Can you take a break from PhD?

Your capacity to put your PhD programme on hold will depend largely on your field, your institution and your advisers. In general, you can take a break when you need it, as long as you are prepared for the consequences — particularly if you aim to pursue an academic career.

Should you take a year off?

A year off can be a golden opportunity to bond more with your kids and strengthen family ties. Enjoy some R&R: Maybe you’re ready for some you time after years on the job. Everyone can benefit from taking time off to relax, enjoy life and decompress, whether it’s a week’s vacation or an extended leave.

Is it okay to leave a PhD after 4 years?

As comments have said, yes, of course it’s ok to leave. And yes, people dropping out of a PhD find jobs just like everyone else. You might face a bachelor/masters level salary that doesn’t reflect those possibly lost 4 years, but that is not too bad, and not that significant as you still have 30 something years in a future job.

What to do when your PhD supervisor doesn’t do their job?

Sometimes that action will be to abandon the approach and move onto something else. These decisions should feel like a partnership between the supervisor and student. If they don’t then the supervisor is not doing their job. The relationships you have in your PhD are very important.

Is it a waste of time to change fields in PhDs?

If you have reached the level of PhD student you are already in the top few percent performance wise so will likely be highly adaptive to new types of work. The only real waste is the project work that you will have started in your PhD, but if you are going to change fields then why would you care?

Can I do a PhD while on a visa?

I cannot hold any other employment in the US while here on my VISA. My PhD consists of ~1.5 years of combined coursework and research, followed by a qualifier at the end of that period (research based), then into your thesis (doesn’t have to be related to what your qualifier research was on).