tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post6706388808368447227..comments2024-03-21T06:02:48.296-07:00Comments on PhD Program Success and Survival Tips: The Best Way to Quit a PhD Program: Taking a Leave of AbsenceVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06802668065567312309noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-72814541033554703482012-10-15T13:57:29.698-07:002012-10-15T13:57:29.698-07:00Alexander
This blog describes my life right now, ...Alexander<br /><br />This blog describes my life right now, and I totally identify with it. I took a personal (family and medical) leave of absence last July and I am taking time off to reconsider whether I want to go back to graduate school (PhD in Neuroscience) and to recover from chronic burnout/anxiety. It has been an incredibly difficult road this year. My graduate advisor left the university, I had important family members sick and had a nasty breakup with my previous partner. But all of these circumstances obscured the real issue.....I was fed up with graduate school and the "process" of getting a PhD. I suffered from panic attacks (first time in my life) and generated some anxiety disorders, I sought therapy and it is gradually disappearing with. One thing worth mentioning is that I am also in an dual degree program (pursuing an MD/PhD). I am 99.99% certain I will leave the PhD and focus on the MD, which is also stressful but I am sure will be more rewarding than graduate school. I am hopeful to become detoxified from graduate school. One of the steps to do that is doing some volunteer work abroad where I will have personal rewards for helping the underserved and will give me time to appreciate greater things in life. This will probably reinforce my desire to become a physician rather than a researcher. <br /><br />Thanks for such a great post Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-44993213660856102112012-07-25T10:22:33.727-07:002012-07-25T10:22:33.727-07:00I completed an online distant learning PhD to the ...I completed an online distant learning PhD to the point of my dissertation (ready to turn in the first draft). I did a one month internship in St. Kitts (leaving my children and husband). When I turned in my first draft I was informed that the school closed. Yes, just shut down. I had nothing.<br />I applied to a local college (a very prestigious one) and have muddled through all of my coursework and maintained a decent average with the exception of statistics (which I failed). A short time ago (probably 2 semesters ago) two professors called me in to tell me that I wasn't cutting it and they felt that I should maybe look elsewhere to complete my doctorate. I had too much to lose in the way of credits if I applied somewhere else so I stuck it out. Now, with just a dissertation left (and the comps) I have been told that I may have difficulty finding a committee for my dissertation (they don't want to support someone who "isn't cutting it").<br />I have given myself permission to be ABD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-33196517020242267332010-08-24T07:25:56.330-07:002010-08-24T07:25:56.330-07:00Hi Alexander,
I'm so glad I found your blog....Hi Alexander, <br /><br />I'm so glad I found your blog. While other contributors may have found their experiences to be similar,my story is really crazy, and I need advice as to whether I should continue. <br /><br />In Sept 2007, I went into a Canadian PhD program, after separating from my husband, who's from Bermuda. It felt like I was getting my life back on track, because I had given up further education to have a normal life i.e. work, marriage and children (none worked out). I had very low self-esteem at that time, and was determined to get my PhD, especially when the department gave me a prestigious fellowship. <br /><br />I had done my BA and MA in Canada, and I found my experiences positive (I'm not Canadian). But I didn't like the new school. It was in the boonies, near a high-crime area, and student housing was grubby. I moved out after finding cockroaches, but the second place had bedbugs after 3 months, and so I moved again. The third place was noisy, but much better than the previous two, and so I stayed for over a year. Then I had a really bad fall during gym practice(in the middle of my second year, just when graduate students ended their strike) and couldn't walk properly for months. The doctors thought I had RSD, because I never recovered. I was all alone, and got really paranoid and fearful. <br /><br />So I moved again (it's incredible!) to a small quiet town to recuperate, and to finish up my coursework (I still had two papers outstanding from my first year). It was the biggest mistake, because my roommate was a manipulative liar, so I moved AGAIN, to a seemingly nice place. The landlady was a control freak, and harassed me and the other two students to no end, and so in Oct 2009, I applied for medical leave (1 year), and it was granted. <br /><br />By this time, I was experiencing heart palpitations and chest pain. I was scared to death, because my PhD was all screwed up. I did all the readings, but I produced very little. There was added stress from the knowledge that I had fallen so much behind. <br /><br />The program director and my profs were understanding, and they said I should be able to finish the work while recuperating. My mum has been supportive, and took care of me really well. Except that I have a WRITERS BLOCK and I can't finish up my papers. I started one in May, and started the second in June, and it is now August. <br /><br />I do not know what to say, except that I feel I'm too far gone to salvage my PhD.<br /><br />Please advise. <br /><br />I have been asking myself, if I would even think of giving up if not for all the unfortunate circumstances. I turned 32 in May, and all my friends are married, with careers, and having babies. I have no clue what is happening next in my life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-39379962974384203742010-07-18T15:21:05.668-07:002010-07-18T15:21:05.668-07:00I feel exactly the same as this previous post - al...I feel exactly the same as this previous post - already have an MS, was working at a good job in the field, but wanted to be able to teach and/or reach a level in the field that was not an option without a PhD. I am 2 years in, and realizing that maybe I don't need the PhD to do some of the things that would make me happy and intellectually satisfied. I feel like everything else in my life is on hold, when maybe I could be progressing on some of those things (relationships, earning money, traveling, being near my family) instead of spending 3+ more years struggling and depressed trying to earn this degree. I am thinking about taking a leave of absence but also do not know how to approach this - anyone have advice or personal stories?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-22753265897007453742010-02-03T06:59:29.987-08:002010-02-03T06:59:29.987-08:00I wish i had read this before I started my PhD,I s...I wish i had read this before I started my PhD,I sincerly had many illusions about the whole program.<br />I gave up a job I liked and which paid adecent salary and this is because I was not strong enough to resist the pressure from friends and family how prestigious a Phd is.<br />4 months into the programme I realise this is not the path I want my career to take and I took it up for all the wrong reasons.I have a masters degree and I know I can fall back on,but my esteem is in the gutters at the momment I am even scared of telling my proffesor that I want to quit.<br />Right now am being driven with guilt of wasting funds (since it is a schorlarship,but there is no single day I have been happy with the decision to take a PhD.<br />Please advise on the way forward.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-88238369699393016242009-08-21T18:50:20.353-07:002009-08-21T18:50:20.353-07:00My friend, I love your blog.
i am deciding whethe...My friend, I love your blog.<br /><br />i am deciding whether to take a leave. but i don't know how to bring it up to my advisors. if i say i want to do some soul-searching (which is the truth), they may think i am not committed to the program. on the other hand, if i lie about a sick family member, i feel that's morally wrong. what would you suggest?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16420069629377826603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3253049857052806939.post-50828865743618274492009-06-25T18:36:25.641-07:002009-06-25T18:36:25.641-07:00I am really impressed with you pal...
You are an ...I am really impressed with you pal...<br /><br />You are an impactful person!<br /><br />IrfanIrfannoreply@blogger.com