How to Survive Your PhD is your insider's guide to avoiding mistakes, choosing the right program, working with professors, and just how a person actually writes a 200-page paper When you're getting your PhD, you never know what surprises to expect. But now, you can be prepared! How to Survive Your PhD is your step-by-step guide to the right way to tackle every part of the doctoral process. Getting your PhD is not an easy process, and the decisions you make before and during your doctoral work can mean the different between having a PhD in four years or eight, Jason Karp has been there – and made the mistakes – and he shows you just what to avoid, what you should be doing, and how to make the best use of your time and resources. Plus insider tips on: Choosing Your School Dealing with Finances Picking the Right Academic Advisor Researching the Dissertation Managing Your Time The Exams Tricks of the Trade The Defense And so much more

This book is written by a successful survivor! This clear and supportive text provides a detailed synthesis of, and rationale for, the key issues involved in a PhD and is highly recommended for anyone contemplating embarking on a PhD programme - it should be read from start to finish before starting the journey and consulted at regular intervals throughout the journey using the lists of dos and don’ts as checklists at strategic milestones along the way. Professor Eleri Jones, Professor Emerita, Cardiff Metropolitan University Dr Iornem presents the topic of a PhD journey in the same way as he undertook the journey itself: with enthusiasm and joy. Any student wanting to tackle this daunting task should use this book as a guide and as a motivator. Dr Iornem recognizes the hurdles and the fears which face a research student and addresses them with realism, pragmatism and humour, based on his own personal experiences. Dr John Koenigsberger, PhD supervisor: Cardiff Metropolitan University; University of Wales, Trinity St. Davids From development of the research proposal to preparing for the viva voce and post-doctoral career options, this handy survival guide provides an invaluable source of advice and inside knowledge on the entire PhD process. All stages are explained in simple terms, and potential pitfalls are clearly highlighted, along with how to avoid them. This accessible, informative and engaging book is highly recommended as essential reading to anyone considering undertaking a PhD. Dr Hillary J. Shaw, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research on Austerity, De Montfort University The doctorate is an emotional and academic journey, filled with dilemmas and obstacles that are normal for every student. Offering a new perspective to help navigate and adjust to a new environment and culture of learning, this book seeks to answer questions like: •What if my research is not up to a PhD standard? •What makes a thesis original? •What if I cannot finish the course before the stipulated 3-year period? •What kind of training do I need before commencing a PhD? Drawn from the author’s own experience, alongside the stories of other students and graduates, the book illustrates possible solutions to the academic and emotional challenges faced by today’s PhD student. Key features: 1.Reflections from contemporary PhD students and graduates. 2.Comprehensive table of contents including research, proposal writing, avoiding plagiarism, publishing, and preparing for the viva voce. 3.Accessible and practical approach to the common problems faced by today’s doctoral students. 4.Conversational style for an easy-to-read experience, particularly useful for international students whose first language is not English. 5.Simplified coverage of the research journey in a logical step-by-step format from pre-application to the final Thesis Defence. Essential reading for students and supervisors, A Social Science Student’s Guide to Surviving Your PhD will also be of use to international students seeking to gain further insight into the application process and the demands of research degrees in the UK. Dr Kohol Shadrach Iornem is a senior lecturer at the International Foundation Group, London, UK, where he teaches Business Management, Organisational Behaviour and Study Skills. He is also the Director of Programmes at London Graduate School.

This career guide surveys the rewarding job opportunities that can be found outside academia. Experienced professionals from a variety of nonacademic fields offer insider tips to help readers establish successful careers. After years of hard work and many long hours, you've finally finished your dissertation and earned your doctorate. You've persevered through many challenges, but one dilemma still lies before you: What will you do with your degree? Many graduates go on to pursue academic careers -- but academia isn't for everyone. This career guide examines the rewarding opportunities that await social and behavioral science doctorates in nonacademic sectors, including government, consulting, think tanks, for-profit corporations, and nonprofit associations. Jennifer Brown Urban and Miriam R. Linver have gathered experienced professionals to provide an insider's look into their respective fields. They explain why they chose their paths, the challenges they overcame, and how they applied their PhDs to make a difference in the real world. Chapters offers tips for leveraging support from mentors, conducting job searches, marketing your degree and skill set, networking, and preparing for interviews. This expert guidance will help you decide what career is the best fit for you.

"Mastering Your PhD: Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond" helps guide PhD students through their graduate student years. Filled with practical advice on getting started, communicating with your supervisor, staying the course, and planning for the future, this book is a handy guide for graduate students who need that extra bit of help getting started and making it through. While mainly directed at PhD students in the sciences, the book's scope is broad enough to encompass the obstacles and hurdles that almost all PhD students face during their doctoral training. Who should read this book? Students of the physical and life sciences, computer science, math, and medicine who are thinking about entering a PhD program; doctoral students at the beginning of their research; and any graduate student who is feeling frustrated and stuck. It's never too early -- or too late! This second edition contains a variety of new material, including additional chapters on how to communicate better with your supervisor, dealing with difficult people, how to find a mentor, and new chapters on your next career step, once you have your coveted doctoral degree in hand.

Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block. Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat. It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.” In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.

Everything you ever need to know about making it as a scientist. Despite your graduate education, brainpower, and technical prowess, your career in scientific research is far from assured. Permanent positions are scarce, science survival is rarely part of formal graduate training, and a good mentor is hard to find. In A Ph.D. Is Not Enough!, physicist Peter J. Feibelman lays out a rational path to a fulfilling long-term research career. He offers sound advice on selecting a thesis or postdoctoral adviser; choosing among research jobs in academia, government laboratories, and industry; preparing for an employment interview; and defining a research program. The guidance offered in A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! will help you make your oral presentations more effective, your journal articles more compelling, and your grant proposals more successful. A classic guide for recent and soon-to-be graduates, A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! remains required reading for anyone on the threshold of a career in science. This new edition includes two new chapters and is revised and updated throughout to reflect how the revolution in electronic communication has transformed the field.

This comprehensive manual offers direction for every step of the thesis or dissertation process, from choosing an appropriate topic to adapting the finished work for publication.