If you have an excellent first degree from a Top university then leaving job perm at this stage is not going to do much harm. The job market has changed much since you got employed and is much difficult now to get a job of your own choice due to fierce competition. If you already have done some research and spent time reading on active topics in your areas (no prob if it's casual) then I will prefer direct entry to PhD. However you need to be very specific and should have a refined topic b4 start.

Finally he figured it out Welldone Cameron
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Politics
:-)

DanB: I think you and Algae live in the same city and met somewhere yesterday ;-)

(up) really wonderful reply.

======= Date Modified 21 Apr 2010 10:18:12 =======
Tony, it all depends in my view. I have seen people with $hitty thesises and work got successful and really intellectual ones failing. A wise man once quoted 'talent cannot be stopped its like a plant seed who has to emerge even feet deep buried under a rock'. We all know that racism exists in all societies and even some equal opportunity forms were being used to screen people out, but again its the talent thing its like Boyle who competed in xfactor and glory come to her despite being relinquished and abandoned. Some charmers do get their PhD aswell on that basis but again they will regret and ashamed every day when someone a student comes to em asking a question which they don't know about....? referring to my current adviser.

I think danB has choosen a wrong career. He should have been an army General where every body Salutes him even in the Gentlemen's room or may be he came back from a ship wreck ending up his younger times in an unknown pacific island where he was on his own taking charge on his own8-) Comeon danB this is real life...waky waky:-)

Sneaks is right. Studentships are dispersed internally despite advertisement which is just to keep equal opportunity records strate. Thats how I got mine as well.

If academia is not selfless and did not help you improve yourself than they are not worth it Iano dont deserve a second thought. Afterall, we have a working career of a limited number. Other things matter too.

lol

A good example could be that 'if they are currently using 3 axis machining and you can offer em 6 axis at a fraction of cost so that they can layoff 100 employees to save money then of course they will take you on board...otherwise not this is business afterall.

Is this one of those which department is keeping from last 9 years...lol they must have eaten a fortune for em..sry

http://www.photopost.com/photopost/data/5/white-fat-cat.jpg

sry never used spss. we program with matlab.

With the quality of the current supervision i can visualize myself graduating in after life anyway.:$ Poor Me. Just feeling so Unlucky.