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fract
[Registered User]
02 February 2017 06:42
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Problems after prelims - how to complete my thesis
User: fract - 02 February 2017 06:42
Hi everyone, this is my first forum post and I've found this site really insightful and helpful. Thank you. I am a doctoral candidate at a major U.S. university, in my fifth year of the PhD program. I have passed all coursework and both qualifying and preliminary exams without problems and I have a very good committee with top professionals in my field (which is related to information science). My dissertation proposal was accepted without revisions (and with very positive comments) last year. I generally believe in my topic, I think it has potential to make major contribution and it is exciting. In principle. However, there are problems. Due to my unfavorable loan terms, I have to pay back my loan now and work to meet monthly payments - I have a contract with my employer that I work four days a week. I hate my industry job. My research is not progressing at all, I should be collecting data via experiments (user testing) which involves a lot of planning. I've been diagnosed with depression. I feel desperate and I have lost focus and I feel my topic is way too trivial, I have hard time believing my committee when they say this is actually super cool and important. I have made two publications along the years (at minor but legit conferences), one of them is kind of related to my research. I have been a research assistant for four years, however mostly at a private research facility affiliated with the university, so I was not allowed to publish anything, and it didn't contribute to my (thesis) research. I needed to get the tuition waiver so I didn't really have a choice! Now I fear that this arrangement and current situation either prevents me from completing my PhD or at least prevents a real academic career (postdoc, tenure etc.). It has been a very long road to get this far. I don't want to quit. Please offer some advice. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
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TreeofLife
[Registered User]
02 February 2017 10:31
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User: TreeofLife - 02 February 2017 10:31
Sounds difficult. When do you see yourself finishing? Can you do the PhD part time? Do you have enough data to write up now?
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fract
[Registered User]
02 February 2017 10:37
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User: fract - 02 February 2017 10:37
Quote From TreeofLife: Sounds difficult. When do you see yourself finishing? Can you do the PhD part time? Do you have enough data to write up now? Difficult to give a timeline, but as soon as possible... Part time is the only possibility. I don't have the actual data yet, except for a small pilot study that I did last year (which was the basis for the dissertation proposal). However I am in the process of gathering that data via user testing in the following months, assuming I am able to pull it through.
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newlease36
[Registered User]
02 February 2017 23:15
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User: newlease36 - 02 February 2017 23:15
sounds really tough. I'm not experienced enough to advise. can you talk to your supervisor /grad student support advisor about the possibility of switching to part time to allow you finish and still work to pay off your loans. A better solution would be if you could negotiate with the bank for an extension on your loan repayments. Seems like you have come so far, and are a strong candidate, I hope you find a solution.
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fract
[Registered User]
03 February 2017 11:53
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User: fract - 03 February 2017 11:53
Quote From newlease36: sounds really tough. I'm not experienced enough to advise. can you talk to your supervisor /grad student support advisor about the possibility of switching to part time to allow you finish and still work to pay off your loans. A better solution would be if you could negotiate with the bank for an extension on your loan repayments. Seems like you have come so far, and are a strong candidate, I hope you find a solution. Well I am not really researching "full time" at the moment. This is the best I can do I think. Also I have already negotiated with the bank, it used to be worse. Thank you.
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