They won't meet with you outside of class, they won't answer your emails, they won't give study guides because they "have lives". Well, let me tell you something At my old university, I had such an easier time with my classes because professors were more than willing to help you grasp the information efficiently so you could pass the exams, as well as remember the information for years to come.
I am so dissapointed in my grad program. You should tell everyone what program you are in so we can make sure to tell our friends to never accept offers from them. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Sign up for a new account in our community.
It's easy! Already have an account? Sign in here. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I hate my program. Recommended Posts. Fang 0 Posted October 8, Posted October 8, What's so bad, you ask? Link to post Share on other sites. Hey there, I am also considering transferring grad programs, and I think there are a few people this year on the boards who are having issues with their programs as well.
Posted October 9, You are better than that. I would listen to fuzzylogician's advice. Snygard 0 Posted October 13, Posted October 13, Create an account or sign in to comment You need to be a member in order to leave a comment Create an account Sign up for a new account in our community.
Register a new account. Sign in Already have an account? As most theses projects span years, you need to break down your research into shorter-term milestones that are realistic. However, you need to have an initial plan that is approved by your committee , so you can keep your thesis on track.
If you hit a major roadblock, or hit a dead-end, let your supervisor know so that you can adjust you plan accordingly. They might spend a few hours at work, then take a break,and then return to work for a few more hours in the afternoon. When you divide up your day into segments, it is easier to focus fully on the task at hand, without getting distracted by emails.
They try to solve all their problems on their own, because they are embarrassed to admit that they made a mistake. Many of my coaching clients were surprised at the amount of support that they received from their supervisors once they spoke about their challenges openly. A support group can be a safe place to discuss topics that you may not be comfortable sharing with your coworkers.
Sensitive topics include conflicts with your supervisor, writing blocks, or possibly dropping out of grad school. Communities outside your university can also provide you with emotional support to finish your thesis. When other people believe in you and support you, you will gain the confidence needed to get through the challenges of graduate school. Having accountability through a community of other PhD students is one of the best ways to become and stay motivated until you finish writing your Dissertation.
Download my strategic guide to fire up your motivation, get laser focused and accelerate your thesis writing starting today. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to footer Say goodbye to unnecessary stress in graduate school and finish your thesis on time with our free guide. How do you explain to your family and friends? How will you feel years from now when you look back on that incomplete goal? As long as you stay, there is still maybe some hope But they never do, because if you are unhappy and lacking confidence, it is impossible to fully apply yourself and work to the best of your ability.
So people stay, month after month, year after year; unable to make progress, too scared to leave. Of these, the first option is by far the worst.
If you are unhappy, stressed or depressed, then it is a signal that something needs to change. It is easier to stay in the relative safety of the familiar no matter how unpleasant than to walk away and into the unknown, but this is just a way of avoiding responsibility for your own happiness and wellbeing.
If you quit, you are at least making your own decision and taking back control of your own life. Although scary, it can open up an entire world of possibilities By letting go of the PhD, you can create the space in your life to do whatever you want to.
You could;. Life is what you make of it. The only limitations are the ones you place on yourself, and a PhD is not the only challenge out there. It is possible to turn things around, but you need to not only change the way you work, but also the way you think about the work.
I chose to leave school, and came home. My relationship fell apart but I found a decent job working for a tech startup and did that for about 1. Though I do often wonder about what would have happened if I stayed, I don't regret it. Here is my general advice for graduate students who are thinking about quitting graduate school and I'll sprinkle in some specific advice :. At one point or another, almost every graduate student wants to quit, so you're not alone.
The fact that you're not alone doesn't solve any problems, but it may give you some peace of mind. The advice from your supportive advisor to seek out counseling is a very, very good one. The decision to get a graduate degree is personal and different for everyone, but regardless it is a long-term decision that will probably have a significant effect on your future.
The five or six years of your life spent doing it could open up many doors; that is not to say that other opportunities aren't worth considering. You really do have to do what is best for yourself, in the end.
Getting a PhD really does require passion and in your case this is weaning right now. You can push through a pretty good chunk of time without it, but if you don't find the passion, it's going to be a long haul. If you were passionate and lost that, try to figure out what it was that you were passionate about before, and see if you can get back in the groove. One of my favorite Richard Feynman stories is about how he rebounded from a slump because he watched a spinning plate in the dining hall.
If you hate classes, make it a priority to finish them up quickly so you can concentrate on the research! Classes, while important, are not why you are in graduate school. You can take time off from graduate school and come back later.
This is hard to do particularly if you have to leave the country , and you can't necessarily expect the same financial support when you return. But, you can do it, and if you need time off, take it.
My suggestion for you if you are still on the fence about staying in grad school is to look at an internship somewhere for the summer where you are away from school and can clear your head. Then come back next semester. If you've thought through all the reasons why you want to quit, and this is the answer, then you should take time off -- 'quit' is a harsh word, and not really a necessary one see point 5.
