What counties are you including in your area of the Northwest of England?

I think either way its a sense of the grass being greener the other side of the Atlantic, whichever side you are on! As an American in the UK, there is I notice a lot of interest in US universities, but the same seems true the other way, a lot of interest in the US in UK universities! I think sometimes one discounts where one is--again, both sides of the Atlantic. In some measure, the PhDs are not the same, as the research PhD programme in the UK varies completely from the taught PhD programe in the US. And in my field, law, there is no such thing as a PhD in law in the US--perhaps combined with a JD degree, but its NOT the same in any respect to a PhD in law in the UK. So in my case, its apples and oranges, this degree does not exist in the US! So how will a PhD from the UK in law be received in the US which has no such thing? WHO KNOWS?!

It very well could be that they do not remember that they gave you contrary advise! In which case, you might think about whether its of any use to write up notes of your meetings and email them to the supervisors, just so that there is an agreed upon plan of action...and if they DO give contrary advise you could simply refer to the notes and say...well, my understanding from last meeting was...and point to it...and show where you have tried to incorporate that. They might be able to clarify that what sounds contrary is not...or maybe just have that memory refresher of what they have thought before..and now are giving different information.

I wonder if its just a bad week going round...I HAVE been in (mild) tears more than once this week, about various things but mainly I think just the accumulation of stress and strain. I am having a nice day out tomorrow. Even my supervisor has said--TAKE A DAY OUT GET OUT OF HERE!

Following up on Smilodon's suggestion, can you put together a chapter plan that includes the comments or revisions they suggested AND those bits from your previous work that you feel should be included--and be able to state a case for WHY you want to have the chapter organised in such and such a fashion?

That said, whatever a chapter is about, its about trying to mash together huge amounts of information, and its hard to boil down complex material into a comprehensible whole. Can you ask your supervisors to explain why their chapter plan works better than yours ( without being cheeky about it) or ask them to explain in more detail where your chapter fell short...other than, do it again our way?

So sorry to hear that Rosy =( that can be a horrible feeling when you think you have done some work that is pretty credible and it gets taken down...it can make you feel like you don't have a good sense of how to do the work or that all the work was in vain...

I think to some degree that comments are subjective--well, of course comments are subjective, there is nothing really objective about any of the evaluation of work, quite frankly. So on another day or with another panel you might have gotten different responses.

You don't know--and you cannot put a price on health and happiness. It was the memory of that waitress job experience that gave me the courage to leave my work and come to the UK to finish my PhD.

That is a very long-winded way of saying that no decision is forever foreclosing something. It FEELS that way in your mid-twenties but a few decades on, you will learn ( by hard and good experiences) it is not so.

Best of luck no matter which decision you take--there are no wrong decisions--just choices.

I moved in temporarily with my parents and took a job as a waitress at a local restaurant, just to have a source of SOME income. That, oddly, opened up all sorts of doors for me! The owner of the restuarant was best mates with a lawyer in town who ran a not for profit helping people in need sort of agency, and got me an interview--I got a job, and that set me on the career path I have been on, in a very specialised field of law that I enjoyed ( most of the time). So--being a waitress opened that door for me. Having the guts to quit a miserable situation and eat my pride and be a waitress turns out to have been the right move, and one that created a grand opportunity for me--that MIGHT NOT have been there had I not been a waitress for a few weeks.

Was it mad to quit a job in that market and become a waitress? Yes and no. Ultimately, it was not. That is not to say every move will yield a benefit, but on the other hand, it might.

I wish you the best in your decision, but what ever it is, take the time to make the right one for YOU. If you do decide to not pursue a PhD at this time, it does not mean NEVER doing one. RJB is a great example of how sometimes you improve things if you decide to have the courage to say a certain situation/timing is not right. You MAY in fact open up the door for better things.

I was miserable in my first year out of law school, practicing in a small firm. I was fortunate to have a job at all, given the very depressed and crowded job market at the time. But feeling grateful for the job did not erase the utter misery. So--after thinking it over and consulting with family and friends--but owning MY choice---I quit.

It seems lots of people have a goal of going to the US after their British PhD--and I have to ask, why? Is it a better job market ( which probably depends upon your area) or does working in the US look better if you want to work later in another country? Or is it just a general desire to live in the US? Having come from the US to get a UK PhD I am just curious about traveling the other way across the Atlantic. What's the attraction?

The posts of people who have left their PhD for whatever reason and are now pursuing them again or some other option are far more valuable contributions, and far more appropriate, than posts slagging off those very people.

Who is one of the people in my life most happy for ME about being in the UK pursuing a PhD? My ex-husband. He knows its my dream, and one I will work hard to achieve. Its also something I would not be doing if I were married to him--and he is well aware of that too. So what on earth is wrong with this? Nothing.

Assigning these very pejorative and judging labels on actions and making sweeping generalisations and unhelpful statements is out of order.

I would rather read a post from someone asking for a free posting or something.....its more suitable to this forum, as unsuitable as those may be.

FURTHERMORE WHY SHOULD PEOPLE WHO GOT DIVORCED THEN RESIGN THEMSELVES TO A LIFE OF BITTER ACRIMONY? THAT PROFITS WHOM? QUITE FRANKLY IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE, THEN YOU WILL WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM WHETHER IT INCLUDES YOU OR NOT. THAT IS WHAT LOVE IS--ITS AN UNSELFISH EMOTION THAT DOES NOT SEEK SELF GRATIFICATION FIRST. IF PEOPLE WHO LOVE(D) EACH OTHER COULD NOT MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK OUT BETWEEN THEM WHY SHOULD THEY NOT BE FRIENDS OR FRIENDLY IN THE AFTERMATH OF TEH MARRIAGE, AS IN THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. YOU DO NOT TURN LOVE OFF AND ON LIKE A TAP AND IF, THIS BEING A BIG IF, THOSE PEOPLE LOVED EACH OTHER THEN THEY WILL FIND IT VERY NATURAL TO WANT THE BEST FOR THE OTHER--EVEN ADN ESPECIALLY FOLLOWING A DIVORCE.

IF SOME OTHER RESULT OCCURS, QUESTION WHETHER THE EMOTION BETWEEN THEM WAS REALLY LOVE OR SOMETHNG ELSE.

Failure might in fact be measured by not having the courage to leave an unsuitable situation, whether it is a job, a marriage or a PhD. So the reference to leaving a PhD as failure is bang out of order--no matter to whom your post is addressed. Would you call a battered woman a failure for leaving her abusive marriage? Would you call a prostitute a failure for leaving that profession and becoming a grocer or a lawyer or a banker? Would you call a drug addict a failure because they could not stay on drugs but choose a different life? The point being IF SOMETHING IS UNHEALTHY FOR YOU IT IS FAILURE TO REMAIN NOT FAILURE TO LEAVE

And last but not least...I DO and DID give my self permission to decide to back out of this...and that is how I came to the realisation that it was something very important to me to complete. In a sense I only got there though by really analysing it and making to myself very real the option of NOT doing it. Give yourself permission to walk away from it...and then see if that does not help clarify what you want and why.