Should I quit my Ph.D?

Question

My Ph.D is going terribly, I've made little or no progress in my first year and have not even started the field based part of my research (on a native mammalian species). I feel that I'm doing it for all the wrong reasons; so that I don't let down family and friends, I'm terrified that they would think less of me if I was to pack it all in. I don't feel the excitment and joy of learning that I had as an undergraduate; I hate the fact that I've become unenthusiastic about something I had always been passionate about. I worry if I did quit I would regret it for the rest of my life. I feel that I won't have a chance in hell of getting a job after the Ph.D and wonder why I'm doing it. My academic supervisor has become uninterested in helping me and has been totally disinterested in the whole endevour, I'm also getting little support from technical staff in the department, who 'bend over backwards' for some other postgrads. I'm terrified because I don't know what I would do if I quit.

The funding organisation does not allow me to take a year break, and can hold me personally responsible if they deem the research to be unsuccessful; financially responsible! This is one of the reasons I'm thinking of getting out now, The thought of my research failing and having to get a job (withouit the qualification) and having to pay off a massive debt makes me feel physically sick

Answer 1

do what makes YOU happy. This is not a small decision, and although i am sure plenty of people will give you there opinion and advice, it is a decision that only you can make.

Try writting down pro's and con's for staying and for quitting. it often makes more sense on paper than in your head.

Good luck, trust your instincts and keep your chin up

Answer 2

I don't see any way to get through this level with no passion for what you're doing.

My suggestion? You already have an awesome education of which you should be very proud. You are already an academic success. Take time off of the education to get a job in your field of study. Make money. Go hands on with what you use to have such a passion for. Hopefully you'll get that passion back once you're able to see the practical application of all this hard work!

If so... you can always go back, slow track, to working on that PhD. People do it all the time, even in their 40's, 50's and even 60's! I think you're stagnating at this point because there is still no end in sight and tons of study left to do. Everyone burns out at some point... no matter how much passion for their field.

Quit the PhD process... the credits you've earned will still stand... get a job in your field where your natural love for your chosen profession will return as you put into place all you've learned. It can only gain you experience that will come in handy later on whether you return to the education process or not.

Best to you... what wonderful choices you have to make :)

Answer 3

If you don't quit you should at least take a break - you sound very burned out. You can try taking a year off to work, make some money, then go back if your interest revives.

One thing for sure is you should not work on a doctorate unless YOU want it - not your family, not your friends, YOU. It's too much work to force yourself to do you have to want it. And what do you want it FOR?

Doctorates are essential if you want to teach at the college level, and in some professions it's required to get certain jobs, but in many professions it's just a nice to have. If you're going to do all that work make sure it's worth it.

I never went for a PHD but I did start graduate school - twice. The first time was right after college and I was so burned out I couldn't work up any enthusiasm. I did poorly and dropped out. Seven years later I knew a lot more about my goals and was ready to put in the effort. That time I finished.

Make any sense?

Answer 4

Maybe if you showed some enthusiasm toward completing your Ph.D you would get some support from the people that are there to help you. They probably haved backed off because you are not showing any interest in completing. They probably figure, "Why bother?". My personal opinion is that you have invested all the years of education into accomplishing this goal, if you walk away now you will regret it. With the Ph.D degree in hand you have a much better chance of working in your chosen field. If you walk away from school, any prospective employer will look at that as a sign that you can't complete what you start out to do, and with the degree in your hand they will see that you are motivated to complete whatever you set your mind to doing.

Answer 5

OK, first off everybodies PhD goes terribly in their first year mine certainly did. If it doesn't they're in store for a big shock a few months later. Almost everyone goes through a period of hating their PhD's so if you have only been feeling like this for a short time stick with it and see how you feel a couple of months from now. Part of the nature of research is that it often doesn't go as you expect. Mine only really started coming together in the middle of my third year and then I suddenly started getting loads of results. Your best bet is to talk to your superviosr or if he is really unhelpful, there are other staff available to talk to. See if he/she thinks it is going as badly as you do, it may be that you have unrealisitic expectations for your first year.

