Regrets about life...

[Bear]

I am currently finishing up my honours in Archaeology and despite sounding like an idiot on these boards I think im going to do quite well and have the option of getting funding to do a PhD and become Dr Bear.
My question for you all and especially some of the older folks is have you ever been given an opportunity to take something further(Study/job/whatever) and did you take it or not? What were the consequences etc?
The reason I ask is that I am tentative to take a PhD. I am 24 years old and have been constantly being educated for the past 20 years. Now I hit this crossroads, take a year off, travel get a full time job etc or Bunker down for 3 more years of study and be a Dr.
I am just curious about whether people quit school early, or quit a well paid job to follow their dreams etc. Or if you are in a job or lifestyle that you have been in for a long time and wish you did take other opportunities when you were younger.
Anyone feel like sharing/arguing one way or another?

[Shaunm]

Didn't get to do the 3rd record (pre cds) Don't regret becoming a parent though.

[daleknowles]

at the risk of sounding like a dime store shrink... do you want your phd?

you didn't say,

I mean everybody would like to have a phd as it can mean more respect (although not in the waves), more job oppurtunities etc...

my buddy has his masters now and is in law school, but he took 2 years off to travel, do chicks with accents and all of that... if you really want your PHD I'd say do it now, if your not sure, go to South America for a year and bum around...

[mudguts]

some one will no doubt (always a girl) say every thing happens for a reason, but its really a load of shit. everyones life comes to cross roads, everyone has to deal with decisions. make the decisions, deal with what ever consequences, and dont think about what couldve been cos thats what girls do, and its pointless cos it wont change shit, and it will do your head.

now saying that i have 2 main gripes with my life. I wish id grown up by the beach, but i will make sure my children do.


the other one is i look back to when i was a younger fella, and think about all the times chicks were giving out all the signs that they wanted to roo.t me, but i was too young/naive/stupid to realise. With all the wisdom of a few more years i look back and think, you dumb fuc.k!!!!!!!!!!

[Bear]

Oh I want it, I want it bad!
Its just the idea of should I take time off or not. A PhD is a goal of mine and will lead to lots of job opportunities! However, I don't want to wake up in 3 years time and think, "Im almost 30 and I haven't done what I wanted to do with life at this point".
Does that make sense?
Just curious about what other peoples lifes were like!

[chris_010]

even if you get i won't be calling you doctor.

[rock]

I was offered a chance to do a PhD years ago and I took it.

It was hard work and at times I was sick of the study but I'm glad I did it:

- I learned/developed a lot
- I got to travel a lot
- while I was doing my PhD I met my now wife
- I got some great job offers after I graduated

It was because of my PhD that I got offered my dream job here and now have the possibility of surfing every day.

But it'd be hard to see it through if you didn't have a passion for the subject.

[surfscracking]

Hey Bear,

Just remember its like making a film your the director. Make the decision dont make regrets. Best of luck with your decision either way.

I had a trade back ground quit to do the things I love. . Great to have a trade behind me but couldn't stand construction sites. One thing I did learn is not to listen to others to sway your way of thinking.

Only you know what is best for yourself.

[bonusbeats]

bear
i have a ph.d. in philosophy from an american ivy league uni after doing my undergraduate in australia.

are you planning on doing your ph.d. here or overseas? if overseas i say go for it, even if you're not really that interested in the ph.d it's great experience and a fantastic way to set up in a new country. visas and money sorted.
if you get a first here from a decent uni the americans will throw money at you. it's great.

studying can be a chore and isolating. but it beats the shit out of full time work. also doing a ph.d is easier than doing your honours year. the pressure is off, you're part of the academic community.

if you enjoy archealogy then do the ph.d. if you leave now what are you going to do anyway? not likely that you'll find a good paying job doing something you really like with a b.a. put another few years in and a whole new world opens up to you.

[thermalben]

Bear, a PHD will always be there. Lifestyle flexibility won't.

