Hi Everyone,

I spoke to my supervisor. What do you think of this quote,

"Do you want to do a PhD to give yourself a better long-term future in your career, or are you more interested in working in industry now and your career simply plateauing?"

True/False?Biased?

Hi, thanks for getting back.

Well I was offered a chance to do it part-time with a company before - but the location and university wasn't great. I will definately ask these new companies about this option. My university is generally against this, I guess because they want academics.

My gut does tell me that I have been happier than I am now - and I know PhDs only get harder. I cant imagine what my supervisor will say, he will certainly be dissapointed - they have done a lot for me to get me to this point...

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I have just started a PhD with the same  university where I graduated
top of my degree class. The university offered me a PhD fully funded based in
part by my performance. I felt I should study a PhD  due to my academic
performance and I was worried that in a job I might struggle to develop a
similar level of specialist knowledge. 

The problem: I have found  myself
spending more time thinking about getting a job than I do working on my PhD! I
think the reason is I like to work in a fast-paced environment. Where  there is
pressure to get work done, meet deadlines and solve problems. Make a
difference. Currently the PhD has none of this.  

Due to my strong CV (grades
and 2.5 years of undergraduate work experience) I got plenty of job offers
before  accepting the PhD (though none of the jobs were that exciting) and I
have recently received several interview requests from leading engineering
companies  in the uk (one of which I am really excited about). So it seems I can
get a job.

Obviously, something is stopping me leaving. One aspect is the
thought of  quitting, I have never quit anything. Secondly, I don't want to
regret turning my back on a unique opportunity (i.e. unlikely to get another
chance to study for  a PhD). But a career is surely not a dead end in terms of
my development, is it?! 

Does anyone have any advice to help me think clearly?