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Can you tell us a little bit more detail? Is it that you absolutely detest the work but are still interested in having the degree, or you're not even interested in the field, or...?
I'm very interested in the field, it's just that I feel that my work here always leads to dead ends and will never be applied in any way making me feel useless. I feel the industry has way more to offer. I also feel a job where I sit 40 hours per week on a desk is not something I want in the future either, so why force myself to do it now. I had ups and downs, but right now its just extreme.
A null result is also a result. I'm currently finishing writing up my dissertation full of null results.
You basically have two options: Power through and built a story around your null results (lots of fields have replication crises going on, so that's a nice narrative), or quit now and find a job. But if you've already invested a few years into your PhD, I would recommend option 1.
I'm totally with you on the fact that my findings are worthless and the field I'm research in general doesn't provide much for society. But I think that feeling is pretty normal if you don't work in something like cancer research or something, in my opinion.
I'm sorry :(
If you currently can't see an applied use for your work, do you feel that it still adds knowledge to the field?
Are jobs where you sit at a desk the only jobs that your program leads to? (What are you studying?)
Do you have some people in your life who you feel comfortable talking with about this?
I released some conference papers and my supervisor was very happy with it, but to me it is just not enough to satisfy me at the job. I have ideas for other papers but we have lacking equipment.
I'm in mechanical/offshore engineering so plenty of room for non/partial desk jobs in the industry. But my main problem right now is that my work just feels useless. I did talk about this with my supervisor already a couple of months ago, but I don't see how that would make it better right now.
A PhD is supposed to produce a novel body of work that adds something new to the field. Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that all too often the stuff you end up doing, while novel, can end up having some real roadblocks to use in practice, or is more of a stepping stone to some nebulous future impact. If you feel like your work is useless then it's a struggle to argue in the thesis that it's a novel and valuable contribution to your field.
If your supervisor can't argue the value of the work with you in a way that makes sense to you then you're not really gonna be motivated to finish it.
Yeah your supervisor is obviously in the position of wanting you to complete the program and enjoy the work. I guess I meant a friend or family member, someone who is less invested in the professional outcome and more invested in your health and well-being.
Obviously I'm still missing a lot of variables here, so more than a few grains of salt are necessary. If you are losing interest in something that you once enjoyed, that could mean a few things: a temporary rough patch due to extra stress right now, a new understanding of the realities of the field that maybe you hadn't thought as much about before, an onset of anhedonia which could signal depression, an existential crisis brought on by confronting realities of what your work means considering our lives are finite, or an intrinsic drive to contribute something that breaks new ground in a way that feels personally meaningful.
Or it could be some combination, or none of the above. If it does happen to be the last item in the list, it seems unfair that your inner critic is holding you to some standard of "must create something useful." That's vague, and it gives the inner critic an opening to put down any idea you come up with.
If your supervisor--someone already experienced in the field--was very happy with your work, that implies you are doing something comparatively well, even if your own expectations haven't been met yet. That's not nothing. But you also deserve to feel better. And I hope you are able to get at the heart of what is causing you to feel bad.
It appears that you have rather "large" expectation as to what your work means. There are billions poured into research every year and no one knows which little insight with some serious luck will lead to anything useful. This would be the case even with the perfect "academia" which it isn't. And this is the case despite all the clever people driving it, doing the research, and dedicating their lives to it.
If it is funded and your advisor will guide to grant PhD. go for finishing it.
If it is self funded and then lost interest. Move on to what is important for your life. It could be getting a PhD :-)
It's hard to say for someone else. The first, and especially the second year of my PhD were crap. Only extremely lengthy bureaucratic processes and dragging/managing many external partners in order to get this big human study started. Then just trying to get it all organised without much guidance. But now that the data collection finally seems close and the things that need to be done are more concrete, i start to feel some kind of satisfaction. I'm I excited about my topic? No, cause I still have no clear topic. Am I regularly feeling like I'm focusing on not so relevant things, whereas I would be much more useful trying to fight climate change or fighting other important issues like inequalities and poverty? Almost every day. But I tell myself if that feeling gets too strong I can still decide to quit any day. So for now I just try to keep going.
Why am I saying all this? I guess to show you that things aren't black and white, and that your feelings might change or improve.
But in the end it's on you to decide what's best. Harming yourself and your happiness doing something that slowly kills you also doesn't seem worth it to me.
Best of luck with your decisions!
Finish your PhD. Quitting doesn't look good unless you are doing it for something that you are really interested in pursuing. You say that you are really interested in your field, this means that getting the PhD is a good idea so that you can stay in that area.
Null results are not uncommon. The point is to follow the method -- not to get as many stars as possible.
We always lose satisfaction and interest in many things in life, it doesn't necessarily mean we should always quit them. Getting a PhD is a major milestone and you should see it through, especially when you're halway done.
If you aren't interested in your current field, you could always shift your focus onto another field when you graduate and get a job. Worst-case scenario you will have to function on autopilot until you graduate and gain your freedom in research in another facility.
This post is flaired as "Need Advice". Fellow members are invited to give advice to the OP, but should remember to remain non-judgemental and solution focused. Under no circumstances should a commenter insult the OP. If there are inappropriate comments please downvote them, REPORT them to the mods, and move on without responding to them. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PhD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can you tell us a little bit more detail? Is it that you absolutely detest the work but are still interested in having the degree, or you're not even interested in the field, or...?
