Hi there,

I have recently found out that I have been successful in gaining a place on the Civil Service Fast Stream (Social Research) branch and that I am the chosen applicant for a fully funded 'project' Political Science PhD at the University of Southampton.
I am asking for advice (I know I am in an enviable position) because I am really torn about what to do. I know that I would like the project and that I am very lucky to have the funding, however, it is not my own topic and I am not sure I would 'love it'. I do want to do a PhD, but I am not sure it is worth it for me? I feel the same about the Civil Service, but obviously, it has the added bonus of longevity and I do worry about trying to get into Academia. Currently, I am doing my MA and I do struggle with Bipolar Disorder and an Eating Disorder so I am concerned about the stress of a PhD, but I know I could dig deep and do it. I know that the Civil Service will also be stressful, but I am a hard worker.

I guess I am concerned that if I turn down the PhD (it's an advanced quant project and I am quite new to quant and less confident at it) that i'll never get the chance to do a PhD or that I'm being ungrateful if I turn it down. I have applied for 1+3 projects before and got rejected 4 times, so this is a major decision for me.

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!