I'm writing for some advice.

I have a Master's degree in Applied Statistics from a very good university, but had trouble finding work. In the hopes of becoming a more attractive candidate for employment, I decided to pursue a second masters but was unable to finish due to ailing mental health.

Now after some serious thought about my next steps, I feel as though pursuing a PhD is the right path for me to fulfill my goals. However, I'm concerned about my chances of getting accepted due to my most recent failures. Any thoughts on this? Thank you for your help.

If you are having mental health issues I would urge you to fix those before you even go near a PhD position.
A PhD will seriosuly stress your mental health and if you are already in trouble in that respect it could be disastrous for you.

As an aside, unless you went to Oxford or Cambridge there really is no such thing as a "very good university". Industry generally doesnt care where people get their degrees from. It is usually always about the person themselves. If you are struggling to get work it will almost always be possible to fix that by focussing on your CV, the skills you can sell and your "presence" during an interview. I have yet to meet a graduate struggling to get a job where I cannot immediately tell why they should be struggling within minutes of meeting them.

Really I should try and think of a way of making money by offering people a "job readiness" analysis service lol.

Hi Canasian

I think you should go for it if it is the path to your chosen career. I do think you should make sure that you have strategies in place for if what happened before recurs - as it is a real possibility that it will (a PhD is more stressful than a Masters - because of the lack of clear structure and because many issues that can occur along the way that are beyond your control - e.g., with recruitment, null results that you think you can't publish, etc - may be specific to my field).

Re getting on a program/getting funding. Really considering the realities of what you are letting yourself in for and having strategies in place for when things arise will put you in a good place for application writing and interviews. It would also be worth considering what you will disclose about your previous experiences (if you decide to disclose any of it) or what explanation you will give about leaving your previous Masters (if you decide to tell them that... maybe there is another way to explain a gap on the CV - or maybe you prefer to be open but think carefully...).

I don't know the details of your situation but I'd be inclined not to even see your previous masters experience as a failure. Whatever happened happened. You are probably now stronger because of it.

All the best
Tudor

Chillax.

Check out Trident University. I got accepted. I am not stressed out at all while working toward my Ph.D. I am able to work toward my Ph.D. and still maintain a life.