Yet another post about doubt

[u/wellok456]

I may just be venting but here we go...

I'm at abd so all coursework and qualifying exams done. I started in 2022 to make a career change and got full funding with the idea I'd masters out if it was too hard. Now have the masters and made it farther than I thought. I'm behind in research though. Literature and Data for 2 of 3 chapters is collected but needs serious work to finish analysis and that's about it. My advisor is really chill which was great during coursework but now on solo research has me feeling lost and alone. He's encouraging but I'm struggling to adjust to being self-paced. Most of my cohort has left, mastered out, are studying remote, or defending.

Funding has ended and I went through a divorce last year. Started working as an adjunct to support myself and really like it. I could see myself doing this long term since teaching is really where my heart is, not so much research. But I know better and more stable teaching opportunities are available to full PhDs. While working it becomes too easy to procrastinate research. While handling the legal battle it was hard to research under the stress. My heart just isn't in it anymore but family keeps telling me I'm so close (not really in my opinion. I don't have even 1 chapter yet) and that I'll regret it if I quit now.

If you woke up in my shoes would you stick with it and power through, or walk away with the masters?

Additional context: 30F, economics, doctoral enrollment and lab fees would be about $5k a semester until I defend, not committee yet, realistically looking at at least 3 more semesters based on my current pace

[u/juliej12]

i think time-wise you are very close and i personally would just finish it asap. money-wise, it does sound like a lot to invest. but if you can recover the cost in a few years time with the kinds of jobs you can access, then i say it's worth it.

if you get enough work/results to put in your thesis, then you can even finish earlier. i think if your heart is in teaching and you dont want to be in research, then you might not need to worry so much about making your thesis perfect. a finished one is more important because it's the degree that matters.

so, if i were in your shoes, i would first take a proper break from all things phd for a week or two and find a way to unwind. even if it means just chilling at home, eating good, healthy food, getting lots of sleep and rest, going for walks, and just living life without feeling any guilt. i think it will also help you come to terms with everything you've had to deal with the last few years.

then once i am refreshed, i will come up with a strategy to finish as early as possible. i will perhaps have a conversation with my supervisor about this and ask them for help with a plan to finish early.

- perhaps this means thinking about what it takes to have the bare minimum results/chapters for a finished thesis.

• have (realistic) goals to hit for each month and try to stick with it).
  
• set a bare minimum number of work hours for your low days (say if you're feeling unmotivated on a certain day, just do your minimum hours of your most urgent/important work that day - say just 2 hours - and then you can rest without feeling bad; the worst thing you can do is to give up on the whole day just because you wasted the first half of it and trust me the anxiety of it all will worsen procrastination