should i do a part time phd

A comprehensive guide to part-time PhDs

Doing a PhD part-time can be an attractive option for many reasons. However, part-time PhDs are less common than full-time ones, and there tends to be a lack of information on this option. This guide to part-time PhDs answers the most common questions that prospective part-time PhD candidates have.

The difference between a part-time and a full-time PhD

A part-time PhD carries fewer hours per week than full-time employment.

Some universities have minimum requirements for part-time PhDs, for example, a minimum of 20 hours/week. Others, however, are more flexible. They allow part-time PhD candidates to spend anything between a few hours to several days per week on their part-time PhD studies.

The degree that is awarded upon successful completion of a part-time PhD is the same as those being awarded for completing full-time programmes.

Most degree certificates don’t even mention that a PhD was pursued on a part-time basis. There is no reason to worry that a part-time PhD degree may be perceived as worth less than a full-time one.

How much work is a part-time PhD?

Part-time PhD students may be more inclined to work during evenings and weekends.

Other responsibilities during the ‘normal’ working hours result in less attention to PhD-related work. And sometimes, PhD work requires several hours of uninterrupted deep work.

How long does it take to do a PhD part-time?

In most cases, a part-time PhD takes longer than a full-time PhD. A general rule of thumb is that the fewer hours someone spends on a PhD per week, the longer it takes to complete it.

Other universities adapt to the specific circumstances of individual PhD candidates. They may allow someone to finish a part-time PhD in three years as long as all requirements are met. But they may also be okay with a part-time candidate who spends a decade on his or her PhD studies.

Where is it possible to do a PhD part-time?

There are plenty of opportunities to do a PhD part-time, but the specific opportunities and arrangements depend very much on individual universities.

There are also differences in national contexts. In some countries, for instance, in Germany, part-time PhD studies are often the norm. In Germany, many paid positions exist that encompass 60% of a full-time equivalent: time during which a PhD student is required to work in a lab or assist a professor. In the remaining 40% of the time, which is unpaid, a PhD student is expected to work on a dissertation.

Benefits of a part-time PhD

Disadvantages of a part-time phds.

There are also disadvantages and challenges in part-time PhDs. Some of the most common disadvantages of doing a PhD part-time are:

Is it worth doing a part-time PhD?

Some people embark on a PhD part-time to progress in their career. Some people hope for a financial reward after completing a PhD part-time. Some people intend to change careers and use a part-time PhD to start the process while still earning money in a different job. Some people look for a challenge and embark on a part-time PhD for self-fulfilment. Some people have no other option but to do a PhD part-time.

Skills necessary for completing a PhD part-time

Completing a PhD part-time requires several skills. These skills can be learnt. However, a complete lack of these skills at the start of a part-time PhD will make the trajectory much more challenging.

First of all, part-time PhDs benefit from a high degree of self-discipline.

Next, the ability to multi-task and keep a cool head in stressful situations is a big advantage for those who embark on a part-time PhD.

Stressing out easily and feeling easily overwhelmed with many tasks and deadlines, on the other hand, is counterproductive in a part-time PhD.

Part-time PhD students tend to wear many different hats. They need to be able to switch between different roles and juggle lots of different tasks and responsibilities.

Additionally, not everything will work according to plan. Part-time PhD students have to accept that things do not always work out as expected and have to quickly adapt to new situations.

Conditions for success in a part-time PhD

As in any PhD, regardless of whether full- or part-time, a PhD student spends many waking hours on the topic. If the topic is not interesting to the PhD student, and he or she is not passionate about it, motivation to work on it will inevitably decrease over time.

Probably even more important than the institutional environment is a good relationship between the part-time PhD student and PhD supervisors.

Pulling off a part-time PhD without all parties approving, or even knowing about it, can create a lot of problems along the way.

Online part-time PhD programmes

Proponents of these online programmes highlight how they can help to create a more level playing field . It allows PhD candidates, for instance, to live in a low-cost living area, while following a PhD at a prestigious university in a high-cost of living area.

Ten questions to ask yourself before embarking on a part-time PhD

If you consider embarking on a part-time PhD, your decision can be supported by asking (yourself) the following questions:

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Pros & Cons: Full Time vs. Part Time PhD

Part-time vs. full-time phd: which one is right for you.

Returning to school can be a huge decision, especially if you’re a working adult. There are many factors to consider, including how you’ll find the time to do the required work. Because of this, many people may struggle to decide between a full-time and part-time PhD program.

