Drop out of a PhD in the first sem?

[robhat]

Hi

So my story goes like this ..

I'm an international student who got screwed at one of the universities that promised me financial aid for a PhD but they didn't have any to give (not the most ethical of things), so I didn't enroll and came back to my country, leaving a well paid job for this shit. This happened this August. 

Anyhow, I'm applying again for the fall 2014 session. I'm in the process of applying and I'm receiving positive replies from top tier Ivy League schools (I'm an Ivy League graduate myself). 

A professor from a public ivy university contacted me two days back with a PhD position. He got my info from some colleague of his. He is in a hurry to recruit a new graduate student. Applying to this school wasn't in my initial scheme of things. But, chuck that. All of this seems good. Only obstacle being, he wants me to start in January and he is willing to bend the admission rules if need be. 

 

Now, I don't want to let this opportunity go. But I also want to see how I fare in the top schools because I want to go there! But I will only get to know about them in March and this prof wants me to start in Jan. I'm concerned because if I don't make it to the top schools and if I lose this opportunity, I would have nothing. Yet, I would like to keep this as a secondary option incase, nothing works out there. I would have appreciated it if this was a fall thing so I knew which school I'm going to.

I'm trying to go work on the new project with this prof on a short term visa initially (I need to convince him for this, and this sounds extremely stupid because the prof would think that I'm not interested or something) so that I have an exit point, as well as the chance to really work on the project without worrying about coursework. If I don't get in anywhere else, I will just take the visa interview again for a student status and continue with the PhD.

If that doesn't work out, and if I indeed enroll as a PhD on an F1 visa, and I get in somewhere really good within a month or so of starting this program, is it too uncommon to drop out of a PhD within the first semester or after the first semester? I mean I don't even know if he would want to make me work on the project right away or just learn techniques, do literature review and shit the first semester. And if I get to go to a top school, then why not? 

For the ones who read the entire thing, thank you! Any comments, tips, advice?

 

Edited October 29, 2013 by robhat

[robhat]

So the situation is a bit different than before. I'd be going in on a short term visa. So no dropping out of a PhD. I hope completing my desired 5-6 months of research work as per the contract and then (maybe) choosing not to enroll as a PhD won't be taken as a personal offense by the prof in question.  

[PsychGirl1]

I'd be as honest as possible now. You're going to burn bridges- maybe more than you think- if you don't.

[robhat]

Erm, okay, thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the honesty. Please keep it coming! I mean I realize that it won't be smooth, but I wasn't expecting it to be that rough. Technically, if I do not accept the formal PhD offer made by the school, complete my research in the time frame and stay the duration of the offered 'Visiting Scholar' position, I'm not going too much against the tide right? I mean I have conveyed the prof that this is a new research and I would want to see how much I will be able to like it and you will also get the opportunity to see what I'm capable of. So it's like a trade off. At the end, maybe I would want to stay but he might think that I'm not suitable enough or driven enough. The last thing I would want to do is to take advantage of someone which is why I'm extremely bothered about this.

What do you think?

 

Edited October 29, 2013 by robhat

[Lisa44201]

No, it's not a trade off, sorry. You don't get to do a PhD on a trial basis. Also, how do you get to attend the school without accepting the offer? It sounds like the guy is working overtime to get you in there; walking away from someone who is pulling some strings to get you a position looks bad professionally.

[robhat]

That's what I'm saying, it is NOT a PhD right now. Consider this more like a lab tech position (which has a scope to be converted to a PhD later). Also, I won't be enrolled/taking classes or anything like that. 
I have had several email and video chat conversations and I have been told to come to work - I have not applied yet, I wasn't even planning to apply to this school. 

 

I realize the guy is pulling strings and he's indeed desperate for someone to start on this new project and even though my research interest/background is no where related to what he works on, he's trying to get me there so that he has someone who can start work on the project, and believe you me if I decide to leave, I would tell him within a month of joining and work till he finds a suitable replacement.

