PHD while having babies?

Sligo1

Hi all, just wondering if anyone here has managed to apply and undertake a phd whilst undertaking another big step of having a family? I currently have a 1 year old, and am due my next baby in March. We would like to have another (if fortunate enough) in the next year or 2 again. I am currently 31. I am considering applying for my phd during this time on a part time basis as I will be off work for a couple of years. Is there anyone out there that has done their phd this way? Caring for toddlers takes up so much time and I don't want to be putting too much pressure and stress on myself. But at the same time I really feel like I need a challenge as my brain feels like its going into shut down mode.

I have my primary degree and my masters. I'm used to hard work and really want to get my teeth into something. I know a phd is a HUGE commitment which is why m looking for advice from those with experience or are in perhaps a similar position to me.

Thanks

Raphael

What field?

Sligo1

Raphael wrote: »

What field?

Nursing or Nurse Education

hedgehog2

To be honest your best to get working in the area as experience counts for so much more.
Take your maternity leave if a baby arrives,I know several people with phds and they cannot get a job.
Sometimes spending too much time in education hinders your career prospects.
There are folks with a phd in a similar field to yours who will be first in that line befire you when you are yrs working towards it.
Dont want to frighten you off it but its not as essyvto land jobs in unis as it used to be.

Sligo1

hedgehog2 wrote: »

To be honest your best to get working in the area as experience counts for so much more.
Take your maternity leave if a baby arrives,I know several people with phds and they cannot get a job.
Sometimes spending too much time in education hinders your career prospects.
There are folks with a phd in a similar field to yours who will be first in that line befire you when you are yrs working towards it.
Dont want to frighten you off it but its not as essyvto land jobs in unis as it used to be.

Thanks for your reply. As u state it is very difficult to get jobs in the unis at the moment... Why give lectureships when nursing student numbers are being cut etc.

Basically it used to be sufficient to get a position and gain experience with a masters (which I have. I'm actually a registered nurse tutor/lecturer). But these days there is no way to gain teaching experience or a position in a university setting unless you are doing or already have your phd... You won't even be short listed in an application.

Sligo1

O yes and just to add I am aware of the lack of jobs etc... All I really advice on is if doing a phd while raising a family amd having children is in any way practical.

Thanks again

hedgehog2

It really depends on your finances,family support and of you think you can do it you can then.

kisaragi

I don't know too much about nursing but I'm in the final year of my PhD (Neuroscience) at the moment and there's no way I could have done it while having a family. There are some people with young children in my department and I know from talking to them that they struggle to find the time to do work. If your partner can stay at home or you have money for childcare it might be doable - but if not how will you find enough time for data collection? Even if you have a very accomodating supervisor who is ok with you taking lots of time off - you're going to end up paying for it at the end when you have to pay fees to extend a few extra months/year etc.

I'm sure that people have done it, and I have huge respect for them - but I personally have no idea how!

However if you're mostly doing it because you want to challenge yourself and it won't make a huge difference to your employment prospects - you can always quit if it gets too much

Sligo1

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated! Finances shouldn't actually be too much of a problem which is a lot off my mind. I would hope to be doing my phd part time so putting kids into child care say 2 or 3 (max) days a week would be what I would be hoping. I wouldn't ask husband to stay home. Lol. I've been studying and working for the past 13 years and he's only really getting his feet so it wouldn't be fair to ask him. But I have great family support and he's great when he gets home.

I rang a senior lecturer who said I'd need at least 20 or so hours per week to dedicate to the phd alone. I think I could manage 20 hours per week. Does this amount of time seem reasonable for a part time phd?

Any more advice greatly appreciated

El Siglo

Sligo1 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated! Finances shouldn't actually be too much of a problem which is a lot off my mind. I would hope to be doing my phd part time so putting kids into child care say 2 or 3 (max) days a week would be what I would be hoping. I wouldn't ask husband to stay home. Lol. I've been studying and working for the past 13 years and he's only really getting his feet so it wouldn't be fair to ask him. But I have great family support and he's great when he gets home.

I rang a senior lecturer who said I'd need at least 20 or so hours per week to dedicate to the phd alone. I think I could manage 20 hours per week. Does this amount of time seem reasonable for a part time phd?

Any more advice greatly appreciated

There are weeks that you'll probably get fuck all done and then there are weeks where you go two or three days without any sleep whatsoever. It's a very fluctuating experience and it really does require a great deal of dedication. Currently writing up at the moment and I can honestly say that having no children/partner etc... it's still incredibly tough. I mean, there's no point me trying to mince words here and say that it's all very manageable and if you're industrious and productive all the time then you can manage everything and be grand. This is absolutely nothing like you'll have ever experienced in your academic or professional career to date, it's total and utter unremitting dedication. It never goes away, it's always there and it gets progressively difficult as you go through it.

I can only compare it (and this is probably because I'm coming to the bitter end of it) that it's like the first world war in the way in which everyone was enthusiastic about fighting, but when they actually experience war itself it's the worst human experience possible. It was naivety and over zealousness that got me into the PhD, but it's now sheer bloody mindedness and an absolute blind conviction to see the damn thing through to the final submission.

Sligo1

Thank you for your insight! Its good to hear the raw actual experiences. Can I ask if you are doing your phd full or part time? And if you are working aswell?

El Siglo

Sligo1 wrote: »

Thank you for your insight! Its good to hear the raw actual experiences. Can I ask if you are doing your phd full or part time? And if you are working aswell?

Have been doing it full time since I started in October 2010, looking for a job now while writing.

Sligo1

Thanks. I wouldn't even be considering doing this full time like yourself as I know the workload would be too much in my circumstance. I would hope to do it part-time over around 6-7 years. So that could take a lot of the pressure off?...

HIB

Sligo1 wrote: »

Thanks. I wouldn't even be considering doing this full time like yourself as I know the workload would be too much in my circumstance. I would hope to do it part-time over around 6-7 years. So that could take a lot of the pressure off?...

Not sure if you're still thinking about this Sligo? For what its worth, I'll give my 2 cents:
I think there are two important questions you need to consider.
1. Is there going to be a practical/experimental element involved?
2. How much does the subject interest you?

To do a PhD part time, the answers IMO, would have to be `no` and `extremely interested` , respectively.

You said its in the nursing field. I'm not really sure what this entails, but if it involves lab work, you will likely need to put in pretty crazy hours, for certain periods. In my experience, when things were working well in the lab, I pretty much worked 16-18 hour days everyday, weekends included. And I don't think I was unusual in this respect. So, if it involves lab work, I think its probably not compatible with any sort of family life.

If it doesn't involve lab work, and the research revolves around reading articles, books etc., then maybe it would be possible. I can't really comment, as this is far removed from my experience.

However, even if is possible to do, I don't think you will actually complete it, unless you are extremely interested in the subject matter. If it is part time, and you are funding it yourself, I imagine that interest could easily wane, if you are not genuinely inspired by the topic.

If you are inspired, and can't wait to get stuck into it, then why not give it a shot! The worst that can happen is you spend some enjoyable time studying a topic you really like, follow it as far as it interests you. If you decide in the end that the 3 letters after your name aren't worth the bother.... So what.