Hey guys,

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and get back to me. Everyone has told me that they didn't really do much in their first year and it wasn't until 2nd and 3rd year that they had a grasp of what they were supposed to be doing. To be honest I don't want to be walking around in a haze for the next few years, not really knowing what I'm supposed to be doing! That's my idea of hell! I think the problem is that I need structure and a means to an end and just dont think I'm PhD material :(
I have already spoken to my supervisor and told him I feel like a 2nd year undergraduate trying to do a Phd. He was understanding but that's about it. I don't think he realises just how stuck I am.
Anyway, I will have to decide pretty soon because I don't want to spend much more time on something I'm not going to finish. I'll keep you all posted and thanks again for the advice and words of encouragement.

I wouldn't do it, Im a first year PhD student and I wouldn't advise doing a PhD in a topic you're not interested in. You need a lot of motivation and researching something you have no interest in will be wasting your money. Save it for something you WANT to do. good luck!

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping I can get some advice but I've pretty much made up my mind I'm going to quit. I am in my first year of a CASE awarded PhD and am hating it. I have been out of academia for two years and am finding it very hard to remember things from my undergraduate, never mind trying to develop my knowledge to new things for my project. Also, I have never been involved in research before as I only have an undergraduate degree and not a masters.
I have never considered doing a phd before but when I was asked to do it I decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up and had to at least give it a go. Now six months later I've hated every minute of it and am still not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't even go into the office anymore because I used to just burst into tears with the stress and confusion and didn't want anyone to see me upset. I have also been seeing a counsellor at the university to try to help with these feelings but I feel that this phd is damaging to me and don't want to continue.
I would love to hear from other people who have quit and how did they go about it, did they have to pay back their funding (shitty question to have to ask but I have to think about it), what did their supervisor say, etc? Did you have to hand in the work you did so far? I feel like I don't have anything to hand in since all I've been doing is reading and trying to understand the literature!

Guys any help or words of wisdom would be appreciated.
Thanks