Hi,

I am a PhD student (non-EU) at EPFL and was curious to know if I decide to quit PhD halfway (I just finished 2 years in PhD) and seek for a job and find an employer who is ready to hire me, would I be allowed to switch to this job while quitting PhD or they would not allow this to happen. By they I mean the employment office.

I need clarity on this before I take further steps. Has anyone seen a similar case or know about it? Please reply back as this is a crucial time for me to make a choice.

Thanks!

Jeez! Why the hell would you want to quit halfway through, times may be tough for you at the moment, but in my opinion if you are not exactly overwhelmed by what your are studying or chewing on your own gristle for food stick with the PhD. You can buy the I-pod later.

Hey, finish up your PhD.

It's worth the effort.

Been there, done that !!!

Stay with the PHD especially in today's economic climate - you will be happier with it later on in life

Can you get a working visa? These days it's quite hard for companies to get a proper visa for certain countries.

Maybe he just doesn't like what he's doing or maybe he has family or personal reasons for not continuing.

Have you already found a company who is willing to hire you? If not, I would suggest that you keep working on your PhD and look for a job in the meantime. If on the other hand you already found a company, did you try asking them? They might know better.

In any case, make sure that this is what you want and that you won't regret the move a few years down the line... Even if you'll end up in a "regular job" where the skills you acquired are useless, the PhD title could help your career... or maybe not.

I agree with the above.

Did a PhD myself,was also a bitunhappy in the middle couple of years, but toughed it out and have been in a job the last 12 months which I like a lot and probably wouldn’t have been offered without the PhD.

I knew 2 people who quit PhDs in lifescience fields about half way through. One disliked the atmosphere in the lab / institute, quit but pretty quickly found a job relating to clinical research near Basel, quite likes it and is doing well. The other looked for jobs for about half a year but then decided to study a Masters in bioinformatics. Keep in mind both were Native German-speaking EU citizens.

As for you, some important details that are missing in the first post are:
Are you from a non-EU country?
What languages do you speak? What other current academic credentials do you have? What other non-academic experiences do you have?

These all have a big influence on your odds of finding a job.

I would also have a look at what the likely future work to complete the PhD looks like? Are we talking 18 months of doing something you can put up with vs 3-4 years of something you absolutely loathe?

Keep in there .... one day you will thank yourself DR

please don't quit school! not in this economy! but also because you are in it now so you think it is always an option, but you can never go back. Life and money get in the way and schools don't always accept people. Jobs will always be there but not the chance you have now to be a PhD. Not continuing my studies is the biggest regret of my life, I can tell you no job is worth it!

Do you have a student B permit? If you wanted to stop, you would need to find a company to apply for a working permit for you, as your current permit would not be valid. Whether you want a PhD or not is up to you

please dont stop... you"ll be happier later on. You might wont get other chance later for PhD, but you do always get chance to find jobs anytime.

I would also recommend to try and stick with it, unless it really is making you seriously unhappy.
I did my PhD in Bern and it was basically going nowhere after the 1st 18 mths to 2 years. We then got another supervisor on board and he came up with some better ideas and it took off from there.
Needless to say, without it, I wouldn't have landed my last 3 jobs (OK, so one was a PostDoc).

I tried to quit halfway through but my advisor wouldn't let me! In the end I stuck it out, the 2nd half was definitely easier and more enjoyable and I am glad I didn't quit. I don't know how PhDs are structured over here, but once I got through prelims and most of the classes and just had to do research, it was a lot more fun and manageable.

I guess what I want to say is it is totally up to you - but I have been there and know how you feel. I guess it really depends on your reasons for stopping... Has my PhD helped me careerwise - hard to say - sometimes I think it makes me too skilled. Right now I am at home with the kids and it does me no good!