PhD Experiences

pug_in_a_bed

Hello everyone

I'm just looking to see what people's experiences of phd's are,a s I have just finished a masters in English and have a place for phd study if I want it, although my taknig it up really depends on whether or not I win funding from the Arts and Humanities board. I did quite well at my MA and I believe this is a bonus when applying for this kind of funding.

I'd like to hear people's financial experiences and also how they found/find this studying generally. I feel apprehensive as i am 25 now so would be nearly 30 once its done, and as I am a born worrier I immediately thought hmmm I wont be paying into a pension properly for ages (how boring am i!), and things like that. My mum and dad are great, and have said they'd be willing to have me at home (so long as I contributed obviously) if necessary. I've been back and forth during my MA and we do get on well.

Anyway, I was thinking I'd do all the applying etc and begin next september which gives me some time to think. Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

Savvy_Sue

If you decide to go for it, I strongly recommend NOT getting married and moving house at the same time as your PhD is due for submission. Not speaking from personal experience here, just having watched other people do it!

Plus, you need a good relationship with your supervisor. Have also watched other people's lives unravel because of problems there ...

And then I suppose the question is: what will you do after that? The next few months would be a good chance to take stock and work out whether you WANT to do a PhD, whether you NEED to do a PhD to do what you want to do for the rest of your life, or whether you want to do a regular job for a while ...

I think my gut feeling is that if you are headed for an academic career then this is great. But if you see yourself heading for a non-educational job after that, I'm not sure that a PhD in English enhances your employability, IFSWIM.

But I'm no expert, and other people might disagree with me!

Joe_Bloggs

I have worked with people who were studying for PhDs part time. If you can be paid for a proper job and take time off to study then you can have everything.
J_B.

Savvy_Sue

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

I have worked with people who were studying for PhDs part time. If you can be paid for a proper job and take time off to study then you can have everything.

Ooooh, I'm about to disagree with this! Although the people I saw doing this were mostly science-based and doing the PhD was a required part of their employment, but doing it part-time looked to me like the quickest route to a nervous breakdown ... It might be better if you were doing it entirely separately from work and could be very self-disciplined, but those who were employed in the dept often found it hard to make time for their PhD work and were pressured to do the job bit.

Still think you need to be fairly sure what you might want to do afterwards! Never mind not having a pension for a few years, it'll be even worse if you can't get a job after all that studying!

talksalot81

I am just completing my PhD in physical sciences. My experience has been that the research opens your mind no end. Not only has my work taught me endless skills, but I have had the opportunity for extensive travel and networking on an international basis.

If anyone thinks i could have done my PhD and done anything but a couple of hours 'work' a week, then they havent seen what a research PhD involves! If you go down this line, you should consider the PhD as your job. Anything else will indeed push you towards a breakdown and it will also impact upon your work.

Financially, I wouldnt do it without funding since it forces you to work as well and just is bad. If you get a grant, you are grand because it is up to about £13k tax free, so plenty to live off.

Now my current annoyance. Money for academia is VERY hard to come by. The research councils are failing us badly! The effect is that academic jobs are not easy to find and rarely guaranteed for any length of time. In my case, I can go down the industrial route, but for an English PhD, this is perhaps not an option. So I would look very hard into the benefit that a PhD would bring you, there is nothing more annoying than finding out that a job offered to you pays the same as had you started it just with your masters!

Of course, take what I say with a pinch of salt since Physics and English are a looong way removed!

Adam

worried_and_confused

My personal inclination would be to NOT do it if you do not get funding. If you do get funding, you get enough money to live off and 3 years doing something you are really interested in - much better than most conventional jobs!

If you don't have funding, you really need an immense level of commitment - are you willing to struggle along virtually penniless for 3/4/5 years for the love of what you are doing? Are you willing to get in to debt which might take many more years afterwards to pay off? (Obviously living with your parents should help alleviate this problem). If you are certain that you want an academic career I would maybe say go for it even if you don't get funding, but otherwise I would be very cautious, it's an immense sacrifice to make.

