I want to quit my PhD because it's making me miserable.
Enrolling in a PhD program is, from an economic perspective, a terrible decision. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Just don’t let it ruin your life.
I quit. In the middle of my PHD I quit. I was working my doctorate in church history and saw the handwriting on the wall. Was about to travel the UK for a year to do research, when I saw a dramatic political swing in my denomination. I left and taught high school civics and World History for almost 30 years at a tiny rural high school in Texas.
Despite having completed my PhD 3 years back, I still read Next Scientist's emails as I still relate to them. Let me tell you this, I was planning on quitting my PhD midway and if not for Next Scientist, I'd have quitted. The blogposts and emails were what kept me going and encouraged me to keep working hard. Dr. Bakhtiyar Alam PhD graduate.
Quitting without consulting your doctor can be life-threatening. Suicide is a serious concern. It can also trigger withdrawal symptoms and relapse of your depression.
What if I just quit my job. What if I just quit my job so nobody has any expectations of me anymore. I could, just, do that. I have a decent amount of money saved. I could probably live relatively comfortably for a year without a job. I could just do that. I could just take a year off. That is an option. Yeah, I would never get my PhD degree.
Your PhD is an opportunity to conduct original research that reveals new information. As such, all PhD programmes are different. You just need to do what works for you and your project.
If you are doing a job that you hate and just want to quit - then find another job. A PhD is not an escape hatch through which you fall into a better world, it is a long steep staircase that takes extreme perseverance to climb.Fulfilling the ambitions of others.