Many thanks everyone for your replies. A good range there which is encouraging.

I'll let you know what I decide and how I get on. Decision making is a very long painful process with me, but once I've decided something I tend to stick by it.

Thanks,
Tom

Thanks for the advice both of you.

I think I'm just having difficulty justifying it to myself, other than I think I would enjoy it and that I'd interested in the idea of persuing more-or-less my own agenda, in a field that excites me.

What were other people's reasons for starting a PhD? To get the ball rolling, here's a few suggestions, did you:
- do it for your career (in academia, or research)?
- because you thought you'd enjoy it and are passionate about your subject?
- because you always knew from an early age that you were born to do one?
- because your undergraduate supervisor suggested it?
- to put off working (I'm sure it happens in some cases, although this is not my reason)?

Many thanks,
Tom

As for reasons not to do one, it’s the usual “am I good enough / intelligent enough” worries that I (hope) a lot of people have. There’s also the worry that it’s 3 – 4 years out of employment, although I don’t enjoy my current job, I could at least use it to move elsewhere. Then again, I’m 25, what’s 3 – 4 years?

Anyway, I’m sure most of these are questions that I‘m going to have to find an answer to myself. But if there’s anyone else out there who’s gone through a similar thing and can offer some advice, or even just an encouraging “been there buddy, here’s what I did”, that would be great!

Thanks,
Tom

Hi everyone,

I've been employed for the past two years since my undergraduate MEng as a software engineer. The job's not really turned out how I'd hoped and it's time to start looking for something else. When I left Uni I was considering the PhD route but didn't go for it for reasons that I now regret.

One of the things that stopped me was that I could never decide whether a PhD was for me or not. I’m concerned that two years out of the academic world has left my theory rusty, my practical skills haven’t progressed much either (part of the reason I want out of the job – it’s not really the direction I want to head in).

People I’ve met who’ve done a PhD have told me that I need to have a good reason before starting. Is wanting to be a student again a valid reason? I enjoyed my undergraduate degree, particularly parts that involved more undirected investigation into an area, although I remember being frustrated often that I didn’t have the time to look into interesting areas in more detail.

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