Thanks for all the replies!

Yes, I have decided I don't want to stay in academia. I think over a couple of months I could get the rest of the data I need and then write up my thesis in the summer. My supervisor is quite keen on dragging it out and getting as many papers as they can out of me, this is not something I want however so I will have to be quite firm with them.

Rewt, glad you are enjoying industry! This is exactly the reason I want to want to pursue a career in industry, I did feel shame in not enjoying it but I'm feeling more confident in my decisions now. I want to get enough work together to form a PhD and then to begin my career and move on with my life! My sup doesn't seem to understand this and it is frustrating.

I'm currently in my final year of a 3.5 year PhD (engineering and applied machine learning), with 1 year left of funding.

I have one first author paper published, an additional second author paper, one conference paper (first-author) and a conference presentation too. I'm not writing this to brag, I just want to know if it feels like I have a hopeless chance of finishing on time.

The PhD experience has been odd for me, on the one hand I've really enjoyed the teaching work I've done, and I've got a lot better at scientific writing and programming. But on the other hand, I've hated what feels like a huge burden on my shoulders of this PhD - I feel like I would have much preferred the experience of research without knowing I had to get a PhD at the end of it and I do think I haven't coped too well with what feels like this burden.

I also know that industry suits me better, with shorter-term goals on the workload and so I do not wish to pursue a career in academia.

I've got a fairly clear view of what I need to do for the remainder of my thesis, and hopefully I can get two more papers out of it (maybe), but I'm finding it so hard to motivate myself to actually do it. I can't wait to be done with the PhD and to move on with my life!

Has anyone experienced similar? Do I even need 3 first author publications to get a PhD? At this point I would be content with doing what I need to do to get a PhD and then moving on.

Thanks

I am currently 1.5 years into my Engineering PhD in the UK. I have one conference paper (at a fairly low tier) conference from my first year, one conference presentation and am currently working on my first journal paper which I want to submit a draft for by May.

I have done a lot of teaching work in my first 1.5 years which has been great experience (and good pocket money!) though now I am moving away from the University. So for the remaining 21 months I will be able to purely focus on my PhD and not be distracted by teaching work prep.

Does it sound like I am on track? I constantly feel like I am behind.

Hypothetical scenario here.

Say I had 1.5 years of funding left on a full-time EPSRC funded Studentship, and I was offered a full-time industry position (not necessarily related to the PhD). Could I then:

Switch my funding from full-time to part-time, whilst also working in a full-time industry position. Assuming both that the job would be ok with this arrangement, as would EPSRC.

Does anyone have any experience with an EPSRC Studentship of doing exactly this?

I am half way through my second year of a 3.5 year funded ESPRC PhD.

For personal reasons, to be closer to family and partner I would like to move to my hometown in the South of the UK. I am at a University in the North of England.

My PhD can be completed from a remote laptop, as it is all computer simulation based. The only thing I would be missing out on is teaching opportunities, though I have done plenty in my first two years.

Has anyone ever done something similar? I am speaking with my supervisor next week and figuring how best to approach the issue.

I could quite easily have a weekly skype meeting and travel up for a day or two once a month.

I have just started my second year of an EPSRC funded PhD.

Passed my confirmation review last week and have a conference paper from my first year (the conference was quite niche and unheard of). But I feel quite unhappy and lost at the moment.

I feel like my research proposal is rubbish, and I don't feel particularly proud or interested in the work I am doing.

My PhD is an interdisciplinary one, based in engineering, but also doing some machine learning. I would prefer to have a PhD based in machine learning but my confirmation examiners told me I won't be progressing the field of ML but instead it has to be an engineering PhD (it is based between two departments).

I constantly worry about whether I'll be able to get a job at the end of the PhD as I am unsure I want to stay in academia, and I wonder if the next two years could be better spent by gaining industry experience (I want to be a data scientist) and earning a decent salary - if I can even get a job.

I am doubting whether I thought carefully enough about my decision to go and do a PhD in the first place, and maybe wish I chose to do one at a different university to my undergraduate degree.

There are some aspects of doing a PhD I enjoy:
Teaching
Coding in Python and learning new skills

Don't really know what I'm hoping for, is this second year blues/imposter syndrome? Or is this a gut instinct that I should look for jobs and quit?

Hi, yes I am thinking of quitting. Going to post a new thread reaching out for some support I think.

Pretty much as the title says. I am in my second year of an EPSRC funded PhD. If I were to leave it, would I be eligible for another EPSRC funded PhD in the future?

Currently 6 months into a PhD into an institution and have seen a PhD opportunity elsewhere that seems pretty aligned with my interests.

Who do I put as academic references? I don't want to put my current PhD supervisor as then he will know I am applying for other opportunities.

I am 6 months into a full-time PhD in the North of England. The PhD is funded by the EPSRC. What I would like to know is that if I got a job in London, would I be able to continue the PhD part-time and away from the University?

The PhD would technically compliment the job I would be going for, and I do not need to be in the same city to study the PhD. The PhD itself is computational modelling and machine learning.

Has anyone done this before? And what is the protocol for doing so. Is it dependent on my supervisor letting me? Also what would happen to the expected time to complete the PhD?

It is worth noting I understand how big a task a part-time PhD could be, but I honestly think this scenario could work quite well for me.

So I'm a 23y/o guy single and no children. I am applying for part time admin roles at my University that are ~17 hours per week. I am on an EPSRC funded PhD and want to know if this is acceptable.

My supervisor might not like it, but I want to know if this is feasible. I would happily work weekends etc in order to keep my PhD hours around the ~40hours per week mark. I think having 2 days or so where I am working on non-PhD work would help me focus on the days when I do have PhD work!

Has anyone done something similar?

So this may come across as a bit of a rant, but I feel like I need to get it out.

I recently quit my graduate job I had been at for a year to do an Engineering PhD, I'm 23.

I moved back to the University I was an undergraduate at in the North, though everyone I graduated with has left. The majority of my friends are in London (including my long term girlfriend of 6 years or so) so I'm getting a lot of FOMO about that which is hard to get past.

I started at the end of September and I am finding it very difficult to settle in, I keep procrastinating on the PhD because I don't feel settled or have any friends here and haven't really got going with any work yet, I feel like this is a loop and that I'm rapidly falling behind on the PhD.

There's a lot of tension between me and my girlfriend and I'm worried it won't work out. And if it doesn't, then I don't really have a support network of friends up here to help me get through, and to top it off because I feel so unsettled I can't work out if the PhD is right for me or not. But I don't want to pass up this opportunity as I think I'd always regret not trying it in the future.

I am worried about joining University sports clubs as I don't want to feel like the old guy who is clinging on to Uni Life, plus its november and think I have left it too late already.

Does anyone have any advice for me?