Leaving PhD program against Advisor's will - professional advice please 37

[ResearchEngineer987]

BACKGROUND
I'm a funded PhD student at a good American university. My research is not progressing, and I'm finding the work involved in a PhD is useless to realistic engineering applications. I believe further pursuit of graduate work does nothing to advance my career - in fact it could be a step back.

CURRENT SITUATION
I decided that I should leave the PhD program (ie, drop out), the sooner the better. I am a funded Research Assistant, and my advisor/boss relies heavily on my work. I basically function as a Research Engineer and Assistant, and am involved in multiple funded research projects. I have not talked to my advisor/boss about this. He will be furious if I leave. However I do not believe I am in a situation where I can be successful, and it makes sense to leave.

Because of my leasing/living arrangement and personal situation, the best opportunity for me to leave is in the next 3 weeks. This would allow me to give him a "2 weeks notice" (and one of those weeks I'd be working free of charge because of the payment system). However, there was a conference that I originally committed to (before I decided to quit). Now that I am resigning, I would not be able to attend this of course. This further complicates my relationship with my advisor/boss. However, anyone is entitled to quit and I cannot be held against my will.

QUESTIONS
1). Is it unprofessional for me to resign with only 2 weeks notice?
2). Am I expected to keep working (for free) and attend the conference? Note that this would not be feasible as I plan to move.
3). Does this kill any chance of a letter of recommendation for my advisor/boss?
4). If I leave without a reference from my advisor, how damning is this to my job prospects? I personally think I do more damage staying on this dead-end academic path.
5). Do you have experience resigning at the inconvenience of your employer? How did you manage it?


Any advise would help
Thanks

 

[Lomarandil]

Really FeX?

I was in a PhD program. Had a research path, financial support, and the intellect (presumably) to complete it. But after about a year, I made the hard decision that I'd have a better career path by converting the PhD to an MS and getting some industry experience.

Anecdotes are dangerous, so here are a few factors in my personal decision:
[ul]
[li]I entered the PhD considering academia. As I was exposed to the research and grant-writing side of being a tenure track professor, I decided that wasn't for me.[/li]
[li]I happened to enter the PhD program straight out of school. In my industry, there was a definite stigma against hiring a young PhD without prior work experience for non-research, non-academic jobs.[/li]
[li]In my industry, obtaining a PE/SE license has significant value (and was an important career goal for me). Gaining industry work experience was a more direct path toward obtaining the PE license.[/li]
[li]While my wife was very supportive, working on homework and research in the evenings wasn't conducive to building our marriage.[/li]
[li]I was able to transition my PhD work into a MS thesis and degree, so I wasn't left with an "unfinished" program.[/li]
[li]I was able to transition directly into a design job (part time as I finished the degree, then full time on graduation) in my industry.[/li]
[/ul]

In my case, abandoning the PhD worked out. I won't be so brash as to say that's the case for everyone, but I'll at least say that it is worth consideration.

 

[seaaggie]

ResearchEngineer987's
"Because of my leasing/living arrangement and personal situation"
My recommendation is not to let a temporary circumstance influence a decision that could affect a lifetime.

I wish you well,
Mark


Thanks,
Mark

 

[FeX32]

That's well put Lomarandil.

I just mean to say that it goes both ways.
Referring to your case; for others it may have very well worked out quite well if you stayed.
Everyone has their own personal preferences. The end result is what you make of it.

I have seen this much on this forum -> there is a large bias for most people that didn't go the PhD route to misguide others against it...
Of course, if it makes them feel better about themselves, so be it...
Everyone has their right to a say. In some cases it is good, in others it may not be, depends on many factors.

 

[KENAT]

"Of course, if it makes them feel better about themselves, so be it..."

I see little if any evidence of that philosophy FeX32, or perhaps you're the one with the superiority complex as opposed to most of us having an inferiority complex?

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[FeX32]

Ask your colleague next to you Kenat how he feels... you work with many educated engineers... No complex here, just have an opinion...
The fact that you responded to me shows me your complex.

 

[FeX32]

BTW Kenat, for the record I totally agree with your post on "20 Apr 16 20:39"
My comment just after yours wasn't directed at you.

 

[SNORGY]

I have a couple - well, a few - friends with PhDs. My closest friend put it in perspective: a PhD is not a reflection of a person's acumen with respect to an all-encompassing realm of engineering; it is evidence that in one specific area, a person is indeed academically qualified more highly relative to his or her peers.

Another friend with a PhD told me, "SNORGY, you might not be very smart, but you are good help, and that's hard to find". I took it as a compliment.

My only point is that there had better be a very good reason to risk squandering one's talent or potential. I did exactly that. It was a bad move, and yes, it's life-altering.

 

[KENAT]

Fex32, I was struggling to see how my Apr 20th post may have offended so thanks for clarification. I have a very good feel for where on the bell curve my intelligence/academic ability puts me, low end for sure, and yet in certain areas I'm to go to guy for my Phd colleagues just like in many areas I leave it to them or at least get their help - it's all horses for courses.

I think what many folk often try to point out is just that in the industry side of Engineering the number of courses that really require a Phd Horse is a bit limited, and hence (depending what factors you take into account) the ROI might be a bit limited. Doesn't mean a phd can't do good work in many areas, just they may not get fully rewarded for having the phd.

I'm gonna say Sergei (The engineer whos sits one side of me) who spends much of his time coming up with complex algorithms related to signal analysis etc. probably does get his money worth some of the time. Not so much when he's stuck assembling customer orders because we don't' have an Engineering tech to do it and the design isn't stable enough for production to make it..

