Hi All,

Thanks for your advice. I'm currently leaning towards the 'if I feel like this now when it's all new and "exciting", when I could change the project now before I start going fully, how am I going to feel when it actually goes bad?' Did anyone really think they might actually drop out before they even start? I've spoken to a few people now and they've all said the love of the project carried them through the hard times.

My supervisor is away at the moment, so I am going to find out about the process of dropping out and try and weigh up the alternatives. A request for more advice to those (ex-funded students) who have dropped out of a PhD - What money did you have to pay back? Like tuition fees and the money you've already received from the funding body/money you've already spent out of the funding?

Thanks

You don't have to pay back anything you've spent, I think.
I'm one of the members who dropped out of his doctorate. I would say listen to your gut - make an informed decision, but don't stick it out just because others say tere's a chance it might get better - only you know how your personal situation may play out. I think it could be dangerous to advise anybody on either quitting (could ruin something great) or staying on (could be wasting their lives when they should really be doing something else). As such I say weight up your options and consider how you feel about it all. Quitting mine was totally the right decision. Let us know what you decide!

Hey,

Thanks for that advice, Guitarman, have you started another position? Did you drop out early on? I'm worried that this will completely screw up any chances of me getting onto another PhD position if I wanted to reapply in the future. This is really stressing me out, I can hardly sleep for worrying, so I think that my gut is saying no - but it's hard to make a rational choice with this panic going on in my head.

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2009 11:18:06 =======
Read my thread 'Seriously Thinking About Quitting' - it was an epic battle of worry and anxiety on my part. It wasn't working out with my supervisor - he let me go on for a while and then told me he didn't think I had the motivation. He was right, but could have said something sooner. I was tempted to stay for the money - but now I see I could NEVER have done that. Several years is a LOOONG time. In the end I was freaking out big-time, it felt like the end of the world, I was pretty depressed (especially given the economic situation!!). But then I told those involved, deferred to the MSc, and now I have a new job to go to! I don't think I'd ever enrol on a doctorate again but if you do quit (not saying you should, that's up to you!) then I do believe you'd still have a chance of starting another PhD if you wanted. All they really want is cheap labour and research papers!

For me, leaving was just the right thing to do. I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn't working out - I was unhappy and all those who knew me knew about it. Just do whatever is RIGHT, don't think about the money or what other people think. Have some courage, go over what YOU want, how YOU feel - you only get one life, so make the right choice for yourself.

EDIT - it is never the end of the world. If somebody reacts badly then that's their problem, but I think you'll be surprised at how accommodating people can be.

Hey Guitarman, So having read your post, I feel like perhaps it's not all bad, you had so so much to go through, I'm pleased for you it's all worked out in the end. For myself, I've emailed my funding body for advice, and found out that dropping out probably wouldn't affect anyone really that much, but I think perhaps I haven't given it a good enough go. I know my supervisor would be willing to talk about life crisis type problems, I just guess I haven't felt confident to actually say anything, and they're away for the next week. I think that I would be happy treating this like a job, and frankly there's nothing really out there that I want to do, I have a good degree but no managerial/office/team etc experience, but a lot of those kind of jobs frankly sound boring to me, I think I have been pretty rash. It's just when you read about or speak to people who always say that their PhD was the hardest, most gruelling experience, but the love of the subject kept them going, that's where I feel I faulter. But then the terror of the job market scares me too. I'm trying to calm down and write a list of pros and cons...

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2009 12:18:52 =======
List of pros and cons is what I did. I have that list to this day lol!
Well, if you stay then best of luck - I hope not to see you back even more stressed than before! Not meant in a negative way, but I didn't expect you to quit. Although drop-out rates are quite high, I've seen many a person on here reveal all then carry on - only to come back at a later date with the same problems! Perhaps you're right and it's just a temporary bad reaction - as long as you're being true to yourself. There's only one other person from here I know who dropped out and was an immense help to me, but unfortunately has now disappeared!
What is your degree in? If it's engineering then I know LOADS of jobs are going at the moment...
Good luck and hope you're happy with your choice!

Nah if i had a relevant degree like engineering I wouldn't feel like the job market was unapproachable, I have a degree in biology... So yeah, I haven't really given this the most fair chance, I feel like I'm just wandering around in bewilderment at what to read, and concerned that what I am drawn towards isn't actually what I'm supposed to be reading. I will talk through with my supervisor properly, and I think that maybe I should speak to student support type people too, you said that was really helpful right?

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2009 13:25:57 =======
So you're saying that if you had an engineering degree, for example, you might have taken the plunge and gotten a job instead? Think carefully on this one...
Yes, the student support was recommended to me - a free service for your benefit, so why not give it a go? Be honest, it's confidential.

EDIT - I don't know any biologists but I always thought it was a 'useful' degree, no? Is it mainly research you go into with something like that then?

Yeah, Biology degrees are pretty much only set up for research, specifically I did zoology, so it's not the most impressive degree wrt job skills, I did want to do research, but I think my motives got confused, I really think that quitting now might be the best option for me, it seems obvious from my gut feelings (I can't sleep, it's all I think about) that I made a mistake in choosing this subject. I think I might go speak to student support right now,

You are most certainly not being pathetic - I lived over 500 miles from my boyfriend for over a year and we could only afford to see each other once a month. I for one know how difficult it is to be away from your loved ones. Stay strong and good luck with everything.