The good news is that the only true difference between the two types of programs is the length of time it’ll take you to complete your work. The coursework and other components are typically the same.

This guide will help you weigh the pros and cons of committing to a full or part-time PhD program so that you can decide which option is best for your goals and lifestyle.

What’s the Difference Between a Part-Time and Full-Time PhD?

The only notable difference between a part-time and full-time PhD is the amount of time it takes you to complete your degree. You’ll still be responsible for completing the required research and coursework. 

That being said, the experience of a part-time PhD program may feel significantly different from that of a full-time student because:

• Full-time PhD candidates have more time to spend on their research and coursework
• Part-time candidates may have other commitments competing with schoolwork
• Financial assistance opportunities may vary depending on your program choice
• Research for a full-time student might be more immersive 

The best choice for you is going to be the option that allows you to balance your educational commitments with the rest of your life. To give you a better understanding of what these educational obligations might be, let’s take a deep dive into full and part-time PhD programs.

The Ins and Outs of Full-Time PhD Programs

A full-time PhD program is similar to a full-time job. It’s typically an immersive experience with two main goals:

• Grow a student’s knowledge about an important topic
• Provide training to improve skills through research and collaboration 

The path to these outcomes can be quite lengthy. Although your specific road might look a little different based on the institution and field of study you choose, the typical PhD program includes: 1

• Coursework – You’ll likely begin your program by taking graduate courses in your field to expand your knowledge base. Courses in research methods and scholarly writing will also be part of your curriculum. These are important preparation for the writing you’ll be expected to do as you progress through your program.
• Research – The time you spend outside of the classroom will mainly be used to research for your dissertation. The skills you acquire through your coursework will help you unearth sources, conduct experiments, or perform other research tasks.
• Meetings – You’ll also have regularly scheduled meetings with your PhD supervisor. The frequency and length of these meetings will depend on your institution and program. Here, you’ll discuss your progress, review your research, and get advice about your work.
• Teaching or fieldwork – Some PhD candidates are required to teach a certain number of classes during their time with an institution. Others must complete an internship, fieldwork, or another project. Your requirements will depend on the program you’re enrolled in and the institution you attend.
• Writing the dissertation – The pinnacle of your PhD program is, of course, the dissertation. This can take years to complete and is often the factor that extends the length of time it takes someone to finish their studies. It’s the compilation of all of your hard work, research, analysis, and writing.
• Defending your dissertation – Once you make that final edit to your dissertation, you’re almost finished. However, there’s one crucial step remaining: your dissertation defense. This is an oral exam where you present and answer questions about your research to a committee. The committee then decides if you have passed or if corrections are needed.

After the defense and committee approval, you’ll submit the final copy of your manuscript and be awarded your coveted degree. 

Required Coursework

Every PhD program is going to look a little different depending on your field of study and institution. A very general example of required coursework for a full-time student might look something like this:

• Year 1 – Two full semesters of coursework, including some specialized courses in your areas of study. More generalized research design and research methods courses may take up a significant portion of your classroom time.
• Year 2 – The second year will also contain two full semesters of classes. You’ll take more courses focused specifically on researching and developing a proposal. This will prepare you to begin working on your dissertation.
• Year 3 – Your course load will be smaller as your dissertation research and writing begins. If teaching, clinical work, or lab work is required in your program, you’ll work on these tasks while also working on your dissertation.
• Year 4 and beyond – You might have a few remaining courses to take, but your time after year three is primarily dedicated to your research and writing until your dissertation is complete.

Weekly Commitment

A full-time PhD program can be an intense endeavor. It requires approximately the same amount of time as a full-time job each week—about 35 to 40 hours. The way those hours are distributed depends on where you are in your program. For the first two years, the bulk of your time will likely be spent in the classroom.

After that, you’ll likely be researching, writing, and completing other required duties. 

Completion Timeframe

According to the National Science Foundation’s “Survey of Earned Doctorates”, there were 55,283 completed doctorate degrees in the United States in 2020. 2 The median length of time from beginning to completion was 5.8 years. At a minimum, most PhD programs take about 4 years, but even full-time students can take longer.

