Doing a PhD Part time

Webmonkey

Hi There,

I'm currently doing a PhD full time. I just started. I know the area fairly well now over past few months doing a lot of implementation work. My funding is coming from a large collaborative project that is taking up most of my time!

That's all fine now, but a fairly new company (in the area I'd love to work (I'm a software engineer)) want to speak to me about job. I went for an interview with them before the PhD started and I was offered job but I chose PhD. Now they want to interview me again...I'm guessing it might be part time work or a huge salary to get me out of this PhD!

Now, nothing much is happening with actual research at moment...but I know exactly what to do but the funding project is taking up quite a bit of time.

What I would ideally like to do is, take the job for say 3 days a week and do the PhD for 2 days a week. It seems reasonable to me as the amount of work in the week for PhD wouldn't even be a day at the rate I'm going now.

There are pros however with the PhD full time is with funding european project though - A LOT of travelling around Europe, nearly ever 3 weeks I'm gone which I like.

I'm quite confused what to do!


Has anyone got any advice.... Has anyone ever done a PhD part time? - if so how it go. I'm fairly convinced I could do the PhD part time in same time I'd do it full time as I spend most of my days wasting time with other things here. I know the area fairly well now so I don't think I'd have any problems with it.

The pros of working is I'm getting industrial experience and quite a bit of money which would allow me to self fund the PhD!


I'm quite confused!

I'll see what they have on offer anyways when I meet up with the company over next few days...

dory

I'm also very interested in this. Thinking about doing a PhD in my own time as my research will take years and is likely to change a lot, so funding would be difficult. Also, as a teacher I could write lots during the summer and take it a little easier in the winter.

Has anyone any experience of doing a PhD part time?

toiletduck

Webmonkey wrote: »

What I would ideally like to do is, take the job for say 3 days a week and do the PhD for 2 days a week. It seems reasonable to me as the amount of work in the week for PhD wouldn't even be a day at the rate I'm going now.

I'd be careful using this as a guide. I'm in my second year of a research masters and I started off like you, thinking it was pretty handy but now the work load is fairly full on.

Another thing to consider is how much longer it would take you to achieve a PhD doing it part time.

Webmonkey

toiletduck wrote: »

I'd be careful using this as a guide. I'm in my second year of a research masters and I started off like you, thinking it was pretty handy but now the work load is fairly full on.

Another thing to consider is how much longer it would take you to achieve a PhD doing it part time.

Thanks, I've thought hard about it and it wouldn't work.

It's either PhD full time or nothing. I've decided to do the PhD. I think work will always be there anyways...I'd regret leaving.

A PhD will probably do nothing for my career in IT. It's more a personal goal to be honest. Ultimately, I want to start my own company so a PhD may help in a way there.

Thanks.

toiletduck

Yeah, I probably would have taken the same choice as you. My masters is in software dev aswell so I know what you mean about a PhD not helping your career, but (depending on the nature of your project) I know that EI and plenty of other bodies are going all out for research students to commericalise their projects. As your PhD goes on I'm sure you'll hear more and more about this.

Best of luck with it.

dory

Hope it works out for you webmonkey. I'm still thinking of doing one part time. So if anyone has any experience or advice I'm all ears. I'm currently working as a teacher so I have a good bit of free time and I'd be willing to do this slowly over the next 7/8 years. The area is humanities (Development Studies to be exact).

EoghanRua

Would someone mind explaining to me what, in practical terms, is the difference between a full-time and part-time PhD?

Is this to do with fees or length of time you have to finish it or what?

I can understand a part-time degree where you study in the evening, as opposed to a full-time one where you study by day, but since a PhD is a research degree the distinction between part-time and full-time is not so clear.

mdebets

EoghanRua wrote: »

Would someone mind explaining to me what, in practical terms, is the difference between a full-time and part-time PhD?

Is this to do with fees or length of time you have to finish it or what?

I can understand a part-time degree where you study in the evening, as opposed to a full-time one where you study by day, but since a PhD is a research degree the distinction between part-time and full-time is not so clear.

It has to do with time and fees.
You have more time to finish your PhD and you might (or might not) have to pay less fees (per year, not necessarily for the overall time).
I'm doing a part-time Research Master at the moment, where I have double the time (4 instead of 2 years), but have to pay more fees overall (I think it's roughly 3/4 of the full time fees per year, so I have to pay more overall). But especially the fees diver from College to college and even from course to course. A friend was doing his PhD part-time and he had to pay the full-time fees every year, so he ended up paying double what he would have paid full-time.
You might also have problems getting Scholarships or grants.