I think I'd feel a bit guilty about being paid 60grand...sure I'm not worth that!
Not without a lifetime's experience anyway.

Thanks silverbobs, I completely agree with what you've just said! Yeah sometimes doing a PhD sucks but at least you have a degree of autonomy and on the whole it's so much more fun than completing tax returns. Having experience in the 'real world' (I hate that term!) makes me appreciate my PhD, but that's another topic for another day I'm sure.

hey, who's arguing They could pay me that if they want.

Not trying to start an argument at all but...

'The chances are that the 'HATE going into work every day' PhD brigade would hate going into ANY work everyday'.

Thats a tremdously sweeping statement isn't it?

'academia IS as fun as work gets'

Wow there another.

Sorry, but statements like that get my goat a little.

Back to my point, a little read through the forum will soon inform you that the general mood of the average PhD student is rather 'doom and gloomy'. I think thats what I was trying to get accross rather clumsily [obviously].

i agree to an extent with silverbobs and robber - the thing you don't have always seems so attractive compared to what you do have...
i think most of us have dabbed at the 'real world'. one of the reasons i decided to try for a PhD was that i had realised that the real world wasn't really better. i do tend to forget that, though, sometimes, especially when things are going badly, when i find myself asking myself "why oh why was i ever so stupid to start a PhD?"
that said, the 'real world' not being perfect doesn't make doing a PhD perfect. i suppose we just have to accept that the way things are, most people are never going to land a 'perfect' occupation, as there are drawbacks to everything.
that's why i put signs up in my room reminding myself why i am doing what i'm doing

Hi, ok - well I've been on both sides of the fence - I did my first degree and went into well paid jobs, and enjoyed it mostly because I really liked the people I worked with, and I had a life outside work. But I wasn't inspired by my work. Now, for me, it wasn't enough - but for most people, they are perfectly happy working 9-5 in a well paid job, with job security, a steady wage... yes, a lot of people aren't inspired by what they do, but their free time & good salaries makes up for it. For others, like me, it wasn't enough - I gave it all up to retrain and do a PhD. I now have no money, I'm in debt, I have no job security, and it's so stressful I spend a lot of time crying. Which may make you wonder why I'd do it - but despite the stress etc., I do actually love what I do, I love the freedom it gives you to explore ideas, and I wouldn't change my decision for anything.

...But neither option is right or wrong - it is entirely dependant on what YOU need. There's no rush for a PhD (though it's admittedly harder once you have a family/mortgage etc.) - do it if & when it feels right. Also, remember, if you do have a funded PhD position, there is a 1 year get-out clause – so if you don’t like it then you can pull out within a year, and it doesn’t reflect badly on the university & you could get a masters out of it so you don’t have a 1 year empty space in your cv. If you’re really doubtful – don’t do it.