A PhD drop out from Europe here! PhD programms are shorter but still... I had an abusive supervisor and abusive collegaues.. it was absolutely a hell. Right now I have a job, and unfortunately I landed in a company with a very similar culture than the PhD. However, it is easier to move to another job than changing PhDs of course. You can always adapt what you like and want to do. Regarding the jobs... same girl! I also feel I sill never fully enjoy any job that I do, or not at least for the moment, cause I want to do something very specific that unfortunately I cannot do right now, so don't feel overwhelmed. I am doing the same exactly. Working to pay bills.


big hug!

For me it felt like in order to succeed at a PhD, you have to hate yourself... I am leaving my program after 1 year. I like myself too much to put myself through this!

I also quit a PhD program about five months ago and it was the best decision for me. The toxicity was too much, bad financial ROI for my field, and tenure jobs are disappearing. Kudos to you for leaving (I know how hard it is)

Hi, Andy. Ph.d. student (soon to be former) here. Thanks for your video. I'm about to complete my second year of my program and I will be making moves over the summer to master out in the fall. Please keep making these videos. I've  this came to this conclusion earlier this semester.

Kudos to honesty and openness! Indeed, a grad school is a monastery and looks much mire attractive from the outside than in reality.

I'm approaching senior years (60) and have been working on my EdD since '17.  Because I have ADHD, I decided to go online, take one class at a time and take summers off (former teacher).  I'm at the proposal stage now and I've had my moments, especially since the majority of my communication with my Chair has been initiated by myself.  The first few years were tough since I was still teaching...I have since retired and less stressed out by juggling life.
You are so young and have plenty of time to circle back later in life. I hope you will reconsider at another stage in life.  All the best.

I’ve been contemplating getting my PhD but have been going back and forth on this.  I came across this video and you confirmed a lot of my concerns.  Thanks for posting.

It sounds like you had so many reasons to leave and good thing you did. I am about to start my PhD studies but I did get a master's degree so I know how bad research life can be. When people ask me if they should go for it, I always tell them they'd have to love the academic world and their subject. And that, yes, having a PhD does not mean better job prospects. So, thank you for making this video, it's really helpful to think that you always have the option to leave. Always prioritize yourself over everything else. And communication with a supervisor is KEY.

I was once referred to as an 'invasive species ' whilst on a field trip, of day 1 on my course. So yes I can relate to the xenophobic passive aggressive approach your lecturer took

Just finished the video and I’m so so proud of you ! 💗

I am currently in an EdD program. It is the same as a PhD but I can relate. It is tough. I hate the mentality of "getting through it." It should not be this bad but they purposely make it bad. It is why 50-70% of people drop out every year. I am set to graduate next year if I get done with this disertation in time

Good for you. I tell everyone, "its not worth it." I left academia over a decade ago, best decision ever.

I love you and am proud of you Andy

It's kind of crazy that anyone would think or be made to think that it's ok to do a PhD without full and absolute passion about a subject.

If you like to teach, why not get a teaching license to become a K12 teacher? Many neurodivergent adults go into the classroom (me included, tho I didn't have a diagnosis) I'm currently in a PhD program but once I'm done I'm going back into teaching. I have to have that level of structure.

I do believe that people should have experiences prior to doctoral programs, which is why I'm shocked that programs accept people that don't have those experiences (or without remediation). I took grad-level courses in undergrad and did research during my master's program, so I was familiar. My struggle is with the level of disorganization within my program. It's so bad my therapist and psychiatrist are shocked.

This reminds me of  a job I had in corporate America that didn’t train at all and would say  oh you will get it/ you will catch on  …. …. It drove me crazy

I think your problem was that in reality you didn't like the actual activity of doing a PhD and TAing and imagined that being a professor was going to be something else. It's ironic because in reality THAT is the activity of a professor. You will always do research. You will constantly need to read and write papers. And the TA work..you will constantly be teaching, answering emails from students, grading etc. The PhD is an introduction to what you will do in the futurez but probably professors have a lighter teaching load. They are expected to write more though

I was a JD/MA dual degree… definitely hope you DO NOT go to law school given what you shared here 👊

And now it's time to come to this masters dropout/bs holder papa.

I am in the same boat.