Time off during Phd?

proteuspal

Hi Guys, I am considering a Phd and just taking into account all the issues. My question is this: what type of time off does a Phd student get? Is it like employment where you may get 27 days annual leave etc?

May seem trivial, but i want to know all the details before i sign the dotted line!

Your help is greatly appreciated!

blucey

a phd is , or should be, output driven, not process driven. Unless you are doing a formal contract,your a student. But you are expected to be a selfmanaging adult learner. So take as much time as you want but get the work done.....

proteuspal

oh really, so you could feasibly take a few weeks off in the summer just as a normal student would?

Ostrom

Sure! For my sanity I try to keep it to 25 days. Some weeks i put in a few 11 hour days and take a long weekend. It is entirely up to you. You will get a sense of good pacing a few months in.

blucey

proteuspal wrote: »

oh really, so you could feasibly take a few weeks off in the summer just as a normal student would?

no, take a normal work vacation not ten weeks on the lash in San Diego:D

Treat it as a job.

Red Alert

To give you an idea, this year I took:

About 2 weeks off at christmas overall, but it was more a case of one straight week with a couple of days here and there beside it. Just suited me better.

Took another week off in July to go on holidays with my parents.

Then I tend to build my trips around conference travel - you've already got the flights paid for so you might as well make use of it:

I was at a conference in Minneapolis, so I flew on down to Boston and drove to Cape Cod with a few friends for about a week.

Did the same thing last year after a conference in Washington - headed for a week in New York, and same thing the year before - conference in San Diego followed by a week in Chicago.

Taking days off here and there is also much much easier than a regular job. Just make sure that you don't end up taking the piss completely and you'll be fine. Remember your funding only lasts so long...

proteuspal

Great advice guys, this is very informative. I am also wondering does this advice generally go with all subject areas. I am hoping to do a Phd on the Biology/Medicinal Chemistry type fields?
Thanks for your tips!

Turbulent Bill

proteuspal wrote: »

Great advice guys, this is very informative. I am also wondering does this advice generally go with all subject areas. I am hoping to do a Phd on the Biology/Medicinal Chemistry type fields?
Thanks for your tips!

20-25 days holidays (pretty much what you get in industry) were typical for me in engineering, and Red Alert's description of piggy-backing on conferences is the way to go.

Remember that you'll basically be self-managed and that the PhD is results- rather than time-based. Practically speaking you'll have to work regular hours with standard holidays to get it done.

kaalgat

Pretty much what everybody else has been saying - it is up to you to be an adult and get your work done.

Generally when I go on conferences where the flights and hotels are already paid, I would add a couple of days onto the trip. This and a 2 week holiday in July has been the sum total of my time off for this last year.

I think it is best to treat it like a job and just take your 25 days max. Believe me that the feeling of making progress on your research is WAY better than coming back from holidays and realizing how much there is to do yet!

m1ke

Been doing a PhD for a few years now and I have never taken a proper 'holiday'.

I do the following instead:
-Stop working when I don't feel like working
-Take a day off when I want
-Do very little real work when i'm abroad at a conference or on fieldwork
-When an opportunity to do something fun and interesting comes along, I usually blow off work