ive found my first year depressing and have questioned my abilties as a researcher, would it be any different in other projects? im very interested in the field of research in general. but my phd project isnt very stimulating. has anyone found that the kind of reseach opportunities they have had after phd had been closly related to their phd topic? i think i havent dropped out because of fear of failure. i dont like being told i dont have what it takes and there is the question of will people question my attitude and committment at future interviews is i where to drop out? has anyone ever dropped out of a phd and done another one? any thought on my post would be much appreciated :)

I don't know anyone personally but it is possible to change PhD/write as MPhil, and best at year 1 when most people upgrade from MPhil to PhD anyway. It is fairly normal to question your abilities.
You would need to talk to a number of friendly academics to find out how they would see it. I'd get more than one opinion and not ask your supervisor (!) Speaking of which they did take you on for 3-4 years so they do have a responsibility. Departments can lose funding if students don't finish and there probably are some univeristy guidelines as to what to expecte from your supervisor. Is there anyone you can talk to at your university?

from what i understand. the amount of people who fail or drop out of phds in most universities is quite low. if that does happen it must reflect very badly on the supervisor and department to a certian extent. certainly in my department its almost unheard of. i found that talking things through with some friends stopped me walking out the door and leaving. we all know who are friends are when we need them. i think the real dilema for me now, is that ive never failed or dropped out of a course before. i would think it wouldnt look very favourable at future interview if i was just to give up, hence why i would prefere to do an mphil. also a lot of money has gone into this project and a lot of other people are relying on my research, so although my supervisor said i am easily replacable, im pretty sure that dropping could really mess things up for the project as a whole ( which is not my intention )

On reflection I know someone who stopped after 1 year and changed career completely. I think he did Mphil which you could of course pretend later on was what you were aiming for.
It depends if you are staying in academia or not. I stuck it out for 3-4 years, it is hard and I was miserable. A lot of projects are quite long term in my area i.e. the research goes on for years and in fact people often don't get results in their first year anyway, and I didn't!
I wouldn't worry about your supervisor/the project that is down to your supervisor to co-ordinate, not you. People commonly change projects too, again I did.

There are some ways around dropping out figures e.g. not upgrading after 1st year to PhD, extensions e.g. health/depression. My friend took 6 years with extensions, time out etc.
It's not in their interest to advertise people dropping out...

I dropped out of my PhD it was a hard decision to make but I am glad I made it. I really feel motivated again now and cannot wait to start a new project. If you really can't finish your PhD or it is not for you it is best to leave and find happiness.

did you find another masters project or phd? i would of thought its quite hard to convince a potential project supervisor that someone should be taken on for a research project when they have dropped out of a phd?.

for me it would be a case of either dropping out and not mentioning my first attempt at a phd or sticking it out to get an mphil. ive got a good degree and a paper to my name, so im not sure that i would have too many problems getting another position, but it would be kind of embarrassing going back to my undergraduate univerisity looking for more references and maybe funding would be an issue in the future.

i was kind of thinking that if i pass first year, wait a few months until i write a paper and maybe my tutor/advisor could write me a reference. i would leave the university with evidnece that i am cut out for research. any thoughts?

(Part 1)
Well I have not actually obtained another PhD yet. But I am keping my fingers crossed for interviews. I have heard of other people dropping out and gaining another PhD but they had to really convince the supervisor. This shouldn't be to hard if you rally have a passion for the subject. My situation was slightly different as I was not very interested in my field of research, so am looking for projects in a different area. Personally I can not afford to do a Masters so I am not applying.

It is definatley, worth talking the issues you have over with your supervisor. It may not be as scary as you imagine it wasn't for me people were very supportive. Supervisors will try and push you, but their methods may not always be suitable or correct your supervisor telling you "you dont have what it takes" may be hers/his way of pushing you. This approach does/did not work for me and makes my performance worse.

(part 2)
If you are going to leave do it in the right way and be honest and open with your supervisor.

At the end of the day you need to make the choice that is best for you, but bear in mind everyone has up and downs during their PhD. If will be able to distinguish between the too (well I could). Sorry for my babble, hope it was useful in someway.

I hope you could make sense of that last message. Watching TV doc ..

thanks for the advice. i think most of my problem is that i dont think im really that interested in the phd project. im not really sure what to do.

I was in the same situation and I left. I left on good terms and should get a good reference. Wether I can secure another PhD or not is a different matter.

I had reservations about my PhD from one just hope dropping out hasn't wreked my chances of doing what I realy want to do. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Damn laptops...I really have to bash the keys

ive had a chat with my tutor today and given some great advice about what i should do. i am going to try and resolve the situation first. but i have a feeling that it will be thrown back in my face. if it doesnt work out i was told there is a good chance that i could change project and supervisor. i was more than a little bit amazed when i heard that, but was told that the department loses funding if students drop out. im thinking this time around ill be more cautious. despite my first year not going well, i think ive learned a lot about the research world, what im interested in or not. a second chance is not nothing short of a gift from god. if i get one i will most certainly make the most of it.