Hi All,

Seen some good insight here, so I thought i'd ask

I've been working on my PhD for nearly 2 years. I have had a lot of difficulties so I recently moved to part-time study.

The main thing is, the topic i'm working on, i've never really enjoyed. I still don't. About six months into the 1st year I told my supervisor this and the response I got was basically that there wasn't really enough time left to change. Rather than be assertive I just went back to what I was doing.

I've come accross plenty of other students who seem to have had the opportunity to choose exactly what they wanted to do. (I came as an open PhD student with no project). Most of them have the 'well a PhD is a personal thing as well as just another qualification' opinion. So they really enjoy the topic they're doing.

I guess really - should I see if I can switch my topic, or consider leaving? The downside to leaving is it's two years work with no qualification to show. I dont have many results so I don't know if I can get an MPhil or what..

I should probably add that I have 3 years part-time funding left. After that it will run out.

Jpoku, talk to your head of department and hand in a report showing what you've been doing, get an Mphil and then quit it forthwith. I initially submitted a general research proposal (without specific region/places identified for fieldwork) and the supervisor misled me to the region he is interested in, obviously for ease of supervision. I decided not to pursue and he was quite discontented and coersive. Anyway, it is my own right to choose a topic, not a privilege. You should be decisive, otherwise there will be a lot of hassle in the next 2 years. You are wasting your youth and energy, in vain.