The time it takes you to complete your PhD as a full-time student is heavily dependent on how quickly and effectively you complete your dissertation. Factors that can delay completion include:

• You struggle with your research
• Writing takes longer than expected
• Your dissertation requires significant edits
• Life circumstances interfere with your studies

It’s important to remember that taking longer to finish your degree doesn’t diminish the accomplishment. Don’t get discouraged if you need to make revisions or if your research isn’t finished as quickly as you’d hoped.

A Full-Time PhD Program Might be Right for You If…

Students who successfully enroll in full-time PhD programs do so with the understanding that it’s a significant time commitment. Full-time programs might be best suited for students who:

• Don’t hold a full-time job
• Have the financial support needed
• Can commit as many as 40 hours per week to their school work
• Have significant schedule flexibility to accommodate classes, research, and other obligations

You might also begin as a full-time student and later make the switch to part-time if your circumstances change.

The Ins and Outs of Part-Time PhD Programs

Part-time PhD programs can offer students a little more flexibility. In fact, no two part-time PhD students are likely to have a program that looks the same. However, there are a few common traits among part-time PhD programs, such as:

• More flexibility in coursework
• Less of a financial burden all at once since costs are spread out over a longer period
• Less disruptive of your other life commitments
• More time to research

In a part-time program, you’ll likely have more time to attend to your other obligations. The trade-off is that you’ll be a student for far longer than you would if you attend school full-time. The work you must do is the same as if you attend full-time, it’s just spread out over more years.

Some key differences in the time commitment include:

• Classroom time  – You’ll take the same classes as a full-time student but instead of finishing most of the core work in the first year or two, it might take you three or four years.
• Weekly hours – If you’re a part-time student, you’ll likely spend half the hours working. This equates to about 15 to 20 hours per week that you’ll need to dedicate to school. Of course, this time might change depending on how your program and institution define part-time.
• Years to complete – The timeframe for part-time students to complete a PhD varies. The “Survey of Earned Doctorates” doesn’t differentiate between part and full-time students in its completion data. Anecdotally, a part-time PhD student might take anywhere from 5 to 10 years or more to complete their degree. 3

The biggest takeaway about part-time PhD programs is that they’re highly variable, especially when it comes to completion times.

A Part-Time PhD Program Might be Right for You If…

Many students can benefit from the flexibility offered by a part-time PhD program. You might be the perfect candidate if you:

• Have a family
• Need time for other obligations
• Prefer to work more slowly

Keep in mind that you might be able to start slowly and increase your workload as you go through your programs and life changes.

Find Your Perfect PhD Match

A PhD program can be a challenging and time-consuming commitment, whether you’re a full-time or part-time student. In fact, there isn’t a significant difference between the two, other than the time it takes to finish your degree. A part-time option can allow working adults or those with other life obligations to work toward a doctoral degree at a slower pace that’s more conducive to their needs.

If you’re considering a full or part-time PhD program, Alliant International University might be the right choice for you. Check out our offerings today to see if we’re a perfect match for your educational goals.

Sources: 

•  “The PhD Experience: A Review of the Factors Influencing Doctoral Students’ Completion, Achievement, and Well-Being.” International Journal of Doctoral Studies. 2018. http://ijds.org/Volume13/IJDSv13p361-388Sverdlik4134.pdf . Accessed January 27, 2022.
•  “Survey of Earned Doctorates.” National Science Foundation. November 30, 2021. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22300/data-tables . Accessed January 27, 2022.
•  “How Long Does it Take to Get a PhD Degree?” U.S. News and World Report. August 12, 2019. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2019-08… . Accessed January 27, 2022.

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9 things you should consider before embarking on a PhD

June 23, 2021 | 15 min read

By Andy Greenspon

The ideal research program you envision is not what it appears to be

Editor's Note:  When Andy Greenspon wrote this article, he was a first-year student in Applied Physics at Harvard. Now he has completed his PhD. — Alison Bert, June 23, 2021

If you are planning to apply for a PhD program, you're probably getting advice from dozens of students, professors, administrators your parents and the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to know which advice to focus on and what will make the biggest difference in the long-run. So before you go back to daydreaming about the day you accept that Nobel Prize, here are nine things you should give serious thought to. One or more of these tips may save you from anguish and help you make better decisions as you embark on that path to a PhD.

1. Actively seek out information about PhD programs.

Depending on your undergraduate institution, there may be more or less support to guide you in selecting a PhD program – but there is generally much less than when you applied to college.

On the website of my physics department, I found a page written by one of my professors, which listed graduate school options in physics and engineering along with resources to consult. As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs. This is the kind of information that is available all over the Internet.

