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The M.Sc I took was an M.Res. I am not sure if you have heard of them. They are research masters that give students the skills to go on and do a Phd amoungst other things. Quite a few of the students who studied with me decided not to take any further study and were happy with the M.Sc . It was certainly more work than I undertook than as an undergraduate in my final year. Though saying that potential employers seem to miss this fact. I guess in comparison with some universities it may not be seen as a step up, though we did have someone who studied at Cambridge on the course.

Your replies about the merit of doing a Phd have been helpful. For me, the reason to continue study (if anyone was interested) would be to gain new skills. If it means I am going to be doing a great deal of work alone, I guess there are other ways. It seems it is only what I would call good luck that has got me places in the past and I seem to have run out of it!

Thanks for your input. Being unemployed really is dull.

Thanks for your input. It is depressing having been out of work for so long. I guess I could get myself in to a muddle with a Phd. The market is tough at the moment. I have had 10 or more interviews I should think and no luck yet.

My initial idea was to use a Phd as a way of attaining new skills. The last thing I want is to be working on a project that it impossible to write up. A problem I have seen within this forum.

I've been thinking of applying for funded phds as I cannot find a job. Is this a good reason to do one? Certainly, there are more jobs out there for those that hold a phd, however, there are also more jobs out there for people with a better undergraduate degree than I have.

As an undergraduate I got a 2.2 from Exeter University and went on to do a M.Sc, which I passed (at a pass). However, this was back in 2002 and what may have been current then, may not be now. I have also spent sometime in industry 6 months in a diagnostics lab and over 3 years in an area called pharmacovigilance. I would go back and work in this area had I not been out of what I would call real work for 3 years.

Would doing a funded phd be a reasonable way of of getting back to work? Are they hard to come by these days. I've heard that the competition for phds is even more than 8-9 years ago. Any ideas?