Hello,

Firstly, please accept my apologies for posting another thread about I don’t know what to do, I want to quit, etc. However, I’d be ever so grateful for any advice!

I started my PhD almost a year ago because I love research and the topic was in an area of great interest. Fast forward to today and the project has turned from this amazing thing into something I would have never applied to as I never wanted to do this “type” of research. Plus the fact that I’ve been feeling quite poorly over the last year – isolation that has made/is making me feel depressed which has resulted in no motivation, etc. You name it, its happened. That’s one side of the story.

The other side is that last year I applied for an MSc. This MSc is the first stage of training which you need to complete before going onto the second stage of doctoral training. Completing these two stages would ultimately enable me to become a charted professional in this field. Unfortunately, I wasn’t accepted and I saw my acceptance onto the PhD as a kind of compensation for it as I always wanted to do research and the topic was in an area of great interest. However, over the past year I’ve never really been able to let go of my aspiration to become a chartered professional in this field and given the problems I’ve had with/alongside my PhD I decided to apply for the MSc again and was accepted this time around. However, whilst this makes me feel quite happy I am scared of quitting my PhD. I am just scared that this would go against me when I apply for the second stage of doctoral training. I am scared that selectors may be put off and think that I might pack it in again, thinking that I wasn’t good/motivated enough first time around. Would they understand that I quit because I want to become a chartered professional in this field, something that my last PhD didn’t allow me to do?

Hi Vini,

If you pass the first stage of the MSc do you automatically get onto the 2nd stage of doctoral training? If so, and if it's what you want then go for it! If it's a separate application stage to then get on to the doctoral course I suppose you need to give it further consideration and consider the pros and cons of quitting your current PhD. These decisions are never easy and I wish you all the very best regardless of what you decide.

Vini,

Look at it another way, you were so motivated about becoming a chartered professional that you gave up your phd in order to try. If you're committed and successful in your masters I see no reason why they would count this against you. When applying you can even highlight it as a positive "I realised that I was motivated and capable at doctoral level, but that the original phd would not allow me to realise my true ambition" who could be more confident than an experienced student working in their ideal field?

Good response Teek!