Quitting my PhD

swillsy said:
If you are cool explaining to all future employers the reason for doing half a phd and quitting early then go ahead. It sounds like you at least like the subject but not the course, you will hate work more after a while. I wouldn't throw away those years spent on it already and complete it ASAP and get on with your life.
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On my CV I can say I spent a year researching a subject I felt was important and I also had a wardening role. I feel that it is certainly time to leave and I made a big mistake doing the PhD rather than accepting the job that I was offered last summer.
 
Moses said:
Is the MPhil not a year's worth of work? I'm sure a friend did the MPhil in his first year, and had to that to have his next two years of funding confirmed (so, he was initially given a year's funding to do the MPhil, with a further two years of funding to complete the PhD if he did the first year satisfactorily).
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I was on an MPhil, which gets changed (if you want) to a PhD after the first year of the MPhil. Afaik an MPhil is 70% of the work of a PhD so if you're going to do one you may as well do the PhD.
A PhD is not 3 years, that is just the time that you have funding for. The same applies to an MPhil but that is 2 years.

I have no love for the PhD. I started it with good intentions, but I did not really know what one truely was. With no dedication to a PhD it is not possible to complete it. It is unquestionably a better option to get out now then do so in the future when I was spent more time here. I am unhappy so I am changing my life for something I am absolutely convinced will make me happier. Two more years (at least) of feeeling trapped like this is something I do not want to endure. I feel that at just one year in I can talk about what I learnt whilst I was a 'research student' than simply 'Yeah I did it for 3-4 years then quit' - Now that truely is too long to not have a qualification for!

I still have the awards on my university course for getting top marks that I can chat about in interviews, along with my 1st Class B Eng degree. I will always be proud of myself for achieving that and nobody can ever take it away from me :).

I got absolutely spanked in my first year PhD viva in June (is really a 9 months review!) - They said my work is not novel and that I have some serious shortfalls. A PhD is not about what you do, it is about having to fully explain why you chose one method over the 20 others that could have done the job.
 
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What you are doing is not uncommon, and probably won't be a 'bad' decision in the longrun. If it's not right for you, then well done for recognising it relatively early-on and having a good escape strategy / afterplan.

Wish you all the best!
 
meghatronic said:
My only comment would be to think long and hard about it, as you've denied another candidate 2yrs of funding. Very, very selfish of you to go into a PhD for a bloody flat. Clearly the interviewing process needs to be refined somewhat as, by your own omission, you went into it for the wrong reasons.
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Funding money in the sciences is pretty plentiful compared to other fields. Also, look at it the other way: he doesn't have a clear dedication and passion for PhD level research, so by dropping and not completing it, he is freeing up two more years worth of funding that will no doubt go towards someone else now. Better that than to pointlessly eat up 3 years worth of funding/stipends, only to produce a mediocre piece of work that contributes absolutely zilch for the money, no?
 
Make sure you really think about this and discuss with some people first. No need to rush the decision. Wanting to quit is very common for he candidates, I wanted to several times.

Saying that, given your prior posts it is possibly the best idea. There is no point forcing your way onwards hating every moment. Things only get harder and more stressful as you progress in a phd. it is definitely better to free yourself now than continue with the suffering needlessly.

I don't know about the Uk so much but in most of the world there is at least a 30% attrition rate in the first year of a PHd, it is basically expected that at least 1/3rd of the people will drop out. Hck, I held write a rage funding proposal and when working out the finance numbers for phd that would be hired we incorporated a 35% drop out rate for the first year phd students.
I have known some very smart, very hard working and very nice people run to the hills screaming after 2-4 months, let alone 1 year. I nearly quit my phd at the end of the first year, my supervisor was horrendous, the project was flawed due to political issues, the work load was far more than I imagined ( and I was imagining 50-55 hours a week) , I also became massively disillusioned with science and academia. I hate a hellish time for nearly 5 years. 18 months since I finished and I am happy I persevered and the phd has been very useful to me already so I don't really know what to say to people considering thinking of doing one. Howver, I dropped academia instantly and I am far proffering working in industry. I currently do all the best bits of academic work- I research new solution to complex problems, read plenty of interesting papers, can write my own papers and patents, travel to related conferences, work with very smart people who are them selves ex-academics (profs from oxford, Stanford, MIT, phd grads from such places). The benefits are I work 40-50 hours a week not 60-70, I earn a large salary, I have far more freedom in what I do and my work style.
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
What a stupid comment. Of course the flat was a bonus - I certainly wasn't willing to live as a peasant whilst on PhD funding but it was in no way the reason for staying on.

