My friend has just gained a MPhil in Property Law: as I understand it, her particular Uni expects a MPhil to be the same standard as a Phd but minus the Viva. Basically it is as good as a Phd yet to be defended (Viva). My friend is waiting for her Viva in order to gain her  Phd.

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Hi Lucas

You have some good replies. I spent a year working in the Recruitment Dept of a Facilities Management, very large Oil Company and I can tell you this: We tended to put aside Phd holder applications because employers seek experience over academic performance. And the money is much better too. You can always do a part time doctorate but one word of warning, dont allow a company to pay you a research student rate for 3 years as opposed to an Engineer's rate . I have noticed some cheeky employers trying or are doing just that! What they get is a low cost researcher and consultancy on a 3-4 year contract.

Regards

LLC ( let me know how you get on)

Right Matt, your fears are real. I'll tell you some anecdotal cases -
Casestudy 1 a friend finished his PhD aged 40 - very depressed after achieving his dream. Apparently I made him feel worse because I was a working/studying/mum with 2 kids and a house. He was single and been in student digs all his adult life. He lost some social /dating skills.
Case study 2 a friend started PhD aged 23 and ran out of money before completion. He decided to find a teaching post in a college which he got on the back of his PhD. But he never told them he intended to chuck his PhD in which he did. He is now a happy lecturer , happily married too.
Casestudy 3 Friend decided his career was going nowhere due to his lack of Doctorate. So he went and did a Part time doctorate.  Meanwhile his marriage fell apart but he did complete his PhD and got some but not much recognition for that. 5 years later he finally got the Head of Dept job he coveted. And he was 45.

Now what I learnt from all three is not to wait till you finish. Be single minded in finishing  your PhD but also look for something to do now - like teaching at college as this gives you valuable experience and you may even want to do that instead or as well as.

And you are 31, lacking in social and dating life: GO GET ONE. Join some clubs ( as a student you get discounts!!) or even charities so you can meet people. Even a dead end job will allow you to pay for a property. It isn't cheap but be very savvy about finance and life. Good Luck.  Let me know how you get on :-)