Should I quit my Ph. D program?

If you can get an MS and get started working, that might be an option. I would definitely continue to pursue a PhD if you have the intellect, as it is very in demand. You can switch colleges as well, not easily but all colleges need pharma students so that might be an option. I had a friend in an astrophysics and had the same problem--she eventually did get an MS and dropped out. She doesn't regret it.

Good faculty will always be busy, and one of the responsibilities of a doctoral student is to learn how to fit themselves in. I can't say if what you are getting is enough, because you haven't really told us what has been happening. I don't know if your expectations are reasonable and the advisor is uncooperative, or if your expectations are completely out of line.

It is common for a doctoral student to meet with their advisor once every few weeks. Were you expecting constant contact? Generally, you have to be pretty well prepared with your questions and concerns, and make appointments to move on to the next level. Plus, over the summer, a lot of faculty aren't around much at all. and there may be periods of time when they are completely focused on other things.

On the other hand, my own experience was that I went for a couple of years working on my dissertation and going nowhere until I realized that my topic wasn't interesting enough to my advisor to allow him to get excited about it, and I ended up changing my topic. He never said he wasn't interested, but I realized that I was having trouble moving ahead, and that when we met, he wasn't contributing much. Once I changed topics, I'll admit that I found it less interesting, but at least I was able to finish.

Good luck. I hope you realize that you aren't alone. The dissertation is a frustrating time for many, if not most, doctoral students. If you really want to go into pharmacology, don't give up. If your interest in the field itself has waned, then maybe it isn't right for you.

Well, programs work both ways. Graduate school is hard. Why aren't you working with your mentor on his/her grant? That's what mentoring is all about. It's difficult to change advisers....they won't cross each others paths, take each others students unless they leave (unspoken "code"). Try working with your adviser...surprised you aren't doing that now, that is how one gets started......If you leave now the probability of you returning or finishing a Ph.D. elsewhere is very remote...think hard on this one. (psychology professor)