I am sorry to hear this. I agree with rewt that some graduates with zero publications get Postdoc jobs. If you are in the UK, have you considered a position for a year or two in continental Europe? The competition is not that high and in natural science the work will be more likely in English. Then you can go back to the UK after having some experience and publications.

Hello. I have to be a bit negative as getting accepted without funding does not mean anything. PhD is all about funding. A supervisor might easily accept you and ask you to search for fund. Just ignore him/her and search for a funded PhD.

Hi. Financially I have no information. Intellectually it is somehow similar to patent attorney. It is wide experience not very specific like the PhD. If rewarding intellectually means doing something creative, I would not recommend. If you mean opportunity for promotion and taking more managerial and executive roles, it might be because working in a leading scientific editor is really something.

I have not got a new job yet but working hard on it and apply everywhere. I will keep positive.
You are right. Everyone should seek own validation but sometimes it is good to hear the opinion of others because other perspectives can broaden your views.

Sorry to hear about your situation. If you were in second year, I might have said quit. Now it might be a bit late to do it. What is the worst case scenario after one year? No PhD? why do you want to jump to the worst case scenario right away?
Writing two chapters is not something small. People get PhD not only because they want to stay in academia. I am out of academia and not happy about my incomplete PhD. I would quote you "hang tight, you have one year left". If it is more than one year, it will not be that long.

Congratulations rewt for the 1000th post :) . I am on my way to move to a new job. In my field, what I am looking for requires a lot of study and effort but I am happy to do this to get a job I like (not necessarily the dream job). I ask this question because I ask myself, does it worth this effort to work for something you are passionate about?
If I seek a less difficult job in my field, I might find it easier and get the same pay. But this is not what I want and I believe I will not be happy. Do anyone think that "loving your job" is that important? or is it something to earn a living? I ask this in the context of PhD students/graduates where more likely they are passionate about their work.

Like the title, do you like what you do? The real question, how important to you is that you like your jobs. I mean here only the job description and daily tasks and not meaning the management or salary or closeness of work to home.
For me, I am a very passionate person who is very keen to do what he loves. I do not believe much in the quote "If you do not do what you love, love what you do". Of course one has to accept to a certain degree that they are not getting their dream job but this does not give the green light to give up our dreams. I believe if I cannot get 100% of my dream job, I would be satisfied with 60% match or it but not with 10%.

Well said before, age does not play a role. It is irrelevant information. 26 is too old? What are going to say when you are 70?
Age could be a concern if you are about to reach pension age.
I am sorry to point out that in many places around where the work culture is different, opportunities are limited, competition is tough, people are judged by their age. Luckily this is not the case in the UK.