Unless I want to go into academia, is it worth doing a PhD?

Graduate School
1

<p>I am about 8 months into my PhD and frankly have lost interest. I may just stick with it, get a MPhil over 3 years and bounce. I am thinking of why I would like to stay the course, but unless I want to teach at a college level, is it worth my time and money?</p>

2

<p>It depends on the field, I believe. Some, like psychology, practically require an advanced degree to do psych related work. A PhD will also help you get certain specialized jobs such in industry such as R&D.</p>

<p>On the other hand, a PhD in something like philosophy or English will only help you in academia and little else.</p>

3

<p>It’s in international relations. </p>

<p>I am stuck in 2 minds.</p>

4

<p>Bail. A PhD in international relations is not going to net you anything more than a Masters would get you.</p>

5

<p>What school do you go to and what is their placement like outside academia? How long is the PhD? I know IR PhDs are usually very long, about 6-7 years so I can understand you skepticism and lack of interest at such an early stage. </p>

<p>I think a PhD in IR is actually very useful relative to a Masters degree and probably one of the more useful PhDs, you can look into NGOs, Think-tanks, policy consulting firms and such.</p>

<p>Also it might just be a phase really which is feel bad about your topic and such. So things might change in the future!</p>

6

<p>I’m at KCL, dept of War Studies. Pretty prestigious. </p>

<p>I can finish it in 4 years if I am like a superman or something. 6 years is the maximum time I have. </p>

<p>Maybe bail at the MPhil stage?</p>

7

<p>I have talked to a few people who work in the federal government and they say that there are a lot of PhDs at the top ranks, and that in some areas/agencies you have to have a PhD to advance.</p>

<p>Given that it looks like the avg time to degree there is 5-6 years, I don’t see the point of bailing at the MPhil. At that point all you have left is the dissertation; unless you really abhor writing and don’t have anything in the world you’d like to research, I can’t see bailing at 3-4 years in when you have so short a time left. At my university you can’t get the MPhil until you’ve taken all your comprehensive exams and I think defended your dissertation proposal, and if you’re gonna do that you might as well do a secondary data analysis and just finish!</p>

<p>I think a better use of your time, if you already know you want to work for the feds, is to drop out now and get an MPA instead.</p>

<p>You also said time AND money. Are you paying for this PhD yourself? If that’s the case, I would DEFINITELY drop out and get an MPA instead. MUCH better use of your money.</p>