Thanks for the reply Mountain.

I'm mostly looking for advice on *how* to spin it, or peoples actual experiences of dealing with this sort of thing. Certainly, drawing on what I've gained is a strategy. I should have been clearer that my field is psychology - there is generally very little I can do without a PhD, as everything takes some sort of extra qualification. Where psychologists would go into therapy of human resources or such careers, we've been hedge out by the specialisation of degree courses to be more vocation i.e. BA Counselling, BA Human Resources, which will come with those professional accreditations you mention. Without some retraining (which might be an option), my degree and skills are pretty much limited to 'psychological research'. Again, I'm worried about scenarios where people might think 'he couldn't handle his own research, why should we trust him with assisting ours'. Obviously what I've gained from doing a PhD (with a general RA post attached) is that I learned I prefer to assist than to do myself, which is something I should leverage.

I'm over not finishing a PhD. I'm ok with it. My concern is that others who look at my CV, see 3 years spent doing a PhD, and not succeeding aren't going to simply overlook it, but take it as a reflection of my competence and character, and having it held against me. Another reason I posted is because I wanted some actual experience of this situation, where people have either seen this as an issue, or hopefully, where it's been dealt with e.g. second attempts at PhDs/Research careers after an incomplete PhD.

As a side note, my supervisor would actually give me a reference, as an assistant which is good I guess.

Hi Satchi,

Thanks for the reply. I tried to make it clear I wasn't feeling 'poor me' at all. Obviously there is some regret, but honestly, I accept that it just went wrong and I'm very much looking to move on. My concern is the perceptions of others, the stigma. I'm trying to find others who have had similar experiences, or second-hand knowledge of such circumstances, who might advise me on ways to construe a 'failed' PhD to someone.

I very much accept that I wasn't prepared for a PhD, but that's not a reflection of me, but 'me at the time'. Again, my concern is that when potential employers in the research domain/future PhD admissions learn that I've tried and not succeeded at a PhD before, I'll be at a disadvantage. Instrumentally, in what way can I say 'I got 3 years into this and realised it wasn't for me' without it seeming a bit dubious I took 3 years to figure that out. CVs and applications have to be succinct and positive, which rules out a full, fair and proper explanation of why things didn't work out.

Hi all,

I was hoping for some advice. Having battle to survive 3 years of 4 of my PhD, it's clear it's a bust. There is a slim chance I'll leave with an MPhil, but there's a good chance I'll leave with nothing.

My concern is I want to remain in academics, research assistant stuff mostly, but I'm really concerned about approaching employers with a 3/4 year employment 'gap', or claiming some PhD experience, but ultimately having to explain having failed a PhD. I feel that, any way I dress it up, I'm someone that didn't have what it took to do a PhD, and that's clearly not someone anyone in the field would want to employ. Why waste the chance on someone that tried and failed, right? I certainly can't see myself getting another shot at a PhD, which I'd love to do, I've just had a rough time at my current institution(UK)/poor health. I just keep coming back to employers won't at all find me desirable if I've been ill/might be ill again/am a failure. For the record, I don't think I'm a failure, I think it went /wrong/. I'm just worried about how it'll be perceived by others and impact my future.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

That's great. Just started giving it a whirl and it looks like just the sort of thing I need. Thanks!

Hi folks,

I was wondering if people could recommend methods of handling the huge number of pdfs/reading that we do for a PhD in a systematic way. I'm finding I'm amassing huge archives of pdfs for various articles, and losing track of what I've read, what was useful in what article and so. I've experimented with simple highlighting articles, but this has cross-computer issues; printing them all in small A5 booklets, but that becomes unwieldy even at the smaller size.

What systems have you guys used/developed to handle literature?

Howdy,

I am currently, and at short notice (I have 6 days, 3 of which I will be working), trying to complete a PhD research assistantship application/proposal.
The problem I am having is that whilst I have a key idea I want to research, I'm having issues foreseeing 3 years into the future. I am terribly short-sighted. I tend to start something, see how long it is likely to take, and make a decision to continue or ditch it for something else.
I'm basically interested in how gay, lesbian and bisexual youth use the internet in conjunction with developmental processes. Now, all I can think of are interviews and ethnography, both which I'm happy with, but I don't really have a point of reference for how long this things would take.
Futhermore, I have some side projects what wouldn't impact my final thesis, but I think would help round out my application and make me seem more desirable. Again, I have no idea how much time these things really take (I understand I'm being decidedly vague, but I don't really want to complicate my needs with lingo).
In addition to this, I am aware this is a assistantship. It is not detailed precisely how much time would be taken up fulfilling this roll.

I functionally have twelve 3 month blocks they want me to provide details for. I ask for help here because of the massive amounts of bank holidays we are having here in the UK, and that I don't currently attend uni, means that my correspondence wont be answered, and I can't just drop by for an informal chat. Furthermore, as mentioned, I am working full-time.

I'm pretty close to giving up on this opportunity, which is pretty gutting because it's in the city where I want to live, for the money I want to earn, getting me my dream, a doctorate.

Cheers for reading.