Its interesting, I am not that interested in my subject area and although the title will be funny when i have finished - I have not signed up 3 + years of my life to get it. I started my PhD just to network with the right people in my field - without staying on to do a phd I would have lost a lot of important contacts for future jobs. Therefore, I do not treat my PhD as a 'journey' or something I really have to be in love with - I just treat it like it is the project I have to get on with for the next 2+ years, more like I am contracted into a particular job, rather than a PhD. But each to their own and if you are finding that you need a certain amount of interest in it then maybe its not for you.

I think its a difficult question - it depends on your field. I know that I would be unlikely to go into an academic job and would prefer to work as a scientist in the public sector. Therefore the 'quitter' status probably wouldn't be an issue because noone would really know what was involved. But for an academic job I am not so sure, in some ways it may look bad, but in another way, if you quit now and go and do something your more interested in doing maybe it will serve you better in the long run

I am in the same situation as you, just at the end of my 1st year and motivation plummeted recently. However, I am in such a small subject area, if I quit, I would never get a job in that area, or if I did everyone would know about my quitting and would be very embarrassed, the field is so cliquey. So I have not much option, just keep plugging away, but trying to turn it round so I am motivated to finish ASAP. Starting to think about doing something completely different afterwards like a year out or something makes me picture myself with a fat thesis under my arm in my graduation robes and telling people 'actually I'm a dr'.

Sneaks thinks Tricky could wear a hat to cover the haircut - now its getting colder

I would have to listen to a recording of what they said - I guess through headphones - and then speak it into the computer. Just thinking it may take less time....maybe

has anyone used dragon naturally speaking? I have to transcribe lots of spoken accounts and wondered whether this would work. I know you need to train it to your voice, so if I am interviewing others, I guess it wouldn't work unless I read out what they said??

Any info much appreciated

sneaks is frustrated by her supervisor meeting this week and now 'needing a montage' to get the work done.

I don't really read journals per say, rather articles. Obviously there are 2 or 3 big ones in my field that I look at when trying to write something up for publication. However, most of my reading comes from google scholar searches. I am a social scientist so I probably have references for hundreds of different journals - acorss many different social science subjects, e.g sociology, economics, psychology, management.

ooh is it so we can put silly pictures next to us rather than the little purple and orange people?

I think if I did win I wouldn't tell anyone, continue the PhD but just walk around with an irritating smug look all the time - this kind of thing fill my daydreams

Please let it be a counter that says "you have visited postradforum 200 times today, DO SOME WORK!!" I really hope it is - might make me feel more guilty

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I think I would pay off my supervisor to do my PhD for me while I sped about in my Aston Martin outside (while obviously offsetting my carbon footprint of speeding about by planting a huge forest somewhere).


Would you quit your PhD?

Would you tell anyone you had won it?