PhD is not hard to get in sustainable manufacturing. in fact there are plenty of funded places available!
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I was trying to be a little harsh to make you consider, but it backfired a little. At the very least, you defended your position, so it is obviously what you want. At least you may find happiness without the PhD!
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
I came into a PhD because if I was a warden I got a free flat and the PhD was paid so I was getting paid to learn. Seemed to be a win-win situation. Clearly I went into the PhD for the wrong reasons.
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That was astonishingly dumb.

Oh well, there's no shame in changing your path in life. End it, and start looking for the next thing. Don't hang on pointlessly being miserable and wasting the time of everyone around you.
 
It's not that dumb really?

Have you considered that you might be going through depression which might be regardless of your circumstances?

It probably is the right decision, particularly so if you are convinced of it, and I wouldn't want to cast any doubts in your mind. But be prepared that with any major change you will probably experience up and downs whilst you adjust and settle in.

There is zero point in continuing to make yourself unwell if you are unhappy with things so I applaud you for taking the plunge and changing things and I hope it works out for you in your new job. My advice would be to try not to self reflect too much and minimize time spent indoors (I suspect doing a PhD is a bit more lonelier an undertaking than a degree so this is a factor that would definitely change for the better with a job).
 
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You need to talk to someone close to you within the university. See what is exactly wrong (The research? The supervisor? The lack of material? Lack of results? Personal circumstances?).

Surely there must be some 'PhD Anonymous' organisation that can help you. My brother and also my brother in Law did their PhDs, and it certainly didn't go smooth. Most people struggle at some point.
 
Nitefly said:
I am totally lost as to how quitting a phd can be linked to depression *shrug*
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The feelings and sense of worthlessness associated with depression could lead to someone feeling that quitting their PhD will alleviate those symptoms......Some depressive states can associate such feeling with a particular activity or part of a persons life, also what would normally be managable and normal stress levels can be heightening and predicate Panic and Anxiety attacks, again the depression associates these attacks with a particular part of a persons life and can predicate a desire to quit or changes something that under normal circumstances the individual would not countenance.

It is a difficult situation to be in particularly when you cannot objectively know whether the depression is a symptom of your desire to leave or whether your desire to leave is a symptom of depression.
 
sorry for skimming this, and only vaguely recollecting previous thread, but aren't OP's issues with his supervisor. And he has decided to quit without talking to anybody about his supervisor.

Yeah, that's sensible.
 
Castiel said:
The feelings and sense of worthlessness associated with depression could lead to someone feeling that quitting their PhD will alleviate those symptoms......Some depressive states can associate such feeling with a particular activity or part of a persons life, also what would normally be managable and normal stress levels can be heightening and predicate Panic and Anxiety attacks, again the depression associates these attacks with a particular part of a persons life and can predicate a desire to quit or changes something that under normal circumstances the individual would not countenance.

It is a difficult situation to be in particularly when you cannot objectively know whether the depression is a symptom of your desire to leave or whether your desire to leave is a symptom of depression.
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Meh if you think like that all the time you'd be contemplating whether you're depressed whenever anything doesn't run like clockwork.
 
Nitefly said:
Meh if you think like that all the time you'd be contemplating whether you're depressed whenever anything doesn't run like clockwork.
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I think you are confusing clinical depression with just feeling a bit under the weather or a bit stressed.....

Depression is really not "meh" to those that suffer from it. I am surprised at your attitude to what can be a pretty crippling mental illness.
 
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