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[rotw]

During my master studies, somewhere mi-way I started to feel depressed (I started to feel disgusted by the atmosphere of mediocrity specifically at the place where I was - sorry to mention it). For instance, I needed to do a finite element modeling and I was not progressing.

I decided to give it a real push. I went "full blast" for a couple of weeks and could generate some first results which turned out to be ok. I negotiated an early date with my advisor to defend my work and then I was done. Now it's behind.

Looking backward, I think it added some value to my career. Lesson learned: Do not give up during the process.

I think you are possibly panicking because you think a PhD will be a set back. I think it could, yes! I myself don't like PhD's very much (but there are exceptions). Anyway this potential set back is not something to rely upon for such a critical decision, I think.

My opinion is:
- There is always the option to hide a post graduate degree / PhD in a resume, or say there is some range to maneuver and go low profile. Certainly it could be like a long gap in your resume but at the end it boils down to lining up your first job to get back on track.
- Try to network by your own and proactively with industry players in your area of research. Involve people, spam them. Maybe you have some grant from one industrial player but do the extra mile.

At some point, someone will respond positively and you could find some overlap and a certain direction of research / application with more connection with the real world. It could be sharing some results or findings with them. It will help you shape your research work and demonstrate - as a matter of fact, how your are a business /industry oriented person. It's good for the mood and it will also reflect well in your resume to have the name of some worldwide companies (J&J, GE, Westinghouse, ? you name it!) recalled instead of plain academic/PhD student keywords (articles and publications typically) .. It will demonstrate to your primary orientation/acumen is to do real business.

 

[IRstuff]

PhDs are people, after all. I've been with those that made great engineers and those that didn't. Those that didn't tended to not see the big picture and either over-simplified or over-complicated their assignments. In that respect, they are no different than the bachelor-degreed engineers.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
faq731-376 forum1529

 

[TheTick]

When a screwball without a degree screws something up, nobody notices. Unremarkable. Everyone treasures their tales of how someone more educated screwed up.

 

[FeX32]

Kenat,
Thanks for the honest post. Humility is a trait I have only seen in the best of human beings.
From reading your posts over some years; I think you underestimate yourself, you are top notch.

 

[FeX32]

TheTick,
You are spot on with that comment. I feel more pressure is put on the PhDs; I certainly feel it.
At least where I work, we are the ones that are put on the spot when something no one understands comes up.

The OP hasn't responded in some time. There are many good comments in this thread.
Honestly, I know plenty of Engineers. Many higher and not so high in the education and skill levels.
It (success regardless of education) mostly comes down to passion in end (with some politics ).

If all fails you can go work for Apple . Colleague of mine just accepted a job in Cali working for Apple in their new electric car division...

 

[TheTick]

Been there done that, as have most of my coworkers.

 

[moltenmetal]

FeX32: to clarify a few points: I am not saying that a PhD is useless, nor am I saying that a PhD doesn't open the door to opportunities which are closed to those without one. It is quite clear that some of those opportunities opened up by a PhD are the very best there are out there for engineers- it stands to reason that it should be so, given that the PhD is the highest academic qualification in the profession. But a PhD does actually close some doors too- a lot of them. In quantity rather than quality terms, it likely closes more doors than it opens. That may matter to a candidate who would otherwise be satisfied to do the work of a "mere" Bachelors level engineer, in order to obtain the benefit of, say, working somewhere near their family etc.

As to "hiding" a PhD from hiring managers: it's very tough to do that and get away with it. Merely leaving it off your resume is ineffective.

As I've said before: excluding candidates from consideration merely because they have a PhD is just as stupid as excluding candidates because they have good marks- conversations here and elsewhere have taught me that some do so, for some bizarre reason. But if you think that the implied salary expectations etc. that a PhD brings with it, are going to be ignored by hiring managers as irrelevant to the potential long-term fit of a candidate for a position, you're kidding yourself.

I also pointed out that the mere possession of a PhD doesn't guarantee some of the attributes of a candidate that some people here think that it does, or should. That goes for both positive and negative attributes. I've worked with enough PhDs that it's clear that most of the stereotypes are really useless. The salary expectations, however, do exist in a meaningful way.

If acknowledging the fact that having a PhD does indeed close doors, and probably more doors than it opens in numeric rather than quality terms, means to you that I have a "complex", then I share that complex with a lot of hiring managers.

This tendency of course varies considerably depending on the discipline and specialty of the PhD.

 

[FeX32]

moltenmetal,
I agree with your post.
Also, simply put I also think that someone who wants to pursue the PhD in engineering should be aware of what they are getting into. If they think that after their degree life will be easy and everything will be handed to them, they should think twice. Once you prove yourself (in academics and industry), your larger salary comes with more responsibility and harder competition for these more lucrative jobs.
But, in the end that's why you did the PhD, is it not? Anyone considering this career direction should not be the 'typical'. If you don't 'love' the engineering or research you do; don't even consider it. If you do, it's the best thing for your career. This is what I always tell those that ask me.

 

[Maui]

Thanks everyone.

Research Engineer, what did you decide to do?

Maui

 

[structSU10]

This person has only every logged in the one time, to post this message. May never find out what he/she did...

 

[UconnMaterials]

ResearchEngineer987,

I wasn't thrilled with my thesis topic either. Unfortunately, one never gets to pick-and-chose their projects in industry. Maybe your topic isn't interesting or directly relevant to industry; however, you should consider the personal and technical skills learned in graduate school. These skills are very relevant to industry. Mark my words, every Ph.D. student wants to quit at some point-in-time- stick with it!

UconnMaterials

 

[MortenA]

Bummer what an a.. lotsa good advice wasted there...