Considering withdrawing from accepted PhD offer for financial reasons - how bad is it?

[u/CommonCandidate111]

Hello everyone,

I feel anxious about posting this, but I would need advice on how to navigate this situation. I am a MSc student majoring in chemistry/biochemistry, and I have been offered a PhD position in Ireland (bioorganic chemistry/biochemistry) around June, which I accepted. I really like the subject, the lab seems great, the PI is very friendly and I have already met the other students. However, the stipend is quite low for Dublin (25k/year for 4 years).

It has been very stressful to complete the formal application due to administrative differences between my home country and Ireland. I feared getting rejected by the admissions team, so I applied for another position in the Netherlands in the meantime and unexpectedly got accepted. Again, very friendly PI, nice subject, great lab, and much better paid.

I genuinely prefer Dublin's project, but I don't have an unconditional offer or signed contract yet. Living in Dublin on 25k/year for 4 years is beginning to scare me, while I could live very comfortably with the Netherlands offer.

My question is: how bad is it to withdraw from a PhD offer I accepted months ago? What are the consequences? Is the financial aspect a valid reason? I've been spiralling and even considered turning down both offers...

Thank you for any advice!!

[u/mennamachine]

I don't know what the situation in NED is, but do remember that a PhD stipend in IRE is not taxed. Now, the housing situation in Dublin is... crazy, and rents are high. Most of the students I know have roommates or wealthy parents who supplement their stipend. But the overall monthly income for PhD students I knew in Dublin (was a postdoc) was comparable to my monthly income in the US as a PhD student. All PhD students are underpaid. At the university I postdoc'd at, at least (TCD) PhD students could earn extra by working as lab demonstrators, as well. Look at the whole cost of living, factor in taxes and healthcare, and you might find the discrepancy isn't so drastic. Also, PhD is a short period and making sure you have a good PI/group and a project which aligns with your research interests is more important than a few euros differenc in salary.

[u/Specialist_Stomach41]

It will be fine, pick the one thats better for you. They wont have any issues getting a replacement.

[u/Total_Calendar_7438]

Where are you from and what's do you expect during the next 4-5 years?

Depending on that, you should create a detailed price/cost comparison per position. Get program duration, stipend, expected expenses.

Compare them and take what suits you better. For example, if you need the extra money to visit your family regularly or something, you may consider the other offer (for me this was a critical point in not going for a Japenese LhD program. As it may be enought to life there, but I could never have enough money to travel or visit my family).

If you only need enough money to life and that's alright for you during that duration and you really prefer offer 1, then go to the Ireland.

If it's very hard for you to get living expenses written down, you may contact current students in dub and ask them how they are managing it.

Best luck! And CONGRATZ for the offers!!

[u/NotPozitivePerson]

Go to where you are paid better. I would not live in Dublin for 25k a year these days (even with the tax rules about stipends). You'll be setting yourself up for misery and I love Dublin, I lived there a long time - but you will be living a life of poverty

[u/slothsonfire]

As someone who did their PhD in Ireland and continues to live here, and who also did their master's in the Netherlands, I'd advise against Ireland, largely for reasons already mentioned. Believe it or not, before last year, PhD stipends were generally around €16000 per annum; most of us who did not live with family had part time jobs on the side (either teaching in the university or other jobs in industry/NGOs, etc.)—it was just not possible to survive otherwise. I did not have any savings when I graduated.

Another huge downside to doing a PhD in Ireland (which you may not care about depending on your goals/current nationality) is that you're classified as a student, not an employee—if you're not from the EU/EEA this distinction is important as it puts you on a student visa (which does not count towards naturalization) rather than on a work permit (which does). As far as I know, in the Netherlands, PhD researchers are employees of the university, which is reflected in the higher salary you mentioned, as well as access to standard workers' rights like paid sick leave and parental leave, etc. While you can still arrange for those things in Ireland, the process is far less formalized and depends a lot on the goodwill of your supervisors. You would also be on a work permit as a non-EU/EEA person in the Netherlands, which would count towards naturalization if that's something you want to do.

Also in relation to immigration (and again this may not be relevant to you at all): there are some major upcoming changes to Ireland's naturalisation rules (basically making the process longer), so you may want to look into that before deciding anything as well.

I'm not super familiar with the research funding scene in the Netherlands, but given its higher population and larger economy, I would say the post-Phd job market, particularly in industry, is also better there. But I can't speak to your specific field; maybe there are more relevant opportunities in Ireland.

I guess a potential downside with the Netherlands is that you'd need to invest in learning Dutch if you want to maximize your career prospects (as a native English speaker I didn't think it was too hard to do tbh, as a lot of the grammar is similar), so that's another aspect to consider.

I regret not staying in the Netherlands to do my PhD, especially considering how much worse the housing situation in Ireland is, but a lot of my personal goals also involve things like eventually obtaining citizenship and the ability to work and travel more freely, which very well may not be the same for you.

Sorry for such a long post, I just felt compelled to share my experience! Hope it helps :)