If you're good at what you do (and it sounds like you are), then there will be several prospective employers closely watching your every move. Just before you finish your PHD, they'll make a very lucrative offer for you to start work with them immediately. Then you'll be faced with the question "well, I could just get my foot in the industry for a couple of years, and get a down-payment on that nice apartment overlooking the beach". Not wanting to miss out on this, you'll probably take it, and then it'll be all over.

You're 24 mate.. twenty-four! Jesus. I started my second degree when I was 24 (did two years of a music degree just after school, then travelled/surfed/toured with my band for a couple of years). Finished the second degree just before I turned 27, and I've been focussed on my business since then. You have a LOT of time up your sleeve, and it won't come around again, so don't waste the opportunity to travel if it comes up. I guarantee you wont regret it.

Oh, and from an employer's point of view, someone who's travelled will often be viewed more favourably than someone who's spent their entire life on the books. Main reason is that a traveller has a broader outlook on life, lots of personal experiences they can bring to the job, that kind of thing. Also, they've probably got the travelling bug out of their system - there'd be nothing more frustrating for an employer than to train them for three months, then getting a year of work out of them before they decide they want to bugger off overseas for an indefinite time frame to "find themselves".

[thermalben]

are you planning on doing your ph.d. here or overseas? if overseas i say go for it, even if you're not really that interested in the ph.d it's great experience and a fantastic way to set up in a new country

That's a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

[oldman]

Don't be too concerned about the future. Make your decision based on what feels good now. You may do you PhD and then decide you've had enough of that and want to become a plumber. That's life.

I'm an HR person (on behalf of all HR people, I apologise for the terrible things we do). So many people change their life direction in their late 20's, and again in their early 40's, and then there are decisions to be made as you approach retirement.

Sometime ago I realised that every decision has a cost attached to it. That girl you had a "moment" with at the pub that you didn't follow through on, the job you didn't take, the book you didn't write, the people you didn't befriend, the person you allowed yourself to become. Those chances you didn't take define you as much as the ones that you did take.

As mudguts says, it can do your head in thinking about it too much, but it can also make for a very interesting life. I sometimes spend some very happy moments contemplating what could have been. It doesn't have to be regret. You can look back on those events with a sense of wonder rather than a sense of loss.

As someone who has noticed very definite trends in the character of young people entering the job market, I strongly endorse Thermalben's comments. Travel and other experiences will mature you in a way that you will never find through your studies. At some stage you need to do the life experiences education that formal education actually prevents you from achieving.

There are costs whichever way you go, if you want to look at it that way. Time is your friend. You will regret not being able to look back on the mistakes you made.

[Patto10]

WTF? 24, you have your whole life ahead of you. I didn't get my degree until I was 24. Didn't get married until I was 35 and probably won't have kids until I'm 40. But, Oh man, what memories of growing up slowly. Get out there and enjoy life, get laid, get wasted, get shacked but get on with it! And don't look back, If some one hasn't already said it they should have....
Time spent regretting life is time that could be better spent enjoying life.....

[Longy]

hit it on the head patto.

Life is for living. have fun. get out there.

[PdogH]

I reckon if you're keen to do it get on with it now.
Get to where you want to be at as fast as you can.

Don't worry about travelling now.
You'll be 27 when you finish, still plenty of time to travel and you'll have all the education out of the way.
Better still, get a job overseas once you've finished, that way you get the best of both worlds.

[Kunji]

True regret is growing up in the 80's and not watching these shows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL45Fvce ... ed&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC_Z-ebp ... ted&search

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0FVs9K ... ted&search

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGs4LDp78zg

[Shaunm]

True regret's looking at photo's of yourself if you did grow up in the 80s.

[still here]

Take a year off .
Study is study , and can be taken up again in 1 or a couple years .
Travelling and working will give experience of the world AND what other life and life paths are like , .....and I suspect will strengthen your resolve to pursue your dream carreer with FULL determination .
Have fun ....
oh , to be 24 ...... still with choices