Good luck.

There is a level of satisfaction you get though, on completion of a PhD, which is unlike almost anything you get in 'normal' life. Half relief sure but something that you won't forget.

I think I drank enough the night I finished mine to forget most things! 😳

I love the mixture of 'well done' and 'itll get worse'

After 3.5 years of this, its pretty much at its end anyway. But yeah the plan for after is two weeks of very big biking in the alps.

Now, less time here, more time on it 🙂

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And that'd be a second chapter done.

*tick*

3 to go.

had great fun doing mine and once you get into it you'll start racing through the writing.

My first postdoc took me to the US where I'd always wanted to live (spent more time climbing, 'boarding and biking than in the lab!) and then came back to the UK to do another one. Then did a year in industry. By which time I was bored of the area and had a total career change and joined the police.

Some of my current colleagues think I've wasted my PhD. The above says otherwise!

A chapter a week, that's some trucking.

I was so fed up with mine at the end that I couldn't be bothered to bind my personal thesis copy and never did.

I did a phd vicariously - I lived ever high and low of Mrs (Dr) North's.n

She was so fed up with it at the end - especially after the brutal last few days before handing in - that it took around 3 years of me nagging to have a bound copy of her thesis (and masters thesis) at home.

It sits on a book shelf, never opened. In her words: "They say everyone has got a book in them. This is mine".

Good luck!

I was so fed up with mine at the end that I couldn't be bothered to bind my personal thesis copy and never did

Snap, 5 years on I think I should get it printed and bound.

A chapter a week, that's some trucking.

Easy enough when you have all your data run, publiseh papers already on the topic, and have the ability to survive on coffee.

It will need edits...dont get me wrong

Good to know I am not the only one who still hasn't printed and bound their PhD!

My girlfriend has a soft printed version of hers that was a submission to her intern. Thats all, don't think she wants a copy of it eitherway!

coffeeking - Member
A chapter a week, that's some trucking.

I regularly hit 1000 words a day target by 2pm when i was writing up, so i could see it being possible. Tough going to do 10,000+ a week though.

And i'm another who only has a soft bound version (pre-viva iirc).

I can remember getting the train from London to Newcastle for my viva and thinking I realy should open it up and have a quick look. Couldnt be bothered though!

I regularly hit 1000 words a day target by 2pm when i was writing up, so i could see it being possible. Tough going to do 10,000+ a week though.

Agree, pulled 12,000 last week for more or less 1 chapter plus a bit.

If you know what you are doing and are in the correct mindset it is a lot easier.

Friday for example 2,200 words- all keepers.
Today < 100 - mostly crap.

Good days, bad days. Oh well.

you only doing 5 chapters? maybe that's something i should consider.

since last posting i now have chaps 2,3,4 and 8 in review with supervisors. 5 and 6 hopefully in full draft by end of next week.

out of interest my current aim is 3,000 words a day. but actually averaging 1800. not a lot of time left. currently remote desktopping to a spare computer to do data analysis/further simulation at the same time as writing up.

think i may soon go mad.

holiday booked for 27th June. IT WILL BE DONE.

Yep only 5 chapters...only...hah.

Well intro chapter I dont count, not bibliography nor appendix

so ch2 - lit reviee
ch3- jockey work
ch4- search and rescue work
ch-5- cycling work
ch -6 overall discussion/conclusion

So more like 8 chapters, but only 5 real ones.

Another one done today, aiming for 9th July here, not sure if it'll happen but we shall see.

All 'chapters' are in and done, first full set of edits back on 4 chapters.

This is harder than actually writing with it, dealing with peoples edits to my ideas. Strange.

Ideal aim was making a July 9th submission date...wondering if that is possible now.

Glum.

feel your pain. lets start a support group.

my aim for 27th has slipped...

everything drafted except discussion chapter.

some not great comments back from supervisors on the first few chaps.

brill.

similar to me then, lots of words, much to be removed. Am quite thankful the weather has been poo or I'd have sacked it off to ride bikes.

Annoys me that my supervisor, who cant understand anything bar MS Word, gets uber cranky at type issues that occur due to writing in LaTex. Then when asked to view a PDF says 'no, its easier this way'

No sir, it is not.

*deep breath*

Show them how to add annotations to PDFs.

Also, just cos you have comments saying something is wrong/needs to change, you don't have to go with them! You should be the world expert on your tiny niche, if you can defend something, you can leave it in.

6,000 words chopped out in 3 days. think PhD is better for it, but a bit saddening.

was told to stop working day and night as supervisors had limited resources/were going on holiday and thus my deadline was unreasonable... as they wouldn't put in any extra hours to read my drafts.

cheers.

I agree with not accepting certain edits, there are a few I've not been, and refusing to actually 🙂

As for the PDF annotation...dont even get me started.

having a meeting tomorrow, will be the 'when can I stop writing things' meeting> I cannot wait.

FYI, you can edit an entire chapter, and get an hour bike ride in the mud in with the help of a bucket of haribo.

WIN of an evening actually.

I agree with not accepting certain edits, there are a few I've not been, and refusing to actually

A point about this though - you need to be able to talk whoever suggested the edits round to your way of thinking, and agree they were wrong. If you can't do that, the viva will be tough...

need to be able to talk whoever suggested the edits round to your way of thinking, and agree they were wrong. If you can't do that, the viva will be tough

Agree 100%, had a sit down with supervisor and explained those sections, he understands now, wso we've a nice compromise going.

We also agree'd that the submission date, 9th July, was a bit tight for our liking, so pushing back to 1st weekend in August. Annoying, but all the actual words are down, just a matter of making less and a better order.

Strange, but I feel more relaxed due to it. Which is nice.

Strange, but I feel more relaxed due to it.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel has that effect 🙂

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel has that effect

I just assumed that was a train coming toward me.