Postdoc vs. Phd
I am towards the end of completing my PhD which has been a truly miserable experience! I have had little supervision, support and been bullied by faculties members and other students trying to sabotage my efforts. I experienced burnout so bad during the past year, I got sick, and had to take a medical leave, which is my second leave. I am debating what to do at this point, whether I should consider a postdoc or get the hell out and get an industry position. That being said, for those of you who have completed postdocs, has the postdoc experience been as disgusting as the PhD?
As with PhD projects, the postdoc experience is dependant upon many factors. What do you mean by an industry position? Does a research institute count? If so, it's not that different from a PhD at a university. There are the same issue with supervision, resources, horrible people etc.
There are the same issue with supervision, resources, horrible people etc.
Classic!
Had you worked in a competitive environment similar to academia before your PhD and enjoyed it? If that was the case, then I'd say maybe a postdoc in a different university might be ok (although remember postdocs get a lot less supervision and support than PhD students do). It might be though that you are just not suited to working in highly competitive environments, in which case definitely look elsewhere - ruining your health over a PhD or job is not worth it. Academia is not the right environment for a lot of people, and the pyramid of ever decreasing jobs at each level means that the competitiveness doesn't go away - it's very target driven these days even for top professors.
@bewildered: You make some good points! I worked in social services prior to doing my PhD, in some great places, but wanted to add research skills to my repertoire. I am doing research in social services and it is way different from my previous experiences. I am a very independent person and have not had difficulty doing the research, but I have a supervisor who is not interested in what I am doing, is always away, and rarely reads my stuff. Plus, I have dealt with every type of personality disorder in my department. I am about 4 months away from PhD completion. I guess at this point, it is time to suck it up and finish it up, then return to the social services sector. I think what makes me angry the most is that I spent 5-years doing this degree and feel like it has been a complete waste of time.
@bewildered: You make some good points! I worked in social services prior to doing my PhD, in some great places, but wanted to add research skills to my repertoire. I am doing research in social services and it is way different from my previous experiences. I am a very independent person and have not had difficulty doing the research, but I have a supervisor who is not interested in what I am doing, is always away, and rarely reads my stuff. Plus, I have dealt with every type of personality disorder in my department. I am about 4 months away from PhD completion. I guess at this point, it is time to suck it up and finish it up, then return to the social services sector. I think what makes me angry the most is that I spent 5-years doing this degree and feel like it has been a complete waste of time.
It does sound like your preferences for types of working environments might well mean that academia is not the right fit. There is very little positive reinforcement in my experience and for some people that's just not a good fit. Do you have to go back to social services though (unless you want to)? Have you thought about government social researcher jobs or NGO research/policy roles? Those types of jobs might give you the more cooperative work environment but still let you use your research skills.
