Yesterday I had my MPhil viva, which somehow I managed to pass, despite having spent the last two weeks worrying about it. I still have to make some minor corrections requested by the examiners—things like “this section would be clearer with a diagram”—but assuming that I complete those by Christmas, I’ll get the certificate sometime in the new year and will have five more letters to add after my name.
On top of the thesis corrections, my supervisor has asked me if I’d like to write a paper for a conference, which I’ve agreed to do (with help and guidance), but after mid-January (the conference deadline) I will have left academia altogether. This feels a bit strange, as for the last six years I’ve been either studying at or working for the University, or writing up my thesis. In some ways I regret not sticking with it for another year or so to get the PhD—I would have quite liked to be Dr Waring—but I don’t think my heart was really in it, and a research grant, albeit untaxed, pales somewhat in comparison with a full time salary.