So don't wait for your career center or department to lay out a plan for you. Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.

2. A PhD program is not simply a continuation of your undergraduate program.

Many students don't internalize this idea until they have jumped head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not to complete an assigned set of courses as in an undergraduate program, but to develop significant and original research in your area of expertise. You will have required courses to take, especially if you do not have a master's degree yet, but these are designed merely to compliment your research and provide a broad and deep knowledge base to support you in your research endeavors.

At the end of your PhD program, you will be judged on your research, not on how well you did in your courses. Grades are not critical as long as you maintain the minimum GPA requirement, and you should not spend too much time on courses at the expense of research projects. Graduate courses tend to be designed to allow you to take away what you will find useful to your research more than to drill a rigid set of facts and techniques into your brain.

3. Take a break between your undergraduate education and a PhD program.

You are beginning your senior year of college, and your classmates are asking you if you are applying to graduate school. You think to yourself, "Well, I like studying this topic and the associated research, and I am going to need a PhD if I want to be a professor or do independent research, so I might as well get it done as soon as possible." But are you certain about the type of research you want to do? Do you know where you want to live for the next five years? Are you prepared to stay in an academic environment for nine years straight?

Many people burn out or end up trudging through their PhD program without a thought about what lies outside of or beyond it. A break of a year or two or even more may be necessary to gain perspective. If all you know is an academic environment, how can you compare it to anything else? Many people take a job for five or more years before going back to get their PhD. It is true though that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to go back to an academic environment with lower pay and a lack of set work hours. A one-year break will give you six months or so after graduation before PhD applications are due. A two-year gap might be ideal to provide time to identify your priorities in life and explore different areas of research without having school work or a thesis competing for your attention.

Getting research experience outside of a degree program can help focus your interests and give you a leg up on the competition when you finally decide to apply. It can also help you determine whether you will enjoy full-time research or if you might prefer an alternative career path that still incorporates science, for example, in policy, consulting or business — or a hybrid research job that combines scientific and non-scientific skills.

I will be forever grateful that I chose to do research in a non-academic environment for a year between my undergraduate and PhD programs. It gave me the chance to get a feel for doing nothing but research for a full year. Working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the Space Division, I was the manager of an optics lab, performing spectroscopic experiments on rocks and minerals placed in a vacuum chamber. While my boss determined the overall experimental design, I was able to make my own suggestions for experiments and use my own discretion in how to perform them. I presented this research at two national conferences as well — a first for me. I was also able to learn about other research being performed there, determine which projects excited me the most, and thus narrow down my criteria for a PhD program.

4. Your current area of study does not dictate what you have to study in graduate school.

You might be studying the function and regulation of membrane proteins or doing a computational analysis of the conductivity of different battery designs, but that doesn't mean your PhD project must revolve around similar projects. The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas.

If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa. If you are working in biology but have always had an interest in photonics research, now is the time to try it out. You may find that you love the alternative research and devote your PhD to it, you might hate it and fall back on your previous area of study — or you may even discover a unique topic that incorporates both subjects.

One of the best aspects of the PhD program is that you can make the research your own. Remember, the answer to the question "Why are you doing this research?" should not be "Well, because it's what I've been working on for the past few years already."While my undergraduate research was in atomic physics, I easily transitioned into applied physics and materials science for my PhD program and was able to apply much of what I learned as an undergraduate to my current research. If you are moving from the sciences to a non-STEM field such as social sciences or humanities, this advice can still apply, though the transition is a bit more difficult and more of a permanent commitment.

5. Make sure the PhD program has a variety of research options, and learn about as many research groups as possible in your first year.

Even if you believe you are committed to one research area, you may find that five years of such work is not quite what you expected. As such, you should find a PhD program where the professors are not all working in the same narrowly focused research area. Make sure there are at least three professors working on an array of topics you could imagine yourself working on.

In many graduate programs, you are supposed to pick a research advisor before even starting. But such arrangements often do not work out, and you may be seeking a new advisor before you know it. That's why many programs give students one or two semesters to explore different research areas before choosing a permanent research advisor.

In your first year, you should explore the research of a diverse set of groups. After touring their labs, talking to the students, or sitting in on group meetings, you may find that this group is the right one for you.