Your point is well taken that you shouldn't try to stick it out for anyone but yourself -- we all go through worries about disappointing others, but most people want you to be happy, and they will understand. You will almost certainly find a big weight lifted from your shoulders, and not extra pressure from those around you. Yes, having a plan before moving on is always a good idea, but I've been in a number of places in my life where I decided to do something before having a definite plan, and it all worked out in the end.
Good luck! Whatever you decide to do, just keep in mind that leaving a Ph. I know plenty of people who didn't leave graduate school because they thought quitting would mean admitting that they couldn't hack it; this simply isn't true , and if your only reason for staying in school is that you don't want to disappoint your peers, parents, or advisor, then you should think long and hard about taking some time off from school and reassessing what you want to do.
Here are my reasons for going back: I welcome people to correct me if I'm wrong about any of these! Also, regarding your note on quantitative finance, please be very aware that the world of quantitative finance is very competitive and most places won't consider you if you don't have a PhD. I know because I tried several times to get a job doing quant work, but every firm I spoke with only offered back-end jobs doing menial SQL work.
Your mileage may vary, but be warned that most people don't care about how good you think your quantitative skills are. One fairly famous hedge fund manager told me very directly "everyone thinks they're going to be great at a new skill, so why would anyone risk their money on an unknown, unproven entity? I'm surprised that both the question and the existing answers talk little about what used to motivate you to do research. You wrote, "where in the past research has been the saving grace keeping me interested in school, it now is losing a lot of its appeal".
So what was that appeal, and how did it get lost? Here are some possible answers, from my own experience; I'm sure there may be others in your case. Did you get disillusioned about your field of research? Perhaps in the beginning you thought that if problems in this field were solved it would make a difference in the world, and now it seems that the big problems can't be solved and solving the small problems won't make a big difference?
Did you get disillusioned about academia? Did you have experiences that changed your view of academia? Did you come in the pursuit of truth and found that a lot of it is about the pursuit of publications? Did you get disillusioned about your own abilities? Perhaps you were used to often being the best at what you were doing, and now you're surrounded by more smart people and your abilities seem less exceptional and thus less motivating in comparison? Or perhaps your motivation had always been to please your parents and now that's not enough anymore?
I think having a clear understanding of what used to motivate you and why it stopped motivating you is a necessary and sufficient basis for the decision you're trying to make.
If you lost interest in this particular field, you might have to look for a new field. If you lost the motivation that comes from a strong belief in your exceptional abilities, you might have to learn to enjoy being among the best and not necessarily the best.
If your view of academia changed, you might try to find a place where academia is more how you'd like it to be, or if there doesn't seem to be one, perhaps academia isn't the right place for you. If you were only doing it for your parents, perhaps you should just leave. And if you lost interest because it turned out to be harder than you expected, then perhaps you should indeed "just put your head down and work through it, it's just a phase".
I think the key to sorting this out for yourself is to keep an open mind about your own motivations. Some of them may have been very pure and just got lost along the way and perhaps you can tap into them again; some of them may not seem so desirable now that you take a new look at them, and you may be glad not to have them anymore; but whatever they are, what's important is that you're honest about them to yourself and figure out how and why they changed, and that might allow you to see where they're leading you and whether staying or leaving is more in line with what's important to you now.
Many graduate students are international. They go abroad to study. They are away from their home countries. They may have language problems. Fortunately, your situation is not that bad. Many graduate students go to graduate school as a family tradition. They were raised to be academics. Many graduate students lose their interests in the school. Some quit. Some stay. Your long post seems to suggest to me that you mixed your personal life with the graduate school life.
We are human. We have emotions. We let our personal life interfere with other aspects of our life sometimes. We know we should not let it happen. But, it happens. You did well in the first semester.
Everything changed in the second one. Something happened. No one knows what happened except you. In other words, you are the only one who knows the answer. I would suggest you to take a break, long or short, to figure out what you really want to do. Then, make your own decision. There are good answers and commentaries here. I will not repeat them. I would emphasize something very important, your future is yours. PhDs are not for everyone. You need to discover what makes you passionate, and it might not be what a PhD will get you.
I have a friend who is currently getting his Bachelor's degree. It took only a couple semesters of C's and D's for him to realize Physics isn't for him, so he switched to Computer Science.
Then he realized he hates Math, so he wanted to switch majors again. All this time, though, he has had a creative outlet. He makes things, sometimes out of leather, sometimes out of steel; the other day he came to class with a clay pot he'd just finished.
Toward the end of this last semester he went through with changing his major one last time. He already has too many CS credits to give up on that major altogether, but he's dropping the Math minor that comes de facto and is picking up an Art minor instead.
I've never seen him happier than he is now. He found what he's passionate about, and it's not what his father did. You have to discover your passion.
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