Dropping out.
Posted: 07 Mar 2010, 19:33
Hi all,
I've been going through some hard times over the last year/two years. Most of the circumstances I've faced have been due to my graduate studies, or rather, due to my status as a grad student.
My program is kind of bizarre. Though I was told I'd get a degree in Neuroscience, I found out two years into the program that they had planned all along to give degrees in Psychology, while making us do the work of neuroscientists/vision scientists. I asked some of the smartest people I knew what I should do, and they all said to finish the degree. So I stayed.
Now, at this time, thebuilding I work in creaks and groans. The water in the toilets actually kind of splashes up and down, depending on where they are working in the building. My dad is sick, my personal life and mental health are in disrepair, and my experiment still isn't running in spite of the many long, long days and nights I've spent working on it. I've even paid programmer friends to try to get me past the technical issues, but the experiment itself is, in my opinion, and in the opinion of people who have helped me, doomed. Even if the experiment does get up and running, I'm not guaranteed usable data. A reasonable estimate of time remaining is 6-8 months.
The best possible outcome of this four-year stint would be a Master's Degree in Psychology. I am not a psychologist. I would never call myself one. As far as I can see, this degree will not open any doors for me. In fact, given my interests in cameras and optics, this degree might even be an impediment to jobs and further studies, if either one ever happens.
I think it is time for me to leave the program. I will likely finish out this semester, but I don't think it makes any sense to continue any further down this path. If you have any thoughts or advice for me, I could use them. Everyone in my present sphere is an academic or family, and they all want me to stay, for their own reasons. But I've stayed, and things have only gotten worse.
FYI, I may delete this thread to ensure that my grad program doesn't find it.
I've been going through some hard times over the last year/two years. Most of the circumstances I've faced have been due to my graduate studies, or rather, due to my status as a grad student.
My program is kind of bizarre. Though I was told I'd get a degree in Neuroscience, I found out two years into the program that they had planned all along to give degrees in Psychology, while making us do the work of neuroscientists/vision scientists. I asked some of the smartest people I knew what I should do, and they all said to finish the degree. So I stayed.
Now, at this time, thebuilding I work in creaks and groans. The water in the toilets actually kind of splashes up and down, depending on where they are working in the building. My dad is sick, my personal life and mental health are in disrepair, and my experiment still isn't running in spite of the many long, long days and nights I've spent working on it. I've even paid programmer friends to try to get me past the technical issues, but the experiment itself is, in my opinion, and in the opinion of people who have helped me, doomed. Even if the experiment does get up and running, I'm not guaranteed usable data. A reasonable estimate of time remaining is 6-8 months.
The best possible outcome of this four-year stint would be a Master's Degree in Psychology. I am not a psychologist. I would never call myself one. As far as I can see, this degree will not open any doors for me. In fact, given my interests in cameras and optics, this degree might even be an impediment to jobs and further studies, if either one ever happens.
I think it is time for me to leave the program. I will likely finish out this semester, but I don't think it makes any sense to continue any further down this path. If you have any thoughts or advice for me, I could use them. Everyone in my present sphere is an academic or family, and they all want me to stay, for their own reasons. But I've stayed, and things have only gotten worse.
FYI, I may delete this thread to ensure that my grad program doesn't find it.