In my old department, it was circulated to new PhD students as a rite of passage on starting their PhD. The above is a slightly enlarged version of the one I saw.

Squares 9 (I related to this very strongly), 40, 42, 43 (which actually happened to me) and 44 I note are additional, as is the very hopeful square 39.

This newer version just had to be added to my blog when I saw it!!! :-)


Ian

It's great isn't it... not even a happy ending!

I don't know. If someone has enough dirt for square 39, I guess such information could be used to 'help' your position. ;-)

(See my PM to you.)

Ian

Yes... although it does take 'career planning' somewhat into the realm of 'Black-Ops' eh!!!

I do really want to finish the PhD and I'm excited about my research but I am so worried about finishing it and been stuck in a job that I could have done without ever going to uni in the first place.

The job would be permanent and there is a hell of a lot of work to do to raise the standards of the company, however, once I had done the bulk of the work and done the management course I think I would be in a better position to do the job and the PhD. I've worked full time up to now but not in the same role and a few years of that job would be great on my cv for the job that I want.

Take the real job instead of holding out for a dream job that may not eventuate. Most PhD graduates seem to end up doing something different to their PhD research and it's usually below their qualifications.

Unless your dream job is the traditional tenured track professor, you shouldn't be doing a PhD to 'get a better job' because this is not a guarantee (and really, what is a better job anyways?) A PhD will, or won't, provide a different set of opportunities and can be a great experience, but if your ultimate goal is this dream job, you might find you get to it without the PhD, or find that your dream job is actually a very different reality to what you thought!

I think you should take a year off which you should be able to do, take the job and use that time to think about why you've gone into the PhD in the first place, and whether it's the right path for you.

Can I ask (which I'm surprised no one has yet) how did this job come about? Did you apply for it? Was it offered to you? I'd be surprised to hear that you applied for it while in the middle of your PhD, that would indicate something about perhaps the lack of enthusiasm (even though you've said you are excited) if you've started to already pull away, especially as a student whose fees are covered. I only started applying for jobs the month before I submitted.

I think that is relatively normal in the humanities. Many people end up in marketing, advertising or other relatively unrelated fields, where you would not need a PhD. It's like with these sales-jobs in science for chemists and biologists. They often prefer PhDs but what you do in your daily routine could be done by every bachelor student with a few weeks training. Out of academia and the few senior R&D jobs, the PhD is rarely beneficial or useful....except maybe some areas where it is important to show off.... :D

I would also say : Just do it, if there is a way to pause your PhD work. I highly doubt that your PhD will help you to get a better job. This is rather the exception.

For me it's not the PhD itself that scares me about finishing but the number of first authored papers most postdocs are asking for these days. I have 2 papers and a3rd in the works but doesn't look enough

It's a bit of a story as to how the job came about awsoci, I'd been working in the care home for about 18 months, New manager started this time last year who openly told me she didn't like the fact I was more qualified than she was despite the fact I never mention my qualifications to anybody at work unless they ask me directly. it's not like I was walking the corridors telling everyone I'm a superstar or anything. Anyway we didn't get along, there were issues from the start, I ended up telling her and the company director where to stick there job back in May and put myself out of work. However, fast forward 4 months, the care inspectors are close to shutting the place down because she's run it into the ground and the directors are begging me to come back as acting manager until they get a new manager in place. Both the care inspector and the staff have recommended me to the directors to be the new manager and hence the position I'm now in.

I say take the job. For all the reasons people have already given. Academia is a very insecure path with few opportunities. Whereas to have high-level real-world experience, plus a PhD in the long run, is the smart way to go.