What is the subject?

I found my degree thesis recently. It was utter, utter rubbish. 😕

The guy can’t have read it as it passed.

You’ll just end up working in Mcdonalds anyway so pack it in now and take to the hills with your camera and a flask of tea

Conclusion: The butler did it.

I found the last few weeks the hardest. It wasn’t the writing of it, it was the “what comes next”. In the end, I cancelled all engagements, took time off work and battered through it. By then I knew it was good enough to pass and it was just about time on task. When it was all over, I walked away from the field and never went back. Ime, those who have done a PhD tend to downplay it and just see the faults in the work and resent the time spent on it. It’s taken me a few years to actually feel good about the experience and see the positives in the work and in myself.

I could not believe how thorough the examiners were in reading. Fair play to them I couldnt even be bothered to look at it on the train from London up to newcastle for my viva. They found all the faults!! My honesty in admitting which were the shit bits and which were the better bits seemed to scupper most of their grilling though!

Of course, as we both know, PhDs are not now, nor have they ever been, about employment.

They are supposed to be about knowledge and… dare I say… wisdom.

Philosophia and all that.

Almost there, good work! I remember struggling through the final weeks of mine, all I wanted was to be shot of the thing… but people kept helping me ‘improve’ it. To be fair I do think I submitted the PhD thesis with the greatest number of typos.

The feeling of walking home at 3 am on a summers night after finally, finally, finally finishing still lives with me as the absolute definition of relief.

Keep at it, it’s worth it just to not have to do it.

You got the Viva and corrections to go…I was in the same position as you 19 years ago…:)

I handed in my thesis when it was finished <does not understand title>.

I bought myself a new bike when I finished mine. That’s how excited I was.

Oh, those were the days.

I ended up in a similar situation to the OP. I actually swapped house with a mate, into a room with no distractions, and a new set of housemates I did not really know or have an association with. Really helped me to knuckle down and finish. However, of course, we did not have internet back in those days. Heaven knows how I would have finished if we had. Having literally taken a completely different track with my life since doing all that stuff 20 years ago I sometimes have a read of my Thesis and cannot believe I am the same person who wrote it.

Funny how life turns out 🙂

Just think yourself lucky, it took me about 10 years to finish my PhD, but unlike others above it was actually one of the things that got me my current job… well, along with being a mountain biker!

Bloody hell finished my first one with nearly three months too spare lol. And when I did my degree in marine engineering I had something like five months before it was due!

Pull your finger out son and get it done.

250 pages… pfttt.

Thesis just submitted and you’re still in a fit state to post on STW? Must try harder!

Anticlimax?

Mine was.

Wait till your viva for a bigger one.

Also – well done, go get pissed and puke on your supervisors car. Or mine, that would be nice too.

Dr. Greg.

Good look for your viva!

I have 4 months left to submit…been going for nearly 5 years now.

Still enjoy it but can’t wait to be finished.

its such an anticlimax handing it in. You think you’ve done a big deal yet the woman over the desk just says thanks and have you filled out the correct forms. What got me was the depression that happened afterwards as you’re life suddendly becomes empty.

If you actually know your stuff then the viva will be a peice of piss to get through. mine was 3.5 hours and it flew by.

266 pages is on the meaty side, do you have lots of pictures, tables, appendies? My uni library has stats that show you how many times your thesis has been downloaded which is pretty cool.

It’s been 21yrs since I handed mine in! Blimey. I never did around to binding my own copy and threw out the unbound copy a few years ago. It was a great feeling of relief to pass more then anything else but I’ve been more nervous about the viva for PhD students that I’ve supervised since then. Good luck OP with the viva.