Here's my case.
I'm currently 1yr into my PhD. My project has many qualities that I thought would excite me about a PhD before I started; great long-term fieldwork, conservation focus etc. Though I have been feeling queasy about it since fairly early on in the piece.
Before I started, I had just done the honours project of my dreams (like 1yr Masters), and had a relatively smooth run with two good supervisors and excellent fieldwork - understandably I would feel comfortable choosing to stay with one of them for my PhD though on a completely different style of project.
There was one alternative PhD option at the time; which followed quite closely from the 'dream' honours project and could have suited me well. However I felt I had done the dream job already, and would find it less stimulating to study the same system for my PhD. Perhaps more influential however, was that I feared the responsibility of running that kind of project myself, and what I would think of myself if I failed.
Hence I applied for my current project, thinking that it would overall be a less scary one. Though prior to starting I had some serious changes of heart, other career choices long thought about yet never acted upon that started tugging at my heartstrings.
All those I spoke to (friends, family) were charmed by the lustre of the 'Dr' title and didn't understand why I could want to do something different, seeing all other options as lazy by comparison. Furthermore, my project is quite a sexy one in the eyes of many of my student and staff colleagues - so I find it hard to find anyone that sympathizes with my desire to leave. Even furthermore, I'm scared that I'll regret my decision to leave once I do, even if I manage to get on another career track.
At the moment I feel like I have very low self esteem, and lack the confidence to make a choice so I'll probably drift on through. However I'm worried that my self esteem won't improve and as a result many other areas of my life will go neglected. So I've read a lot of posts like mine already and thought I'd feel empowered by writing my own.

One year in is usually too late to request a switch and besides, your dream project is probably being done by someone else now. If not, funding might be a problem as you're already probably accepted a year's worth of funding. That said, some have dropped out after a year for various reasons to take up a different project later with funding. I personally would have gone with the dream project as having a passion for the subject can be a key factor in your PhD and the overall success of the project.

It may be you're suffering from 1st year doubts about you having done the right thing. Alongside imposter syndrome (feeling you don't deserve to be there), many students feel this and you won't be the first.

PhDs aren't a walk in the park and there are going to be many stresses within (work load) and without (peer pressure, family and friend issues) that may affect you. It's probably this you are realising a year in.

You have to accept that there's going to be times with workload and with other people you know moving on with their lives with careers and starting families, that you are somehow being left behind or you are not doing right by family and friends by settling down. There's also the issue of how a PhD helps careerwise (certainly academically, less obvious in the real world). What do you want to do after?

You made a choice to do a PhD and with that many accept this as a decision that certain aspect of their lives may go on hold for a few years (especially careers though full admiration to those who balance their PhD work with having a family). With that, you have to make it clear to yourself and others as necessary that you are doing what is right for you at this point in time and not what others perceive as being the right thing.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

A PhD is about perseverance. You are already one year into it. If you stick to it, two years will be over in no time. You will feel better after having accomplished your goal. If you leave it now, you might have regrets all your later life.

Just a thought.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies! I have not had a career in academia in the forefront of my ambitions before starting the PhD. I always thought I would take the things I learned from my degree into the workforce straight away. I applied for the PhD just in case it turned out to be the right choice, and in case I couldn't find anything else straight away. When I had a hard time finding work, and the PhD was applied for and ready to go, I kind of slid into it. My friends and family want this for me, so I definitely don't feel like I'm letting them down. I have been questioning my decision from the start, and can see myself doing so in the future. However I've come this far feeling this way, maybe I can just keep on pushing.
I take your point Mackem about accepting the burdens and the sacrifices that come with the role. I had previously attributed my negative experience to the fact that things change as we progress through various stages of our lives, and I was lamenting the way things were in an earlier stage. I was made to feel worse by comparing my experience to friends who followed different careers being less burdened, and other students being successful. But you're right, the PhD is isolating, and requires so much time that can have these effects.

I don't know if this will help (and I'm in a different discipline to you, so I don't know exactly what your alternatives would have been) but I've taken a lot of years out having a career before doing a PhD, and I can vouch for the fact that a degree won't necessarily get you any advantages on its own. My most recent job (having done a degree, a Masters and a career-specific Postgrad Diploma) involved working 12 hour night shifts for under £9 an hour! It is always tempting to think other choices would have worked out for the better, but in my honest opinion taking a few years to do a funded PhD right now is a pretty good idea.

I do not quite understand your post. What is your actual problem? You write that you are unhappy with your PhD, but why? Is it boring, uninteresting, the wrong topic? Are your supervisors doing a bad job? You mention the choices you made and/or could still make. But what are you actually considering - not doing a PhD at all, or switching to that other project you mentioned? Unfortunately your post really is not very clear.

In any case, it is normal to feel demotivated after a while. No job in life is ever quite as it seemed (or was presented to you) before you started. Feeling some disappointment after a while is therefore normal. Maybe it is possible to adapt the objectives of your PhD research to become more interesting without leaving the general framework of your project, in agreement with your supervisor.

Thinking about the path not taken is common, but ultimately useless. It will happen to you with every life decision you ever make, and in particular with every job offer you accept. With every opportunity you accept, other doors close, and in hindsight, they always seem tempting. This type of feeling and "buyer's remorse" is particularly common among PhD students - quite simply because it is the first really important career/life decision most people make themselves.

However, thinking about the past and what could have been is ultimately futile.

Make the best of your situation, be proactive, talk to your supervisors if you think your project could be improved. Focus on the positive things about your work (e.g., work environment, pay, colleagues, career prospects). It is normal that it takes a year or two just to get into the rhythm. Only if there is no improvement in sight despite your best efforts, make your decision and quit