tell me you went back to studying after children and it was okay.

[BBBee]

I am due to start a course on the 1st October and I am terrified. I can't imagine that I can even begin to do this and my confidence is completely shot to hell.

tell me you were scared and when you got there it was fine.

I was scared - then when I got there it was fine! ( But it was full of bean pole 18 yr olds!!)

But I love it- best thing I have ever done in my life.

what are you studying?

oh thank you tired emma - psychology. am more scared than I dare admit!

I did OU (am nearly finished now) so i didn't have all the scary face to face stuff - which i actually missed a lot.

It was hard work but definitely worth it. It was great to feel my brain come alicve again - i started being aware of what was going on in the world and having opinions again lol.

Good luck I'm sure you'll have a great time.

BBB - you're doing a PhD in psych, yes? I'm finishing a PhD after 2 years sort of out on maternity after the birth of my daughter. My project is largely psych based. What are you doing? I think half my brain came out with the placenta but hopefully it will regenerate. How old is your dc? Jill

Not doing a degree (yet) but still 4 yrs of studying - can recommend it for making you feel a bit more like a human being again!
It's not the easiest thing in the world but lots of self reward IYSWIM

Good luck - hope 1st Oct goes well xx

It'll be fine. Pre kids I did a degree in Zoology then PhD in Biology. When ds3 was 8 months old I started an MSc in Psychology which I've just finished and now have funding to do a PhD in Psychology which should start in the next month.

The biggest difference I've found pre and post kids is having less time. I can do a lot of the new PhD from home- I think I would have struggled with my first one with kids because it was entirely lab based, although perhaps it would have meant i was more organised and focused.

Get that confidence up & you'll be fine, the academic world is full of egos so remember not to take criticism (say after a talk) too much to heart. A good supervisor really helps.

I went to do an access course when dd was 2 & in the middle of the course I fell PG with ds. I give birth to him in December & went back to the course after the Xmas break. There's no denying that it is bloody hard work, but more than worth it in the end.

I am now entering my final year of a degree course & so far have absolutely loved it! My only problem has been childcare really..and even at that, it wasn't a huge problem.

Good Luck!!

Oh wow gess.. zoology! Respect!

Was it fantastic? Was it hard?

It's marvellous.

I am so much better at organising my time this time round. I can't beleive the difference between my first degree and this one.

Oooh gess!
I'm doing a psych degree now (did Biochemistry degree and PhD first time around). Am considering my options and thinking of maybe a PhD. Was it hard getting the funding?

Zoology was a fun degree Really enjoyed it and a great bunch of people. Lots of people from the course have ended up working at the BBC in Bristol and seem to love their jobs.

Re the funding for this PhD. It wasn't easy to get the funding. There seems to be far less around for the social sciences, whereas it was very easy to get the first PhD funding. The difficulty may partly be related to my subject area, autism (hot; lots of funding sources) but using conversation analysis (i.e. not cognitive, so harder to get funded). I do feel far more involved in this PhD. I wrote the project proposal etc. The ESRC turned it down, but I got department funding. We'd also started on applications for projects with me as a research assistant. Having said it wasn't easy I only had to put in 2 applications so it wasn't that hard. The interview for the department funding was a real grilling though (an hour), I was a bit manic by the time I left the room

Did my PGCE when ds was 6 and dh was anchored off of Iraq . It was hard work, I think that time before ds's bedtime when I was exhausted and still had to cook, feed the dog, help ds with homework, do the housework etc was the hardest part.

I found that the only way to cope was to be extremely organised; everything was on the calendar, ds had hot lunches at school at least twice a week (so that I did not have to cook!) and I let myself ignore some of the dust and wilting plants during the week.

Make sure you set yourself a reasonable bedtime and keep to it; there is no point staying up late to study if you are completely unable to parent the next day, shop online so you dont waste time trawling round the supermarket, and remember that most of the students on your course will not have children at home so don't compare yourself to them!

Good luck and enjoy yourself!!