Dear All,
It seems to me that a support group for graduate students is a very good idea. Often the PhD period is very stressful, sometimes to the point of tragedy. It seems therefore of the outmost importance that graduate students find a place where they could turn to find support and ecouragement by people that have gone through it or that are going through it.
It would also be important that there is a way the students can voice their concerns in a confidential form, if they feel they need to keep their names confidential.
Despair is a common trend amongst graduate students, and my message is relax, a lot of people have gone through it, and the majority eventually goes through. And what happens to those who do not go through is not terribly tragic either.
Life is beautiful even when you are not successful. Not to put down success, but in my view the success that matters is what we give to others, and although a PhD can help a lot, one does not really need a PhD to give to others.
All the best,
Nicolas Lori
----- Original Message -----
From: Katherine Sang <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, April 28, 2006 11:48 am
Subject: Re: Giving up a PhD...
To: [log in to unmask]
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I see the beginnings of a support group for PhD students here! I
> am in the
> final year of mine, but I wouldn't say I am in the final stages!
> Every day I
> make a tiny bit of progress but it seems like a mammoth task. I
> wish now,
> that I had just picked one thing / model to test, tested it,
> written up and
> not tried to be so clever by combining quants and quals!
>
> Anyhoo...I hope we can all post of here and get some support when
> we need
> it. Anna I am so pleased you have decided to stick it out...the
> more women
> sticking out their PhDs and entering the profession / academia the
> better I
> say!
>
> Kate
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "0071844s" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 6:43 PM
> Subject: Re: Giving up a PhD...
>
>
> > Dear Doctors-to-be.
> >
> > I too like so may others Im sure have had an absolutely horrific
> time with
> my
> > PhD for so many reasons and wanted to give up so many times. I never
> thought I
> > would see the light at the end of the tunnel. Im at the stage
> now of
> having
> > passed my viva. IN ways I still cant believe it as I never
> thought Id get
> this
> > far. The main thing that kept me going was that it would be such
> a loss to
> > drop out as I had so much time spent at it by then. Of course, I
> too had
> > worries about paying back funding I received, thankfully it
> never came to
> > that. Keep on going is all I can say and eventually some day it
> will be
> all
> > over.
> > Cheers
> > Colette
> >
>
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