On the other hand it may be that a PhD is not for you if you really hate doing it and have felt that for a while then I suggest you talk to your supervisor or postgraduate tutor about stopping. You may be able to change your PhD to an M.Phil and write up the years work so it is not wasted. You shouldn't worry to much about what your friends and family think and go with what is best for you. You shouldn't feel bad about it a lot of people quit after their first year.

Well good luck with whatever you decide I hope it all works out for you.

Answer 6

Think twice if you are going to quit.
I lost interest in my studies and chose to just go out and find any type of work with the qualifications I had from college. I thought I would be happier that way but now 3 years down the line I'm stuck with a job that is hard to get promoted in unless you are in with all the managers and if I chose to go for a half decent managerial role it would take me years to reach that goal.

I now wish that I had stuck to my studies just so that it would have made it a little easier to get where I wanted to be and made life easier on a better wage. Unfortunaltely I cant turn the clock back now as I have a house with bills to pay and a child to provide for and it's far too much to take on along with studying.

Even if you don't keep on at the Ph.D, perhaps try to take a different course or path in which may make you happier and more enthusiastic about still within further education.

One thing to remember in your decision though is to not turn yourself in who your family want you to be but what you want to be. After all you'll be the one who lives with the decision.

Answer 7

Instead of worrying about your PhD, why don't you take a sabbatical. And in that time that you are away from your University, get out into the field and get reconnected to the things that first made you enthusiastic about your field.

Maybe go to work for a native wildlife preserve, or volunteer to care for animals in a rescue operation. Find your enthusiasm, or not, and when your sabbatical is up, decide THEN what you need to do to move on with your life.

Maybe you have just become too bogged down in the politics of University life, and forgotten about the subject. Changing universities for your PhD thesis is not unheard of. Maybe you need to find an institution that has technical staff that could get enthusiastic over your work?

Answer 8

That's a tough question. Maybe you can do your Ph. D. in something else? I think you need to answer this question with your heart and not think of what others might think. This is YOUR decision, and YOU have to live with it.

I am currently doing my 2nd degree part-time. I only have one course left that starts next week. I too have lost my passion for my degree and can't wait until it's done. I've come this far, so I feel I pretty much have to finish it now, and my work is paying for the course/book. If I lost my passion early on, I probably would have saved my money (I paid for most of my courses/books, switched jobs last year, new employer pays for education.) I decided to get my 2nd degree to make me more valuable so I could get a job easier if I got laid off or wanted to change jobs.

If you are doing your Ph. D, you must be one smart cookie. I can't see that it would be hard to get a job? Maybe a government job would be good? Good luck!!

Answer 9

You need to think about yourself and not your friends and family. Any true friends and loving family will understand and sympathise with you and will respect your decision. If you carry on worrying like this you will have a nervous breakdown and then you will cause yourself and your family endless heartache. Have a chat with your family and tell them how you feel and let them share your problem. Between you you should be able to come to the right decision. Lots of qualifications are not always the answer to everything. Better to go for job interviews with the CV you already have and your health intact than have a nervous breakdown which could mar your CV for a long time. Good luck.

Answer 10

I personally think you should quit. A PhD.D is only going to allow you to get a good job in the field you've specialised in (which you've already said doesn't interest you anymore - what makes you think a 40 year career in it will?)

I used to worry about just how far I would have to go in my graduate life before I was finally out in front of the others. A MSc or MBa is really as far as you'd want to go it turns out without over-specialising and restricting yourself to lecturing and research jobs as one of my lecturers thankfully informed me.

To please others is no reason to continue with your degree as it is you who has to live with the job at the end of it. I'd personally recommend finishing now and to hell with what everyone else says. You can even take the rest of that year out for travelling or something too, have some fun after your countless years of hard work.

Hope you come to a decision that's right for you soon.

Adam

Answer 11

One view is to look at what the degree will mean for you in the workplace. Can you be happy with a job that requires a master's?
Obviously, you are not a quitter to get this far. You have to want to achieve this for yourself in order to feel the satisfaction of accomplishment and make the sacrifice needed to complete the task. One could step back from the process for a term and use the time to think about what your goals are and what they should be.