CV advice after abandoning PhD

Lol, I have stellar academics, have my fees paid by a departmental award and part of my living costs covered by the college, this for master's. The "advice" given here is purely hypothetical and the OP is free to implement it or not. I would not write anywhere I didn't finish a PhD and would rather fabricate a job or a trip around the world. But hey, you are free to be an honest loser if it makes you sleep better at night, if you can afford that in this economy.

To the OP: do not make stuff up. It will come back to haunt you.

As the user above me said, surely if you put 'deferred due to cost', the employer will assume you will work to raise the funds, and then leave again, which will obviously put a black mark against your name. I know you've all ripped into ghost for telling people to lie on their CV, but I would just say that I quit it voluntarily (and with a valid reason).

As the user above me said, surely if you put 'deferred due to cost', the employer will assume you will work to raise the funds, and then leave again, which will obviously put a black mark against your name. I know you've all ripped into ghost for telling people to lie on their CV, but I would just say that I quit it voluntarily (and with a valid reason).

Almost everyone lies on their CV, it's all about the lies you choose to tell. I'd do the same as you.

Not as long as they don't find out. Plus, you are only "lying" by omission, technically speaking, not inventing skills you don't have. Let's face it, everyone "embellishes" CV's, and a friend of mine got many scholarships that way.

Well, congratulations to your friend, but what happens when prospective employers want to discuss the countries he supposedly visited in an interview, or contact the employer where he supposedly worked full time? I can't honestly believe you are suggesting lying. People get fired for lying on their CVs, even from senior jobs, and that kind of f***s up your references etc from then on. As employers, we would not look down on someone who deferred study for financial reasons. And no, not everyone "embellishes" CVs. There are plenty of people who actually have integrity out there.

I will ignore the actual question and deal with the financial aspect. There are a number of short and long-term solutions to your problem I feel.

First of all, if you are struggling for living costs then apply to your university's access to learning fund. They might make you an award of a couple of hundred pounds (I received £500 in my masters year, and something like £350 while at undergraduate level). Secondly, take a year off and try to earn some money. Thirdly, take out a career development loan for your living costs. You can borrow up to £10,000 in total. You need to be aware of the risks this poses though.

And finally, give up full-time study altogether. I think this is the most sensible option as part-time study would allow you to apply for Jobseeker's Allowance (maximum study time is 16 hours per week), which would take care of your immediate and long-term loving costs, and potentially make you eligible for other things like council-tax and housing benefit.

With a PhD, you obviously do not have formal classes so staying 'under' 16 hours is not a problem. If you struggle to find work then you still have some money coming in and you can use more time to improve your research. In fact you could be putting in full-time hours into your PhD so long as you are looking for some jobs as well.

I am resubmitting my masters dissertation at the moment. When I organised this with someone from my university, I was working full time, did not live anywhere near the university I studied at, and had a baby. I was given a rolling deadline in view of my circumstances (i.e. I would have little time to actually do the dissertation). Now that I am unemployed, I devote more time to my dissertation than before and only have to allocate x amount of my time for job seeking. I still obviously face some of the same difficulties, but I much prefer the current situation than working full-time and trying to fit some study in when I come back from work or over the weekend. In this sense, so long as you are working on your PhD you are doing something productive while you are 'unemployed'.

Studying part-time is underrated in my opinion.

And what happens if your new employer wants to see past wage slips because they are willing to match (or improve upon) your previous wage? And what happens when your new employer, you know, asks referees what you did?

What a completely moronic suggestion. It is not lying by omission (passive). You are deliberately fabricating the details of your CV to look better than they are (active), and then failing to tell them the truth (passive). It is deception. Someone was imprisoned last week for using false information on her CV.

Just because some employers do not check CVs as thoroughly as they should, does not make it right. Your friends have committed fraud by lying to obtain a scholarship.

It is very easy to come up with a reason not to provide them. Also, you are not going to fabricate some CEO position to embellish a CV and no one will bother checking references for some ordinary job anyone with a half functioning brain can do. Also, it is generally advised to use a bankrupt company as former workplace to avoid the problem of references entirely.

Fake job is stupid but they cant prove anything for trip around the world. Even id they demanded to see they the plane tickets just say you threw them away as you have no reason to have kept them. if they want to see pics, how hard is it to jump on a plane to Spain for a few snaps? or Photoshop. i'm surprised at the amount of dogooders on this site. If you knew your lie would never be found out and it didn't affect your ability to do the job in any way what argument is there for not lying? Who cares about ethics? Do you know or care about your rival for the job? No.