PhD Nightmares

Posted on 2002/10/23 15:35:51 (October 2002) by rob.

Why is it that people have these PhD nightmares? Shouldn't they easier than this?

Given any reasonably intelligent and hard working person, a PhD should be possible to complete within 3 years. This is going to be a bit of directionless rant about why my PhD is now going to take 9 months longer than I thought and that the Government would give me money for.

From the start, I have worked pretty steadily on my PhD. The act of research, having ideas and then trying to solve problems. Doing more reading and learning, trying to find different ways - proceeding towards a goal. The goal posts do move, this is to be expected. If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research, would it? At all times, you feel like you're moving forward. Every day a step further towards finishing. If you're lucky, your tutor will give you a nudge once in a while to keep you on track. By this I don't mean bullying you into working but to make that the route you are taking is a scientific one and not based in heuristics.

Every PhD is different. Every path from brief to goal varies depending on a million factors. You have to choose many of these given only a sketchy amount of information. Unfortunately, the small decisions you make early on have huge effects on your work later. Without the guidance of a active tutor, these decisions can be difficult to make. But progress must be made, so decisions are made and the research continues forward. These decisions may be well informed, using other people's work as a guide on the right way to do it. One can also console oneself on the fact that you PhD is different so the manner in which you complete it is your way.

However, it's not always that simple. Left to one's own devices, a decisions can be later shown to be wrong and months upon months of work appear pointless. Stochastic tests can not be repeated in part, only in full. I can see now why people give up on their PhDs. For three years I have been moving forward and making progress in a field that has only one other paper. I've done my best with a tutor whose name appears on my work but who is essentially as useful as a sponge in a sinking battleship. And as time runs out, one requires the tutor for guidance and not to be in Thailand or utterly disinterested. It just all feels like a complete waste of time and effort. Your friends are out in Industry earning 35 grand while you're stuck trying to scrape £600 quid together each month to survive.

What's the bloody point? Does it actually allow you to get a better job? I come out of Uni onto £26k, I'm still 9 grand behind! For what? Another bloody qualification which means nothing? Showing that I can do research? What's the point in that when no-one in England seems to be interested in doing any bloody research and the government are as tight fisted as you can get without shutting the Universities down. A PhD means living just above the breadline for 3 years, working to get other money at the same time without support or aid and no final goal to work to.

I might as well be a Science Fiction writer as I have neither the support nor the money to finish writing up. Without written proofs and experiments, none of this is Fact, it's just fiction. Utterly fucking demoralised.

I think it's just a case of I've started so I'll finish. No their probably isn't much point to it, but if you think too hard about that sort of thing you'll end up realising everything is phenomenally pointless, and the universe will all disappear in a puff of logic. I'm a slave to pride, or people's expectations, or something, so no matter how much I'd like to jack it all in I can't. But for those people that aren't doing one and are thinking about it, anyone who isn't absolutely sure about doing one, think very very carefully. I jumped into it not realising what it entailed and often consider this a mistake. I could have achieved a lot more with the last four years of my life outside of academia. But hey, we all make mistakes.

Posted by john at 2002/10/23 15:46:07.

I've been told that I'll miss it when it's gone. Perhaps not.

Posted by Rob Lang at 2002/10/24 11:57:59.

My head hurts.

Posted by Marky at 2002/10/24 18:35:44.

Oh my God, have you somehow read my mind and posted everything I think and feel about my PhD on this website? I've started it now, so I'll finish...but the second I walk into my office, my motivation completely disappears (I should point out that, at this moment, I am meant to be preparing tutorials sessions for psychological research methods - struck by the sudden pointlessness of doing so, I decided to risk being reprimanded for visiting unrelated websites and find someone else who felt the same way).

Posted by Janine at 2003/05/02 05:08:06.

Same here.
I have been doing PhD for a while. A bloody long while.

But, we can finish it right ?
FFS, we can finish it.

Posted by loser at 2003/06/06 24:51:50.

I feel exactly the same way - it's all been going on too long, badly - and counting........

What do you do if you quit though? Who's going to employ someone who spends x years doing something they then don't complete? That's my main motivation for keeping going...

Posted by Spuff at 2003/07/04 11:13:23.

Most of you appear to be across the pond, but on the eve of my collapsing PhD project and the dawn of a new project, when I should only have a year to go.... i say ditto

Posted by Josh at 2003/07/30 01:32:05.

i think what you have wrote is a good PhD thesis !

Posted by mohd at 2003/09/20 15:58:55.

Ahhh will it ever end!?!?! i know I can do it its just that I dont' want to do it anymore....help???

Posted by Kate at 2003/11/10 05:56:43.

I've got my PhD, in a computer science subject. Since completing I've been working in industry (just over six years). Made redundant in February this year and couldn't find a job to save my life - must have applied for 100 jobs and couldn't get a sniff of an interview. Prior to my redundancy I applied for three jobs and received an offer for each. The industry I worked in has collapsed - my PhD has not acted as a passport into another career. I feel I've acheived a lot - both academically and within industry - I always recieved praise and regular pay rises. I'm now retraining as a teacher - doing a PGCE otherwise I would have been on the dole forever. In my opinion a PhD is a complete waste of time and effort.

Posted by Another Rob at 2003/11/12 17:59:54.

I've got my PhD, in a computer science subject. Since completing I've been working in industry (just over six years). Made redundant in February this year and couldn't find a job to save my life - must have applied for 100 jobs and couldn't get a sniff of an interview. Prior to my redundancy I applied for three jobs and received an offer for each. The industry I worked in has collapsed - my PhD has not acted as a passport into another career. I feel I've acheived a lot - both academically and within industry - I always recieved praise and regular pay rises. I'm now retraining as a teacher - doing a PGCE otherwise I would have been on the dole forever. In my opinion a PhD is a complete waste of time and effort.

Posted by Another Rob at 2003/11/12 18:00:13.

i've just started mine. thanks for the motivation.

Posted by new loser at 2006/01/24 20:38:31.

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