Firstly, well done on getting funding. It sounds like you have been put in quite an enviable position - most people I know fail to start PhDs because of financial rather than academic dilemmas.

However, that's not to say that you should continue with a PhD just because the money's there. In my experience (in an arts and humanities subject) PhD study was very different to my MA dissertation.

Whilst the research skills you learn for the latter are important, the first year of PhD is not so much about applied research as scouting out the field. There is a lot of reading involved (and I guess for the sciences, preliminary data collection and experiment design), and is quite a different experience to a dissertation where there is a comparatively short span between starting out, researching, and writing up.

Think about which specific aspects of the dissertation you didn't enjoy. If you did not enjoy reading, and find it hard to be interested in the work already done in your field, then I imagine it will be similarly difficult to start in your PhD. On the other hand, if you love your subject and have all the research skills but find it a struggle to write up your findings, there are a lot of ways you can set up work so as to accommodate this over the long period of your studies, e.g. by training on speed writing, by practising in different fields (e.g. writing for a student newspaper), or by doing a little a day for three years.

You don't just do a PhD like an exam. You start off totally at a loss and gradually evolve into it over the course of three years. When I started, I found it very disconcerting to realise that despite having gone through 4 years of undergraduate and masters study, I still did not really know that much and was not the finished product in my field.

I am continually amazed by how much I've done and how much better (but not perfect) I am in the skills required for my subject. Going through this experience is certainly worrying - and you have every reason to be anxious at this stage; but it can also be exhilarating and rewarding. The funding bodies and your prospective university must think you are going to be able to achieve. Perhaps have confidence in yourself and realise the worry is ultimately a productive driver for your future work.

The important thing, I suspect, is to consider if you're willing to make the commitment of time and effort, and compare it to what you're getting out of the PhD. Is this going to qualify you for a job you particularly want? If the jobs you care about don't need a PhD, then maybe you need to ask if you're just thinking about doing it for the sake of it.

Echoing some of the above comments, you should first have a clear idea, even a vision, of why you want or need a PhD. I have seen many a fellow graduate student who are in the PhD program out of inertia -- they were good at being undergraduate students, perhaps even master's degree students. They have the student's skill set down pat, and not having any better idea of what to do with their lives, they drift on into a PhD program. Some of these same students do in fact find their passion while in the PhD program. Sometimes the passion they find involves quitting the program, others find their passion while finishing the program.

But some of these, having drifted into the program, sort of "hit the wall" and drop out. Because the truth is, a PhD is really different. You are still doing student-type stuff for the first year or two. But then you have to make a transition to an entirely different sort of work. You have to make an original contribution to your field. Yes, it is hard work, harder than your undergraduate and master's work, but more than that, it is a different kind of work.

Some grad students don't make that transition. A few don't make it because, frankly, they aren't cut out for it. Bluntly, they don't have the potential. More of them have the potential, but may be unwilling to put in the effort, or perhaps they are caught by surprise by the transition and get spooked. Others, once they find out what getting a PhD is really all about, make the sober judgement that this isn't the path that excites them, and they have better uses for their time and effort.

Most people who reach the point of having a choice of entering the program have the potential to make the transition. But most of them require something to get them past this hurdle. Having a clear vision -- a career path that requires the degree, say -- can provide the motivation to persevere through the transition. Having a source of good advice and strong encouragement is another way to get through. Developing a passion for learning about the subject is another. But whatever it is, there usually needs to be something. For my money, if you can't state why you want to enter a PhD program, it's usually better to take a break until such time as you do know.

Hi Joe,

How is the decision making coming along. I know people who turned down PhD funding and consider it the best decision they made.

There is no point continuing an unfulfilling career path!

I am currently doing an MBA and am considering a PhD as I find my subject very interesting but I am concerned about whether it will really increase my career potential as I am not 100% sure I would stay in academia. Are there any interesting articles about PhD employability that people have found useful?

At the moment I am considering not taking a PhD and maybe coming back to it later, but will that diminish my chance of getting a place?

Thanks

I have also found this web page that also has some good advice and potential questions to ask if you are unsure whether to take a PhD:
http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html

I spent ages deciding whether or not to do a PhD. I had the opportunity to start straight after my masters but I decided to put that on hold and started in January as opposed to October. Writing up my masters had been quite intense and I wanted to make sure that I really wanted to do a PhD for the right reasons (and also as I needed a little break before another 3yrs+). If you aren't sure about doing a PhD why not take some time out to try some other things? Either delay the start or take a year or two trying other things.

It's easier in the social sciences and arts to go and gain related experience to your field, but I don't think its impossible in the sciences. If you are not sure, well then that's quite a big indicator to try other things first. Experience is seen as a positive thing on PhD applications as you bring in other skills than those from just studying. I know some supervisors recommend it. Some people I know in my department have come back after a few years to do their PhD and the inspiration for their research came as a result of the jobs they were doing. They are really passionate about their research because they've identified the area and know the impact it will have.

Hope this helps anyone else who is unsure.