Wish me luck guys - I'm just about to go to my supervisor and tell him I am giving up my PhD.

I don't know really. I've just had enough. It's not just a sudden thing - I've felt like this since I came back after New Year. My project isn't going to plan, and the thought of spending the next few years doing the same thing really depresses me. I'll be 27 years old when I finish here. Is this really what I want for my life?? No. There's got to be something else out there.

A year ago I was working as a TEFL teacher in South America. I made enough to live on - in fact I was quite well off - and I was happy. And now, the complete opposite. I'm nagged at all the time. I don't come into the lab on Mondays because I do paperwork at home - I've worked the past 4 weekends looking for field sites to put up insect collection traps, so I thought taking the Mondays off to work at home wouldn't be a problem. It's not like I'm vegging out in front of the TV.

Don't give up Zara. Things can be solved. This is a temporary state, in a few years time you will have the result of this hard work. If you go back to your job, the only result in a few years would be a pay-rise which is nothing compared to achieving results through research and hard work. And when you are 27, you will be a 27 year old with a PhD.

Looks like Zara's already made her mind up, and it MIGHT NOT be temporary. I've been miserable pretty much since day one, but decided to stick at it. Things certainly aren't better - if anything, they've got worse. Do what makes you happy Zara!

(I'm not brave enough to)

Zara. I'm 32 and about to start my PhD in the autumn so don't worry about age. All I can say is, think hard about this. In fact, get yourself a blank notepad and just write everything that comes to mind. Paper therapy is surprisingly therapeutic and has the added benefit of crystalling your thoughts. It should help you decide.

What I wouldn't you to do is give up and then in a few years time wonder what might have been if you'd perservered. But only you know your mind. Good luck.

Basically I'd love to work at an animal shelter in cyprus or spain or anywhere, or in Africa feeding starving people. There are so amny worthwhile things I could be doing. I'm willing to work for free and be poor just to be happy. The whole point in doing this PhD was to open a few doors in the area of conservation - even volunteer jobs in this area seem to be highly competitive. It all sounds mad but it's what I'd be happy doing.

Zara, I'm sure that you will have thought very carefully about this decision so I'm not going to tell you to do just that! A PhD is not worth 3 plus years of total misery and it's not everybody's cup of tea. If you are unhappy and have decided that you would find something else more fulfilling then go for it. It takes a lot of guts to admit that something is not for you and to move on and sometimes it's easier to stay put and be miserable. You only get one life so make sure you spend yours doing the things that make you happy. Good luck for the future.

Wow zara your so brave. I think it sounds like you know what you want to do. So good luck. I hope it all works out for you.

So do I. Believe me, it is the scariest decision I have ever had to make!! But I have taken the last 4 months or so to think about it. I really did hope I'd find the work more interesting by now and that I'd change my mind, but it's not happened..and I'd rather drop out now than waste anymore of anybodys money or time.

what did your supervisor have to say... was he/she shocked at what you had to say? did they try to talk u out of it?

To be honest, 4 unrelenting months of misery sounds more fundamental than than the usual downers people have at some stages. If your heart's not in it anymore then stop.

As long as you have spent 4 months thinking about it and are not quitting because of one knock down.

Believe me, it really has been four months of thinking about it. I still feel like sh*t. 90% of me has made up my mind - but the other 10% wants to hang on here till I find something else to go to that'd be better than this. Going into the unknown is really scary!!