Yes OMG this is exactly what i feel like, i started it for the same reasons as you (didn’t know what i wanted to do, recession etc.). It wasn’t long before i discovered i hated it but i kept going because i thought i would just get into it after a while, but with none of my lab work working out and a post doc that thinks im a waste of space i just can’t take it anymore and the thoughts of another three years here makes me feel physically sick!

I work in a lab with nice people but they are so competitive and work 12-15 hour days to get results, i really didn’t know what i was getting myself in for when i took this on and i feel like if im going to leave i should do it now before i get even further into it and it becomes harder to leave. i have my one year review coming up and writing up what i’ve done for the past make me even more sure that i have no interest in this project and to be honest that im not very good at it either.

I do feel really guilty though because i feel like i have been given a great opportunity here but i just don’t think a phd is for me and feel like someone else could come in in my place and really enjoy it. Also i don’t want to disappoint my family who are very proud of me for getting into a phd program. I have been to see the careers advisor in my uni and she suggest taking leave of absence to think it over but i honestly feel that if i do that i wouldn’t come back. And i do worry about what my job prospects would be being a ‘phd dropout’ !

Sorry for long rant but i feel like we are in the same situation! Have you decided what you are going to do?