======= Date Modified 27 May 2011 17:50:52 =======
Thank you for all the brilliant replies. They have all been very helpful.

After giving this issue a lot of thought over a number of weeks I have decided that it is not worth funding a PhD myself. I have spent so much time studying and being poor that I just cannot live that way anymore. I really wanted to do a PhD. I love my subject and loved doing the Master's degree but this alone is not enough to justify spending thousands of pounds, struggling to achieve the hardest qualification possible for the slight possibility that one day it may get me a good academic career. I believe that I would really enjoy an academic career (perhaps more than any other job) but the effort and risk to get there just doesn't seem to be worth it.

It has been an incredibly hard decision but I think it is time, at least for the next couple of years, to give up on the dream of doing a PhD. I tried my best got a first class honours and averaged 75% on my MSc but it is time to call it a day. I don't think I will ever get funding and that could be for a number of reasons such as the uni I went to, fact that I cannot move because I have got a family and mortgage or there just aren't enough opportunities in the area I want to study. Hopefully I can save enough money so that things can be different for my son and perhaps I will be able to afford for him to do it if he wants to.

I have really enjoyed using and following this forum. I have been following it every day for the past couple of years but not really posted much. But it has been great reading all the posts and finding out what doing a PhD is like.

All the best

======= Date Modified 21 May 2011 16:40:45 =======
* TITLE should be - Is A PhD Really Worthwhile

After spending two years at college and six years at uni I have managed to achieve countless number of qualifications such as a honour's degree, master's degree, PGCE in further education and I am finding it incredibly hard to find suitable work with these. I always believed I wanted to do a PhD but now I am finding it impossible to find funding and thinking about saving up tuition fees and doing it part time over six years.

But the more I think about the more I think it is just not worth the financial commitment, time and effort. I could end up spending at least eight years of saving and studying (losing earnings at the same time) and end up where I am now overqualified for many jobs and not being able to secure a job I am qualified for. I know there are benefits such as learning more about a subject you love but what is the point of having all this brilliant knowledge if you can never put it to use?

It seems that there are many people on this forum that have chosen to do a PhD and it has turned out to be the worst decision they have made.

Is it really worth doing a PhD?

Hi KB - Thanks for the advice I had not thought about that option and it is certainly worth a try. The other two positions were advertised.

I live in the East Midlands Charly.

I have got a First Class Honours degree in computing and I graduated from my MSc in Computing with a very good Merit in Oct 2010 and been looking for a PhD for the past year. In that time only two suitable PhDs funding opportunities have come up in the wide research areas I want to study. I applied and got to the interview stage for them both and just missed out by one other person beating me each time.

I am really restricted in the geographical area that I can apply as I have got a wife and child that do not want to move (and mortgage on a house) and it just seems like another opportunity may never come. I am willing to commute quite far and there are about 8 unis within daily commuting distance but at least half of them seem to concentrate on reserach areas I have not studied before. I considered living in halls away from family in the week and going home at weekends but I am certain that I need to see my wife and son everyday as I do not want to be apart from them.

I have always wanted to do a PhD but could only afford to do this with funding. At the minute I just feel like giving up on it all. One part of me thinks I am quite young (in early 30s) and an opportunity will come one day (perhaps in a few years time). Another part thinks I should give up on looking and try to get some sort of career as I am out of work at the minute.

I have thought about doing it part time but it costs too much for that as well. My wife and I have been together all the way through my uni and we have always struggled by financially. I can't expect my wife and son to be seriously disadvantaged finacially to pay for six more years of university fees.

It is just so hard to wait :-(

Hi

I usually find the guides on youtube are brilliant for this sort of thing. Not sure if this one is exactly what you want but it seems to be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIfacBJZba0

Zak

Thanks Haggis - I will keep a look out at Universities.

hi

I was looking at an old project plan that I did and forgot about the other steps...

For the task duration bar for the main task (e.g. meetings - I think the default colour is black) right click on it, then click on format bar, then make sure the shape for the start, middle and end are all blank.

then right click on meeting one duration bar (should be blue) and then click task information, then check the box that says 'roll up gantt chart to summary' and click ok.

do the same for the next sub task (e.g. meeting two)

then click on the minus if you want to hide the sub tasks or plus to show them.

ZaK

Hi

This works in 2007 and I think should work in previous versions. All you need to do is give the task a main title like Project Meetings (as a normal task). Then put a task underneath it such as meeting one, then one under that (e.g. meeting two). Then click on the meeting one task and then indent in (there is an icon for this that look like an arrow going this way ==> or use the shortcut alt shift and right cursor). Then do the same for meeting two. Then you can click on the [-] box at the side of the meeting main title to hide the sub tasks underneath.

Hope this helps a bit - it would be better if I could show you screenshots.

Thanks for the replies

I agree with doing anything but just concerned it will look bad on my CV in the future.  I suppose any work is better than none.  I am holding out for a PhD in my commuting area so it will take a while until the right one will come up.  I applied for a postman job a few months back after finishing my masters but did not get it.  Think it would have been due to being over qualified.

I am already a parent but my wife works part time and I usually work/study full time whenever possible.  I hope it does not take more than a year as then I will have to consider selling my house (re-mortgaging) and moving with my wife and son which is a last resort option as we all love living where we are and has massive financial implications.  Did think about moving away on my own but know I can't be without my family.

Hi

I finished my master's degree in October and have been looking for PhD funding or a Research Assistant post since. I have got the feeling that it could be months before I find the right PhD funding for me. Is there any such thing as a good job that can prepare me for a PhD? I was previously a college lecturer so have been doing that on a sessional basis (which is really poor pay and there is not much work at the minute). Could I be doing something better? I am worried that if I do the wrong job it could look bad on my CV and reduce the chances of me getting funding as well.

I was wondering if there are any good books that give guidelines on writing research proposals. I mainly want to learn how to find a suitable area to research for the physical sciences (computing) and how to write a research proposal for PhD funding. Covering things such as choosing aims and objectives, suitable title, time frames etc.