Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this site and need some advice from anyone who thinks they may be able to help!

I have just finished my undergraduate degree in Geography and have been offered funding from my department to do a PhD on the topic i based my undergrad dissertation on. I was so excited when i got the offer but now i am having a crisis of confidence and wondering whether to take up this offer or not! I know i am so lucky to have the chance to do this and feel ungrateful having doubts but i don't want to start something i might not be 100% sure about!

I firstly am just not sure i am PhD material. I have no idea what is expected of me and worry i will be completely out of my depth once i start. I am also very keen to have a family in the future and worry that if i do a PhD then have children soon after i wont be able to actually do anything with my PhD and it will have been a waste of time. Am i completely wrong here?

I just worry i will be lonely and have no idea where to start! mega crisis as need to decide soon to not let my department down. I get on well with my prospective tutor and have the departments support just don't know whether it is for me. It doesn't help i don't know what to do with it once i have finished! What is it really like to do a PhD and do you have to know what you are going to do with it once you have finished it?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated!! :)

I worked for a bit after my UG and before doing the PhD. I found it was useful to step out of the uni life for a bit and consider the PhD issue without any pressure to make a decision quickly. I also changed universities and I believe this is a good thing to do. However obviously everyone is different and if you have a good offer, you like and know your sup, then that can be an advantage. A PhD can be hard at times, and you need to be wanting to do one. I appreciate that a PhD might look like a waste of time if you do not end up working in a related field, but really it is a great opportunity to learn things about yourself, so I do not see it as wasted time, regardless whether you end up "using" the PhD later or not. If you want to get an idea what people generally think of PhD, just browse through the forum, and I suppose it could help if you speak students in your department, too. I guess if you are really confused/unclear, you can always take up the offer and see how it goes. Good luck.

Hi,

Everybody's situation is different and it's very difficult to say when the 'right' time to do a PhD is. Personally I went straight on from UG and stayed at the same university and have had very few problems so far. However; yes PhD's are hard, both work-wise and emotionally, you will often feel frustrated, out of your depth and isolated. The feelings of inadequacy rarely go away though, so don't imagine you have to be mega-confident in yourself before you can start.
Have you met up ith your potential sup to talk these things through? That seems to me the best course of action right now.

You can't do a PhD just so that you don't let people down. You really need to want to do it, its hard enough when you are really committed and driven. I would suggest that you're not really committed enough. Perhaps if PhD is the best way forward for you you'll know when the time is right. Its not right for everyone.:-)

Hi

I'd be surprised if your dept. were offering funding to someone who wasn't 'PhD material' - I think you can safely assume you're up to the job! Yes, it all seems a bit daunting and it would be hard work - but no harder for you than for anyone else. And as has already been pointed out, you could always just start and see how it goes.

I wouldn't be too put off by the worry that you're not sure what you'd do with your qualification. At the end of the day, surely it would open up more possibilities than it closed off? The whole baby/career thing is going to crop up whatever you're doing. Still, if you really can't see your doctorate taking you anywhere - if you don't fancy an academic career and don't see what other use you'd put it to - I guess that's not exactly a recipe for success. Maybe you should talk to someone about the career paths/options of Geography PhDs?

It doesn't sound like there's anything else really tempting you away from the PhD, like the offer of a dream job, so I'm inclined to say do it and keep your options open. (Obviously the picture changes completely if there's something else you know you'd rather be doing!) I suspect you're just suffering a case of nerves about what you'd be taking on, but I'm sure we've all been there - as I say, it doesn't sound like you have any real reason to doubt you could do it.

In the present economic climate, just knowing you've got a living wage for 3 years is nothing to be sniffed at either.

Hi
I just really wanted to say, that please bear in mind that whatever you start, i.e. either a phd or a new job / career etc, it is perfectly normal to have some doubts, I think very few people are able to start something knowing that it is 100% for them, and this applies to everything not just phds!

Also, I really wanted to say that you mentioned having kids in the future, in that case that would definitely make me swerve towards the phd, knowing that one day it may well possibly help in giving them the best start and future that you can.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

No don't do it!  I wish someone would have said that to me a year ago and told me that it was one of the longest guilt trips you will ever go through... not to mention your confidence crisis now... that will be multiplied by 100 and you will never feel good enough or confident in your ability. I'm one year into mine and I had all these big ideas that I was going to change the world... now I just want 2011 to come as quick as possible...  Sorry for negativity, but no-one told me all this! I really enjoyed my undergrad but feel the leap into PhD is enormous, have no idea now how I even got a 1st!  Not all of it is bad though, flexible time, work to your own agenda, good job prospects at the end but like I say its getting to the end.

Good luck in your decision, I would summarise by saying if its something you really are committed to and passionate about go for it because your drive and love for your topic will spur you on, if not be careful in your decision. Good luck x

Thanks to everyone for your replies. They are much appreciated :)

Donzy what is it about your PhD that you dislike so much? Is it just the pressure or are there other issues?

I am still a bit unsure about the whole thing really which isn't helped by everyone around me so sure i am defiantly going to do it! lol! but think i will at least give it a shot as i do love the idea of building a career in research.

Those of you who recommended doing the PhD what is it you love about it or why you think it is the right move for me?

Again thanks so much for your advice :)

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Hi Hannah,

Short answer: You obviously have the ability to do this, or they wouldn't have asked you.  However, if you're not sure you want to, it may well be a bad idea. Most people have to really want a PhD to make it through. 

Long answer:

Pros:

- Academia is rather more family-friendly than it used to be; one of my fellow PhD students stopped partway to have a baby, for instance, and plenty of the profs etc. of both genders have families, so this by itself is not sufficient reason not to. Raising a family and going the academic route would be a challenge, but so would any other career if taken seriously. 
- You "get on well" with your prospective supervisor. However, see question one below.
- You have funding.
- You've obviously got potential in academia and as a good PhD student, or the department wouldn't have asked you to do this.

The cons:

- You aren't sure.  PhDs have a high drop-out rate, so if you don't feel like you want to do it now... well, don't.
- You sound a little bit like you might be doing this "because your department want you to". Disregard this entirely, except insomuch as it indicates that you are able to do this.  Do what's right for you.
- You will get lonely, in all probability. It's a pretty solitary experience for most students. I wish I could say I'd found a good answer to this, but I'm not sure that I have.

The questions:

- How well do you really know your supervisor? : Try to get the dirt on them from other past and present PhD students if at all possible, since this relationship is kind of unique and has to work for the PhD to work.  Also, ask yourself if you like and trust them enough to be able to come to them with full disclosure of a problem, whatever kind, without feeling intimidated. This is vital.  The number one rule to surviving a PhD is keeping your supervisor happy, and being happy with your supervisor.
- How good are you at working on a big project alone? Did you cope well with doing your biggest undergraduate projects, or did you procrastinate, feel lost, etc?
- What is your level of interest in the topic?  Could you see yourself getting obsessively interested in it over the next three years, and channeling that interest productively?
- How much do you want this?
- What alternatives are you also considering?

Doing a Ph.D. is really frustrating, but if you've got a good, supportive, clued up supervisor that you get along with it's not too bad.

Have a good chat with your supervisor(s), find out what they expect from you and what previous Ph.D. students from that group have gone on to do. Also ask what direction they would like the research to go in, then you know where to start and gain their support.