If you don't get funding you might be able to get partial funding or a fee waiver from your department or university, and part-time teaching opportunities. Most universities pay their Graduate Teaching Assistants (usually PhD students) about £20 an hour, but in a subject like English you would probably only get a few hours a week maximum, and preparing for your teaching eats into your time badly an can impact on your own study.

Good luck!

pug_in_a_bed

I just couldn't do it if I don't get the funding. All the while I was doing my MA I kept thinking I won't build myself up for a really good result (ie helpful for getting funding) just incase, so I will try not to do the same after I apply for the cash. I'm trying to keep an open mind as I really want to be sure this is what I want to do. Everyone else, my family, tutors etc, are over the moon and all think I woudl be really suited to it - its such a big commitment though. Also, I could stop after 2 years and come out with an mphil (not sure if I've spelt it right) which I could use in an academic career and get a full phd later.

All these comments are really helpful!

Allexie

I was faced with the same dilemma as yourself a few years ago and had all the same fears and trepidations. After weighing up all the pros and cons I decided against it.......and I have always regretted it!!!! Been out of the loop too long to consider doing it now.


Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

worried_and_confused

pug_in_a_bed wrote:

I just couldn't do it if I don't get the funding. All the while I was doing my MA I kept thinking I won't build myself up for a really good result (ie helpful for getting funding) just incase, so I will try not to do the same after I apply for the cash. I'm trying to keep an open mind as I really want to be sure this is what I want to do. Everyone else, my family, tutors etc, are over the moon and all think I woudl be really suited to it - its such a big commitment though. Also, I could stop after 2 years and come out with an mphil (not sure if I've spelt it right) which I could use in an academic career and get a full phd later.

All these comments are really helpful!

It's standard practice to initially be registered for as an MPhil student and then be 'upgraded' to full PhD registration after 1 or 2 years of study. If you're work up to that point has not been of a sufficient standard, you stay on the MPhil programme and end up getting an MPhil.

Whilst an MPhil is a research degree and no mean achievement, the academic job market is so competitive that it is very unlikely you'd get an academic job without a PhD - although you might be able to get (poorly paid) research assistantships. The few MPhil's I know are teaching in schools and further & higher education colleges, not universities.

zar

This online comic strip gives quite a good idea of what PhDs are like, although only one character is a non-scientist and its American - but it can be very funny! http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/comics.php

Financially, I'm funded by a research council, and I think the money is not bad really, although I get slightly above the minimum and my husband works.. It helps that its not taxed, so you can still earn another £4000 or whatever the personal allowance is a year from saving interest/teaching jobs etc before you have to pay tax - I don't go near the threshold unfortunatly! You don't have to start making student loan repayments either even if your studentship is above £15k. Its very like having a wage without paying tax - you're even entitled to maternity leave!

If you didn't get on with it and left without a degree I don't think you have to pay the funding back, apart from any money you've been given in advance on a pro-rata basis (I'm paid quarterly in advance, like a student loan apart from paying it back!) Depending on your lifestyle, hopefully it would be enough to save some of it as savings or a pension. If not having a pension bothers you, you can get personal pensions I believe and do voluntary NI contributions - I am just saving anything spare in cash for a house deposit though as I feel owning a house outright when I'm old rather than having a pension is more of a priority for me at the moment.

Perhaps a brainstorming session would help you decide, consider where you want to be in the next 3 years and beyond. I'm doing my PhD because I was offered funding to study something I was really interested in, and a well-paid job is not high on my list of priorities, or not at the expense of interesting work anyway! I was 23 when I started, its a bit scary when I realise I'll be at least 26 when I finish and never have had a "proper job" and a pension and things (and I may well not start my career until after I've had a family so I'll be ancient by then :eek: ) but on the other hand I was just able to go away with my mum for a long weekend without having to worry about booking time off like my sister did, so there are advantages!

goldentouch

Think very carefully. It's a huge commitment which is all very well if everything goes well for the next three years.

I was lucky enough to have a scholarship which paid quite well. But... personal disaster half way through meant that I had to juggle three children, illness, part time job through a very stressful time.

Had my Viva this year but ended up having to return to the ^%$!! dissertation to make amendments whilst working full time in a demanding job. Soul destroying! I've got 6 weeks left to complete it now.

Never again!I bit off more that I could chew.