[4426e6]

I quit recently after 5 years. I don't think I regret it - the improvement in my mental health has been dramatic. I found it difficult to trust any of the advice I was getting from supervisors etc. because our interests weren't aligned.

I can say that I'm significantly more highly skilled than when I started though. Knowing that I didn't want to stay in academia, I spent a lot of time working on my transferable skills (i.e. tech).

[smanzer]

Sounds like you played it smart developing industry-relevant skills. I lucked out with that myself and got a thesis project that helped me get a software engineering job afterward. This is really one of the things they should emphasize to new students: the odds you will get a good academic gig, even if grad school works out well for you, are very low, so make alternate plans. Glad to hear things have gotten better for you after getting out - good luck!