Just like any business or life decision, individuals in a PhD program should "know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em". I have seen people attempt the PhD for up to 10 years and then quit at the end anyway. You need to be sure you still want it and that you are not doing the PhD just because others want you to.

You may just not have the ability, but you keep at it, hoping something gives. I know someone who started a PhD. I had serious doubts that he could do it, with his family, work, and church commitments. I admit I was not forceful enough in my advice, instead it was more of a gentle questioning.

Well, he chose to go ahead, and took almost 2 years of courses before finally withdrawing from the program. I think some do the PhD because of an internal need to be 'recognized' as an academic. For me, as much as I love academia, I'd gladly exchange my PhD for a couple million dollars ;-) I have no 'need' to be recognized, but a strong need to pay the bills.

My point is that you should constantly evaluate where you are and where your passion is. If you no longer have passion for the PhD, quit and move on; find what you're passionate about. Do you know of anyone who made this decision? Was it the right one?

Sometimes we may get discouraged and think of giving up when in reality we have it in ourselves to complete our PhD. It might be useful to have an open discussion with people who have seen our work and seektheir advice before quitting.

I dont agree, that you should give up the Ph.D if some other opportunity comes up. You need to ask yourself why you got into the doctoral program in the first place. If it was because you like research and teaching and be a master of your domain (to a large extent), then you are in the right field. I have seen so many people regret quitting, because they wanted to make a fast buck in industry. However, if you got into the program because you did'nt know what else to do, then by all means quit. The doctoral program is not for you.

It is not so easy to get it right first time. Shadowing somebody will only show the interesting bits - it will not show the isolation of sitting infront of a computer screen for days, the long hours, effect on your social life (the phrase work-life balance gets laughed at!) and the hours sat in a windowless lab staring at a machine that might not be quite working as well as hoped - yes I'm currently doing a PhD! I researched a lot before making the decision, but never fully appreciated that I'm quite a social person and have since realised that academia is too isolating for me.

For the United States then, does the current recessionary environment make a PhD more or less attractive?

I did quit my PhD in the writing up stage but regreeted it - writing an artcile for the Guardian on unfinished PhDs I realised how much thus had affected me and certainly my employment propsects, so I have returned to complete it 23 years later!

If there still legal slave labors now, they are those PhD candidates in the America Universities!

America has been changed from the explorer era. "Play fair" is not the ethic essence for many people here anymore. Many are proud of the mixing pot to accept all from the world. At meantime, many busters were imported from the possible ugly corners of the world. When these things became the full tenure professor, they start to take advantage of those who want have a degree especially for foreign students.

I am one of the victim. I learned this is so true for many students. One of my colleges said the only thing worth it is that after went through the mental torture, humiliation, depression, you can conquer any difficulty in the human world!

I told the pig I quit and would ask the school to evaluate my work. He called me 10 times in a day and promised to help me finish by doing one more work! Now the cycle restart again. I will quit at the end of this semester if he change his pig mind again to ask more!

Science on many compus even top schools has turned to be a joke! Terrible slave work driving by a virtual desire for a glorious degree inead of a wipe is so popular.