I'm taking a leave of absence

T

theropods

250+ Posts
I just decided that I am going to take a leave of absence from school for a little while (Don't worry I'll still be Quack's resident paleontology expert). I am a PhD candidate, but my research is starting to become a chore due to the very firm deadlines my program has. I would like some time to explore some of my side projects which have a lot of potential for grants and publications.

I am going to focus on teaching while I am out. I have taught a lot during my graduate experience and my evaluations are very high. I'm looking for a job teaching anatomy, but most places require a PhD, which sucks because I have 2 masters, 1 in anatomy. My department chair said his letter of recommendation for me that I am one of the best teachers he has ever worked with and I would be way better than any candidate with a PhD will be. Basically his letter says that they would be idiots not to hire me if they care about teaching at all. His letter will help a ton, but many places won't even consider the application and read the letter without the PhD on there. If I can get somewhere to give me a look, my letters of recommendations and teaching evaluations will give me a strong shot. I'm sure I will find somewhere, but I really want to teach gross anatomy which is what I have excelled the most in.

I have also lost confidence in my university based on how they treated a friend of mine. Issue is discussed a little more on the "I need an NY lawyer" thread on Horn Network if anyone is curious. Based on the way that they treated her, I am pretty pissed at the admin. This is probably weighing into the decision too.

I guess the big thing right now is the love of research. This is something that I have always loved, but I was starting to burn out and feel like it was becoming a chore. Combined with the issues that a close friend has had to deal with, I just feel like I need to take a break and do something that I love and am really good at for a while.

I'm eventually going to go back, not sure it will be here though based on how the admin treated my friend. It's hard to forget seeing someone you care about treated so poorly.
 
While in a Ph.D. program I had some thoughts of quitting at one point. My graduate advisor did what he was supposed to do and advised me to just get it done and decide later on the details of the rest of my life. I did that and it was the right thing for me. The difference being that I didn't have a major issue with the administration. I had a lot of small ones, but not the over riding straw that broke the camel's back. But I hope you can find a way of getting that thing finished, if not there, somewhere.

I finally started thinking of graduate school as a fraternity hazing. It's not what you learn, it is the fact that you agree to put up with their **** for long enough so they let you belong to the profession. So I plugged and plugged until they finally decided I had jumped enough hoops that I could join their fraternity. For me it was worth it in the end.
 
I don't know what your history is, but you gotta finish. suck it up and get it done, man. you've already gone a long ways, finish!

Otherwise you will be :
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that you didn't. Find a way, you control your destiny with the choices that you make. Be very sure before deviating from your chosen path.
 
Having to start up from scratch in a new program would not be the essence of desirability. I think OH hit the nail on the head. Good luck and God bless!
 
I agree with the last 3 posters. As you get older, it is much more difficult to go through the process, especially once you have a family. And no matter what path you decide to take in life, a PhD will help you. As OldHippie said, it is pretty much a fraternity. Moving up in a job whether as an anatomy professor, a museum curator, a paleontologist, or a geologist has as much to do with your credentials as it does with your innate ability.
 
Burn-out is a serious issue in grad school. Sometimes the best solution is to just 'cowboy-up', sometimes the best thing is to take a break. Only you can decide that.

As for a teaching job. I would suggest you consider a community college position. Lack of a PhD won't be as much of an issue and the pay ain't bad (especially compared with a TA or RA stipend). The teaching experience will look good on your vita. Just don't over do it. More than about two years and you'll be pigeon-holed as a CC-instructor. You don't want that.

I'm glad you'll continue to post at HornFans.com these folks are in desperate need of an evolutionary perspective
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God bless Texas!



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A) the treatment of your friend has some, but not a lot to do with your situation. If you are as good as a teacher as you say you are ask yourself what woudl your advice be to a student who posed a similar situation to you. Where they were burned out a bit and upset with the treatment of a friend by the University..... Would your answer be to "take time off" as I understand thatyour friend needs you, and you can always go back and finish your education...

If your answer was similar then you aren't half the teacher you think you are. Something really, really ****** happened to your firend. They got ****** apparently by the same University you have planned to get your PHD from (or used to). Their getting ****** and abused by the system is why there are lawyers, and if things are as agregious as you say then she willprobably get some cash in a few years or a settlement. If you don't finish your PHD what will you be getting out of the deal? A warm feeling that you got got distracted from your goal and helped a firend through a bad spot?

FINISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F-I-N-I-S-H !

Take your degree and THEN make your life choices! Then do wht interests you, and choose work that will be both rewarding and happy. You have already told us that what you REALLY want to do REQUIRES a phD. You use several rationalizations on why you should take time off, but the root is you feel guilty about your affiliation with the same institution you feel wronged HER.

I am sure that there is a long and lengthy list of folks who wanted to "take a leave of absence" for all sorts of reasons, who never completed their Doctorate. In fact I woudl bet the percentages are not pretty, and the guidance counselor can probably provide with the list of "could have beens."

Gut up and finish the **** off. You act as if the deadlines are going to be somehow less in thefuture. The only thing different is you will be a little older and the reasons not to return will only grow. I love this new job but I will never be qualified for my dream job that requires a PhD isn't going to be satifying in the long haul. IF you really desire the more prestigiousteaching position.

Finish ..... and then if you want to tell them to **** off....
 
theropods, that is a horrible story, but you are so ******* close I can't imagine walking away at this point. One of my uncles is a math/computer genius, with like 6 patents related to network relays and **** I don't understand. He left his mathematics PhD program back in the 70's with only the defense of his dissertation left, and never went back. Of course, he got rich in the burgeoning computer industry, but regrets his decision to this day. You can get through this if you have made it this far, and you shouldn't let how a friend is treated affect something this important to your future. Support her as best you can, but take care of your business. Plus, there will always be bullies at the least and even psychopaths to deal with out in the real world, and if you let them get to you now, they always will.

Also, you must ask yourself, what would T. Rex do?
 
T-rex would probably kill something and eat it.

I'm not quitting for good. I am going to work on my dissertation on the side and still finish it up. This will also free me up to pursue some side projects that will have bigger publication implications than my dissertation.
 
That is some f'd up ****. I wish that had not happened to you. I also wish I could contribute some helpful advice. Unfortunately, I can't.

Good luck and please don't be a stranger. I know I speak for many posters when I say your expert knowledge and even-keeled demeanor are greatly appreciated around here.
 
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