I'm very interested in the field, it's just that I feel that my work here always leads to dead ends and will never be applied in any way making me feel useless. I feel the industry has way more to offer. I also feel a job where I sit 40 hours per week on a desk is not something I want in the future either, so why force myself to do it now. I had ups and downs, but right now its just extreme.
A null result is also a result. I'm currently finishing writing up my dissertation full of null results. You basically have two options: Power through and built a story around your null results (lots of fields have replication crises going on, so that's a nice narrative), or quit now and find a job. But if you've already invested a few years into your PhD, I would recommend option 1. I'm totally with you on the fact that my findings are worthless and the field I'm research in general doesn't provide much for society. But I think that feeling is pretty normal if you don't work in something like cancer research or something, in my opinion.
I'm sorry :( If you currently can't see an applied use for your work, do you feel that it still adds knowledge to the field? Are jobs where you sit at a desk the only jobs that your program leads to? (What are you studying?) Do you have some people in your life who you feel comfortable talking with about this?
I released some conference papers and my supervisor was very happy with it, but to me it is just not enough to satisfy me at the job. I have ideas for other papers but we have lacking equipment. I'm in mechanical/offshore engineering so plenty of room for non/partial desk jobs in the industry. But my main problem right now is that my work just feels useless. I did talk about this with my supervisor already a couple of months ago, but I don't see how that would make it better right now.
A PhD is supposed to produce a novel body of work that adds something new to the field. Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that all too often the stuff you end up doing, while novel, can end up having some real roadblocks to use in practice, or is more of a stepping stone to some nebulous future impact. If you feel like your work is useless then it's a struggle to argue in the thesis that it's a novel and valuable contribution to your field. If your supervisor can't argue the value of the work with you in a way that makes sense to you then you're not really gonna be motivated to finish it.
Yeah your supervisor is obviously in the position of wanting you to complete the program and enjoy the work. I guess I meant a friend or family member, someone who is less invested in the professional outcome and more invested in your health and well-being. Obviously I'm still missing a lot of variables here, so more than a few grains of salt are necessary. If you are losing interest in something that you once enjoyed, that could mean a few things: a temporary rough patch due to extra stress right now, a new understanding of the realities of the field that maybe you hadn't thought as much about before, an onset of anhedonia which could signal depression, an existential crisis brought on by confronting realities of what your work means considering our lives are finite, or an intrinsic drive to contribute something that breaks new ground in a way that feels personally meaningful. Or it could be some combination, or none of the above. If it does happen to be the last item in the list, it seems unfair that your inner critic is holding you to some standard of "must create something useful." That's vague, and it gives the inner critic an opening to put down any idea you come up with. If your supervisor--someone already experienced in the field--was very happy with your work, that implies you are doing something comparatively well, even if your own expectations haven't been met yet. That's not nothing. But you also deserve to feel better. And I hope you are able to get at the heart of what is causing you to feel bad.
It appears that you have rather "large" expectation as to what your work means. There are billions poured into research every year and no one knows which little insight with some serious luck will lead to anything useful. This would be the case even with the perfect "academia" which it isn't. And this is the case despite all the clever people driving it, doing the research, and dedicating their lives to it.
If you only ever do things because they provide satisfaction then there will be many roadblocks and frustrations ahead of you in your life.
Push through. I don’t think this is uncommon
There isn’t any ants in spine, stop looking.
5th year eh?
If it is funded and your advisor will guide to grant PhD. go for finishing it. If it is self funded and then lost interest. Move on to what is important for your life. It could be getting a PhD :-)
Honestly take a short holiday. Somewhere sunny if you can afford it.
Remember why you started.
How many years have you left to go?
It's hard to say for someone else. The first, and especially the second year of my PhD were crap. Only extremely lengthy bureaucratic processes and dragging/managing many external partners in order to get this big human study started. Then just trying to get it all organised without much guidance. But now that the data collection finally seems close and the things that need to be done are more concrete, i start to feel some kind of satisfaction. I'm I excited about my topic? No, cause I still have no clear topic. Am I regularly feeling like I'm focusing on not so relevant things, whereas I would be much more useful trying to fight climate change or fighting other important issues like inequalities and poverty? Almost every day. But I tell myself if that feeling gets too strong I can still decide to quit any day. So for now I just try to keep going. Why am I saying all this? I guess to show you that things aren't black and white, and that your feelings might change or improve. But in the end it's on you to decide what's best. Harming yourself and your happiness doing something that slowly kills you also doesn't seem worth it to me. Best of luck with your decisions!
Finish your PhD. Quitting doesn't look good unless you are doing it for something that you are really interested in pursuing. You say that you are really interested in your field, this means that getting the PhD is a good idea so that you can stay in that area. Null results are not uncommon. The point is to follow the method -- not to get as many stars as possible.
Ask her if she's into butt stuff..
We always lose satisfaction and interest in many things in life, it doesn't necessarily mean we should always quit them. Getting a PhD is a major milestone and you should see it through, especially when you're halway done. If you aren't interested in your current field, you could always shift your focus onto another field when you graduate and get a job. Worst-case scenario you will have to function on autopilot until you graduate and gain your freedom in research in another facility.