 

But that still doesn't discount the fact that I would let him down in some way. But I'm not joining on the condition that I would be continuing for a PhD. 
I'm not trying to convince myself that whatever I intend to do is the right thing, if I had thought that - I wouldn't have bothered posting, but consider the situation - a prof is seeking a grad student preferably to start work on a new project ASAP, he comes across my profile, our interests don't match, I haven't applied yet, he's the one who initiates the topic of getting me on a short term research visa initially, I tell him that on a lab tech position - I would also come to know if I'm developing any taste for this research or not, and he would get to know if I'm good enough. And he says that if all goes well, I can continue this research as a PhD. He doesn't have my word that I will continue.  
But if I don't continue or develop any inclination to that research, then it should be okay to go wherever I find my research interests best meet right? Not like I do be voiding the employer-employee contract in any way, I would be abiding by it fully. Another example would be to consider this as an Intern. You are expected to continue in the company where you have interned if they offer you a full time and they will be disappointed if you do not continue, but the decision to continue is not their's to make. You got a better opportunity, you took it, plain and simple.  


EDIT : I should probably change the title of the thread considering it is not a PhD anymore which is why some of you can get the wrong impression about this. 

EDIT 2 :  Looks like I cannot change the title, sorry for the inconvenience everyone. I realize few people would be able to go through all the posts to understand the situation fully. 

 

Edited October 30, 2013 by robhat

[Lisa44201]

AH. Yes, that does make a difference. In my defense, other people have started threads asking how bad it would be to actually start a PhD program, then leave after a semester to go somewhere else.

 

You are correct, this is different.

 

It's still not wonderful, but it's a heck of a lot better. That said, would you have to sign a contract stating you'd be working there for a fixed length of time? (In Psychology, my field, it is not uncommon for people to work in labs for a two-year time period.) That would be the next sticking point, is if you were contracted.

 

Okay, so if you took the research job for a semester, let's say, and were upfront about it being a short-term commitment, then left to go to a PhD program, you're fine.

[PsychGirl1]

I still wouldn't do it if you have no intention of staying on with the prof. What would be the point for you? Five months isn't much time to get caught up on all the research going on, and make an impact on top of that. Definitely not enough time for posters or presentations, to network, or to make any sort of impact on your application package. And I still say he won't be happy when the final decision is made, which it sounds like you've already made up your mind and you're just being slightly more vague to the professor's face.

 

But it also sounds like you've made up your mind about taking it- so just take it and don't look to us for validation!

[robhat]

Lisa : 

It is not ideal, agreed. I would have preferred an alternate arrangement but that's what I have in hand right now and I have to make do with whatever I got. It is a short term thing, since the professor only wants me to stick around for the semester, and if I want to continue further, enroll in grad school in the summer semester and start taking classes come fall. I don't exactly know if I would go up on contract or not, the discussion I had was only for about five months, so maybe a contract won't come into the picture. 

So people normally work for two years (roughly) before starting their PhD's? Woah! In my field, most of the people normally get work experience in the industry or just continue directly from their Masters or Bachelors to a PhD degree. I guess it all comes down to different majors.

-----
Psychgirl:

When I posted this, I was still in a dilemma. I was under the impression that it was going to be a PhD (prof said he's looking for a PhD preferably) and the professor just hinted that we might explore other options (such as a short term). Which was when I had posted to enquire. I don't have too much knowledge of how a PhD works and I was extremely confused.

The situation changed over the course of these few days and now I know that if I take it, it is going to be a short term thing initially - I would still NEED to prove my mettle to be able to stick around, a PhD just doesn't come banging on anyone's door. I agree with you that one semester of research won't help me much. You have a point there. But what you might have missed seeing is the fact that I'm keeping this as a safety net, if my other applications don't work out - considering they are all big ass top notch schools. I'm not at all determined that I will leave, in fact it is the other way round - maybe I will get to like the research, maybe I would think that 'Oh, I have already spent six months. Why join a new school when I can complete my doctorate studies in (n-6) months?'. I would like to give this a fighting chance. Maybe it will work out. There is no certitude with anything else. I do not want to not take this offer, look back distraught one year from now and think - 'I should have taken the offer, 'cause if I did, life would have been a wee bit easier'. I hope you get my point. 

 

I still understand if you beg to differ. And yes, I have made up my mind. I was confused and in guilt when I thought that this was a PhD offer - I was fighting my inner conscience to separate what's right from what I need to do to secure my future. I would have probably bowed down to ethics and would have declined this opportunity, but now when I know it's an initial noncommittal thing, I'm relieved.  Disappointment might still exist, but you cannot keep everyone happy all the time.

Thank you for your incisive and differing opinion on this. I won't deny that it did help me to view this situation through a different lens, and I appreciate that. 

Edited October 30, 2013 by robhat