Year out before PhD?

I'm currently a fourth year integrated masters student and I really want to do a PhD after my degree. However, I've recently been feeling burnt out and sick of being stressed all of the time. I've been in education non-stop and while I'm very excited to do a PhD, the thought of going from a four year degree straight into another 3-4 year degree worries me due to concerns about burnout.

For a little while now I've been toying with the idea of taking a year out between the completion of this degree and the start of a PhD. I feel like this would help with my stress/burnout but I'm concerned about issues this may cause for my later PhD applications.

I'm going to talk to my university tutor about this but I was just hoping to get other people's experiences/perspectives on it too.

Thank you anyone who replies!

Reply 1

CatInTheCorner

Original post by yeahthatonethere

I think ( as a y13 student, so take this with a pinch of salt ) you should take a year out ( but not longer otherwise you'll leave permanently ) but keep your interest in your PhD piqued, lest you decide that it isn't worth it now that you've lived unstressed and gotten used to it! You could also do your PhD part time if that's better or if a year out is inconvenient for you? You could also work during the year or work part time to support things better. Hope that's somewhat useful?

Reply 2

medicphd

Go for it. A year out of non-stop education is not an issue, it's very understandable. I did a BSc, MSc and now I'm doing a PhD and I had a year out between my undergrad and postgrad (albeit I worked in a related field). You could look to do something similar, maybe look for a job that is somewhat related if you want to work on your year out. As long as you keep the passion for the subject and your grades and experience are up to par, one year out shouldn't make any difference.

Reply 3

yeahthatonethere

Original post by CatInTheCorner

Original post by medicphd

Thank you both! Yeah I would definitely look at working (probably within the field) for the year to not only support myself but keep my experience going and not have the awkward "why is there a gap in your application" conversations.

Reply 4

medicphd

Original post by yeahthatonethere

Yeah it helps to keep your experience going but don't worry too much if you can't find something that covers the whole year. PI's will understand students taking time out, even if it's just to going travelling or just have a break.

Reply 5

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by yeahthatonethere

1 year isnt too bad. Lots of PhDers take a year out. Often they do this because it takes 2 seasons of applications to get funding but nevertheless does happen (and is common).

I think their is something to be being active in some capacity on your year out though, with something that adds to your CV (and with 12 months off you should have time to do a research internship or something this summer then take a nice long break as well). You may also wish to use the year to put some money away.

The most important thing with a PhD is finding an area of research you are incredibly passionate about.

Reply 6

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by yeahthatonethere

It's not an issue, in fact in many areas people are being advised to take a year out. By making PhD applications with a completed Masters you can make a much stronger application, especially for funding.