kgbfan

Thank you for all your replies. The clear answer is to leave with a degree, even if it is somewhat redundant. It's interesting you bring up the points regarding the difficulty securing a full-time position. In fact, this is one of the reasons I decided to enroll in a PhD program in the first place. If I'm being realistic, all of this boils down to two choices: finish the program in order to have a decent shot at my dream job or leave the program with a second masters and settle for part-time adjunct positions and/or an office job. Kinda depressing.

Thank you for the response, AMTS. The points you make make a lot of sense. I haven't completely ruled out staying, but I already know if I do, it'll be not just a struggle, but a drawn-out torturous process. I'm still debating whether I want to go through with it. And yes, talking to a counselor is a good idea. I'll be making an appointment today.

I'm currently enrolled in an applied math PhD program (I already have an MS in biostatistics). With the exception of a one-unit special topics seminar, I've fulfilled all the course and qualifying exam requirements. Now that I'm in the research phase of my program, I'm realizing more and more that research isn't my forte, nor is it something I enjoy doing. Without the structure of coursework and preparing for exams, I've just been flailing. If I'm being honest with myself, becoming a instructor/community college professor is what I would enjoy doing most, and TA'ing for the last three years has helped confirm that. Let's say, hypothetically, I were to leave the program and apply for teaching/instructor positions. What would be my best course of action? If I go the MS route, I stay an extra semester to write a scholarly paper (basically a short literature review of a specific topic) and apply for teaching positions. Funding isn't an issue since I have a TA-ship. If I just quit without a 2nd MS, I basically save myself a semester's worth of time and get to solely focus on applying for jobs. I guess my main question is, which path do you think makes me more desirable to prospective community college hiring committees if there's any difference at all? Below are some other pros and cons I would also take into consideration. 2nd MS Pros: 1) Makes last three years feel less like they were a waste of time (i.e. less cognitive dissonance) and 2) adds another degree to my CV 2nd MS Cons: 1) Ignores fact that I was in a PhD program and completed all but dissertation essentially 2) has a lot of overlap with my first MS Any help or insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Btw, I hope this is the appropriate forum for posting; if not, I would greatly appreciate if you moved it accordingly.

I'm currently enrolled in an applied math PhD program (I already have an MS in biostatistics). With the exception of a one-unit special topics seminar, I've fulfilled all the course and qualifying exam requirements. Now that I'm in the research phase of my program, I'm realizing more and more that research isn't my forte, nor is it something I enjoy doing. Without the structure of coursework and preparing for exams, I've just been flailing. If I'm being honest with myself, becoming a instructor/community college professor is what I would enjoy doing most, and TA'ing for the last three years has helped confirm that. Let's say, hypothetically, I were to leave the program and apply for teaching/instructor positions. What would be my best course of action? If I go the MS route, I stay an extra semester to write a scholarly paper (basically a short literature review of a specific topic) and apply for teaching positions. Funding isn't an issue since I have a TA-ship. If I just quit without a 2nd MS, I basically save myself a semester's worth of time and get to solely focus on applying for jobs. I guess my main question is, which path do you think makes me more desirable to prospective community college hiring committees if there's any difference at all? Below are some other pros and cons I would also take into consideration. 2nd MS Pros: 1) Makes last three years feel less like they were a waste of time (i.e. less cognitive dissonance) and 2) adds another degree to my CV 2nd MS Cons: 1) Ignores fact that I was in a PhD program and completed all but dissertation essentially 2) has a lot of overlap with my first MS Any help or insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Btw, I hope this is the appropriate forum for posting; if not, I would greatly appreciate if you moved it accordingly.

Were you offered funding? I remember you mentioned that you were on the waitlist for funding and was considering going even if it wasn't offered. Either way, congratulations!!!

This seems sensible and is what I'll most likely do. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.

Well here's the thing: I only started in January. My partner and I moved across the country at the end of the year so he could be closer to family, so I applied to jobs in order to support myself. At the time, I did not know if I was 100% certain that I was ready to do PhD, let alone that I would get into any of the 3 programs to which I applied. Needless to say, it turns out I was accepted somewhere and I couldn't be more excited about starting. During the application process, I purposely did not disclose that I had applied to three PhD programs knowing that if I had, I probably wouldn't have been offered the job (I did mention I was interested about doing a PhD sometime in the future, but still). I could see how they might feel burned by me not having disclosed that.

I am dependent on my income up until the very end, so I am inclined to tell my employer that I am quitting later rather than sooner. Question is, which explanation is less likely to burn bridges--saying I'm leaving for a PhD or saying I'm leaving for personal reasons?

Are you trolling?

Accepted to 7 Phd programs...not too shabby! Congratulations! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I've decided to I'm going to Maryland after all.

I can't emphasize enough how grateful I am to all of you for taking the time to provide your take on the situation. 8 people said UMD and 2 said GW, so UMD it is! But in all seriousness, after sleeping on it and having an in-depth discussion with my partner about which program was more conducive to my long-term career goals, I have decided to go with UMD! My intuition tells me I would be downright miserable taking night classes while working full time. Some people are equipped to handle that, but I feel like I'm not, at least not without becoming burned out in the process. Besides, I just can't pass up a guaranteed 5 year funding package over a position that is less certain. Having the peace of mind is worth the smaller stipend to me. In fact, the more I ruminate on the issue, the more I realize I don't want to go down the path that a biostatistics degree would lead me down. It turns out that I am finding myself more excited about the research I could potentially be doing at UMD than at GW. With all this in mind, UMD seems like the best choice for me. I will be accepting their offer first thing tomorrow.

Congratulations! As braindump said, there wasn't really a wrong decision.

I am honored that you chose to write your first post in my thread. Thank you for your input, though, really. At first I thought it was kind of a no brainer, but you and footballman2399's post prove otherwise. I have a lot of ruminating to do tonight. So GW's deadline is May 1st and UMD's is April 17, and no, GW doesn't know about the time crunch. Based on what was said during the interview, I got the impression that the hiring process couldn't really be expedited. I suppose I could ask UMD for an extension, but, I don't know...do I really want to be in limbo for a few more weeks? Besides I think it's highly unlikely they'd give me that long.

So after today's interview, I found out that the earliest I could be offered the position at GW is long after May 1st. I know that it's likely I'll be offered the position, but the lack of a guarantee would make it hard for me to pass up guaranteed funding at Maryland.

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I can already see myself feeling overwhelmed with having to work that much. Thank you for your response. I find that the flexibility and collaborative opportunities are especially appealing considering I haven't narrowed down my research focus quite yet. That's a very good point Now that I think of it, I only know of one student who was offered a TAship at GW and nobody else who was offered a full-time position like I was, so I wouldn't be surprised if my cohort were no larger than 2. I was told UMD's cohort is 10 students. Those are all very good points. If I were more confident that I could handle such a grueling schedule, I would probably opt for GW for those reasons. And yes most of their stat courses are offered at night, which is convenient, but also a little depressing. I've always preferred morning/afternoon courses over night courses.