Ok, so trying to be more helpful than in my last post...

I found a good thread you might find it helpful to read...
http://thesiswhisperer.com/2012/11/07/when-should-you-quit-your-phd/ - I'm not saying you should quit, but its nice to hear a balanced viewpoint. Everyone I ask for advice always says 'of course you should stick it out' and 'you'll regret it if you don't'. Often, they have no experience of what it involves. At least, not part-time. So its nice to hear some advice from the other side so you feel you can make a balanced decision at least. I find the posts underneath from people in the same boat the most encouraging. 'Whizzcats' right at the bottom is pretty good.

Whatever you do, good luck. And make your own decision that's right for you.

Hi,

I don't really have the answer for you, only to let you know that you are not alone.

I think its difficult studying part-time. You have other pressures and demands on your time, and its lonely. No one to moan about your supervisors to, discuss things when they go wrong, share the success of 'yes, I finished a section or a piece of data collection'.

I am doing a part-time PhD and full-time work. I haven't written a great deal, or published anything yet, and its like this mountain in front of me. It wouldn't seem so bad if I had 5 days a week to spend on it, but I'm thinking, where am I going to find the time to complete. I have one year left and so it seems such a shame to give up now, but also impossible to continue. Like you, I do not have a great deal of enthusiasm for my subject. And there seem to be all these unpolished corners where with hindsight I would have done things differently. Having said that, all my data is collected so all I really need to do is write it up.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone else in the same boat - coping mechanisms etc. I'm literally about to give up, but got a funny feeling I will regret it. I think for me at least, I need to look at things in bite-size chunks and find some kind of network who understand roughly what I'm going through to share it with and get through to the end? I also think my supervisors expect me to give up, which kind of makes me want to complete to prove them wrong, as they haven't exactly been supportive.

If you haven't read it, you could also look at (google>) the thesis whisperer - who talks about a phase everyone goes through in their research called 'the valley of shit'.