Thanks everyone for your replies!

I want to say that, yes I am unmotivated and maybe I will quit my PhD. I'm only scared of quitting and doing something else and finding myself in the same position there too. Hence, I'm debating if the real problem is PhD or me. I don't wish to regret losing such a good opportunity.

I'm 8 months into my PhD and have not done anything at all. I'm thinking of quitting, but the thing that stops me is I don't know what else to do now. But in order to make a rational choice, I want to know if I can continue my PhD even if I'm not passionate about the subject. I have always liked science and math and hence, chose engineering. I like learning about new stuff in general, but somehow I want to learn about everything else except my project related stuff.

Hi Rewt,

Thanks for answering!

My supervisor said I'm doing okay but i find it hard to believe him as he is a very nice person. I have another supervisor, who doesn't seem as satisfied with me. And as for the work, I don't really enjoy it so much. Before I started, I thought it is an interesting project in which not much has been done. But now, I don't really have the motivation to do much. I'm scared all the time if I should be doing something else in which I'm more passionate. And can you elaborate on imposter syndrome please?

Hi,

It's been 8 months since I started my PhD in a different country from my home.

My progress: 15 pages of literature review with stuff mostly re-phrased.

I can't even recall how I wasted my time. I had been severely homesick for first few months and hardly did any work. Today, I spoke to my supervisor about it and told him I was not meeting my expectations and underperforming.

I'm not sure I'm the right person for academic research. I love learning new things, but I get bored of reading the same thing and I absolutely can't write.

I don't know if I should quit before it's too late.