How to do a PhD?

elisebutt65

Phil - I'm not being insulting.

You have nothing of any intelligence to contribute to this discussion - or indeed any discussion. Your only existence on these forums is to be a pedant and a bore, and quite frankly, are of no interest to me whatsoever!

misskool

Hi elise,

Mostly everything has been covered by the previous posters already but having just finished a phd (:eek:), one thing you have to watch out for is that funding is for EXACTLY three years and you may need extra time to complete the writing or wait for the paperwork and your viva as well as your corrections and your final confirmation.

That's the bit people never tell you about and it's the worst because you've run out of support as universities consider you completed when you've submitted your thesis and not after you've been examined for it. You need to be financially prepared for that time because it's very hard to work full time while you do your thesis corrections!

Voyager2002

misskool wrote: »

Hi elise,

Mostly everything has been covered by the previous posters already but having just finished a phd (:eek:), one thing you have to watch out for is that funding is for EXACTLY three years and you may need extra time to complete the writing or wait for the paperwork and your viva as well as your corrections and your final confirmation.

That's the bit people never tell you about and it's the worst because you've run out of support as universities consider you completed when you've submitted your thesis and not after you've been examined for it. You need to be financially prepared for that time because it's very hard to work full time while you do your thesis corrections!

Very true: but fortunately state benefits are available. And when you are in the final stages of the PhD process you don't have time to go out and enjoy yourself, and so quite naturally find yourself living on very little money. The main problem is that the process of claiming benefits is so bureaucratic and time-consuming, and of course your time is at a premium...

Many universities can offer part-time teaching and odd bits of admin and research assistant work to people in this position.

anewman

State benefits are not usually available. To be in receipt of benefits these days you have to be both available for and actively seeking full-time work, or at least claiming you are doing this. Doing a PhD probably means neither is happening.

Crispy_Ambulance

Students who are registered on a full time course cannot USUALLY claim benefits - unless they are lone parents with a child under 16 or have a disability.

However, PhD students who are writing-up (and they have to be registered as such) can often claim JSA - as long as they are available for and actively seeking work.

spaneshal

I am currently studying a degree in Management (travel and tourism, hospitality and retail specialities). You dont really need a masters degree to become a lecturer at university level. After finishing your BA hons or BSc hons equvialent you can become a lecturer by taking a top up teaching qualification which lasts a year part time.

Its what I am going to do, and hopefully doing it within the college may mean they might have a vacancy for me afterwards?

I am sorry if you will object.. but in personal I really do not think masters and phds are not really worth it unless you become a doctor or aiming for the highest professional level careers. Even then, the top candidates considered are the ones with the most work experience, which students dont usually have the time to obtain alongside their studies. Plus they are expensive (and you cant get a student loan for them!)

But all the best to you. xx

lyndasharp

I think one of the most important factors in choosing where to go for a PhD is the supervisor. I finished mine 18 months ago, and having an encouraging supervisor who understood my work and could make useful suggestions was a huge help. Other friends who didn't see their supervisor very often, and who didn't get the same encouragement, have still finished but it's been a massive struggle for them. You need to be really sure that's the area you want to go for. I'm now working in restoration because my PhD was enough to put me off science, and I know others who switched to a different career. I'm still glad I did it, but I wouldn't do it again!

elisebutt65

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

Students who are registered on a full time course cannot USUALLY claim benefits - unless they are lone parents with a child under 16 or have a disability.

I'm covered on both counts then - phew - Thank goodness I didn't sell the children over Xmas when they were being (ahem) a tad annoying - LOL

I am currently studying a degree in Management (travel and tourism, hospitality and retail specialities). You dont really need a masters degree to become a lecturer at university level. After finishing your BA hons or BSc hons equvialent you can become a lecturer by taking a top up teaching qualification which lasts a year part time.

Yeah - I'm doing the PGCE - PCE at the mo, however - I'm doing that because of the new regs that mean all teachers in FE/HE have to have their PTLLS/CTLLS/DTLLS now so I will always have a means to support myself. But I am loving the kids I'm teaching at the mo' so that's a bonus as well.

I do have an extensive background in the tourism and hospitality industry already - I am a really, really mature student :rotfl::rotfl:but I want to get into research now anyway so it's not purely to lecture at Uni level. Like I said - I want to do this - I don't have to

Voyager2002

spaneshal wrote: »

I am currently studying a degree in Management (travel and tourism, hospitality and retail specialities). You dont really need a masters degree to become a lecturer at university level. After finishing your BA hons or BSc hons equvialent you can become a lecturer by taking a top up teaching qualification which lasts a year part time.

Its what I am going to do, and hopefully doing it within the college may mean they might have a vacancy for me afterwards?

I am sorry if you will object.. but in personal I really do not think masters and phds are not really worth it unless you become a doctor or aiming for the highest professional level careers. Even then, the top candidates considered are the ones with the most work experience, which students dont usually have the time to obtain alongside their studies. Plus they are expensive (and you cant get a student loan for them!)

But all the best to you. xx

This is simply not true.

Universities get more of their funding for doing research than for teaching. When a lecturer is appointed, the main factor deciding who gets the job is what this person has published (research articles); what this person is likely to publish in the next few years; and how likely is this person to obtain research grants.

While in the past there have been some excellent researchers who never bothered to obtain MA or PhD degrees, this is very unusual today.

Anyway, this thread was started by someone who wants to do a PhD because she wants to do research on a topic that fascinates her.

Voyager2002

Crispy_Ambulance wrote: »

Students who are registered on a full time course cannot USUALLY claim benefits - unless they are lone parents with a child under 16 or have a disability.

However, PhD students who are writing-up (and they have to be registered as such) can often claim JSA - as long as they are available for and actively seeking work.

Yes, that is absolutely right. When I was in this situation I was applying for academic jobs, and this was enough to convince the JSA people that I was actively seeking work.

Anyway, this discussion is a bit of a red herring. Doing a PhD is not easy, and only people who are determined will succeed. The lack of money when you are so close to the end is indeed a problem, but much less of a problem than many of the hurdles that must be overcome in order to get to this point.