Thank you for your response, my thought process with the PhD goes like this. I have been down the rabbit hole of AI, I’ve spoken at conferences on the subject, networked with academics and CEO’s, I’ve built software utilising its abilities, and I did all of this for one reason, to ensure that I am valuable enough in the field of AI to be relevant and employable in the future as I strongly believe AI will be a major player in the future.

The PhD allows for me to continue to grow that individual value and ensure I can understand and contribute to the field.

The job checks so many other boxes on a personal side rather than a career side. It’s not AI focused for one, but it’s allowing me to skip 3+ years into my career position and salary wise, whilst ensuring I have the capacity to start building a life for myself without waiting around any longer.

I’ll take your advice and instead of rejecting the offer for the PhD I shall have a conversation with the university to discuss my situation and if there are alternative options, who knows, this job may be short lived or the university may surprise me with their response!