In addition, consider the importance of who your research advisor will be. This will be the person you interact with regularly for five straight years and who will have a crucial influence on your research. Do you like their advising style? Does their personality mesh with yours? Can you get along? Of course, the research your advisor works on is critical, but if you have large disagreements at every meeting or do not get helpful advice on how to proceed with your research, you may not be able to succeed. At the very least, you must be able to handle your advisor's management of the lab and advising style if you are going to be productive in your work. The Harvard program I enrolled in has professors working on research spanning from nanophotonics to energy materials and biophysics, covering my wide range of interests. By spending time in labs and offices informally chatting with graduate students, I found an advisor whose personality and research interests meshed very well with me. Their genuine enthusiasm for this advisor and their excitement when talking about their research was the best input I could have received.

6. Location is more important than you think — but name recognition is not.

The first consideration in choosing a PhD program should be, "Is there research at this university that I am passionate about?" After all, you will have to study this topic in detail for four or more years. But when considering the location of a university, your first thought should not be, "I'm going to be in the lab all the time, so what does it matter if I'm by the beach, in a city, or in the middle of nowhere." Contrary to popular belief, you will have a life outside of the lab, and you will have to be able to live with it for four or more years. Unlike when you were an undergraduate, your social and extracurricular life will revolve less around the university community, so the environment of the surrounding area is important. Do you need a city atmosphere to be productive? Or is your ideal location surrounded by forests and mountains or by a beach? Is being close to your family important? Imagine what it will be like living in the area during the times you are not doing research; consider what activities will you do and how often will you want to visit family.

While many of the PhD programs that accepted me had research that truly excited me, the only place I could envision living for five or more years was Boston, as the city I grew up near and whose environment and culture I love, and to be close to my family.

While location is more important than you think, the reputation and prestige of the university is not. In graduate school, the reputation of the individual department you are joining — and sometimes even the specific research group you work in — are more important. There, you will develop research collaborations and professional connections that will be crucial during your program and beyond. When searching for a job after graduation, other scientists will look at your specific department, the people you have worked with and the research you have done.

At the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Andy Greenspon talks with fellow graduate students from Harvard and MIT at an Ask for Evidence workshop organized by Sense About Science. He grew up near Boston and chose to go to graduate school there.

7. Those time management skills you developed in college? Develop them further.

After surviving college, you may think you have mastered the ability to squeeze in your coursework, extracurricular activities and even some sleep. In a PhD program, time management reaches a whole new level. You will not only have lectures to attend and homework to do. You will have to make time for your research, which will include spending extended periods of time in the lab, analyzing data, and scheduling time with other students to collaborate on research.

Also, you will most likely have to teach for a number of semesters, and you will want to attend any seminar that may be related to your research or that just peaks your interest. To top it all off, you will still want to do many of those extracurricular activities you did as an undergraduate. While in the abstract, it may seem simple enough to put this all into your calendar and stay organized, you will find quickly enough that the one hour you scheduled for a task might take two or three hours, putting you behind on everything else for the rest of the day or forcing you to cut other planned events. Be prepared for schedules to go awry, and be willing to sacrifice certain activities. For some, this might be sleep; for others, it might be an extracurricular activity or a few seminars they were hoping to attend. In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt.

8. Expect to learn research skills on the fly – or take advantage of the training your department or career center offers.

This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts. From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center. The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in. There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature. When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements. But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job.

9. There are no real breaks.

In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." You might be in the lab during regular work hours or you might be working until 10 p.m. or later to finish an experiment. And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a.m. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away.

As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start. While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do. No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work.

While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on (most of the time), so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected. Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations – but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.

Contributor

Andy greenspon.

Studying for a part-time PhD: the challenges and the benefits

A part-time phd yes, it can be done and it can be incredibly rewarding writes, arthur krebbers.

Arthur Krebbers

I’ve experienced many unexpected hurdles while doing my PhD part-time and I’m sure that you will too. It is often difficult to keep your spirits high while doing a part-time PhD but the reward is substantial. 

It is also helpful to hear about other people's challenges before you embark on your own journey. 

One of my biggest challenges was finding a PhD supervisor. I had contacted a professor at a well-established London business school. She seemed supportive and agreed to meet. The conversation flowed well – until I mentioned the “P-word”. “Seriously, part-time?” she said, surprised. “Look, what you are looking to do is simply impossible. I tried to oversee a part-time PhD degree, with a brilliant student. It all began very well, but after a few months they just couldn’t keep up. Too much pressure from their work.” I’d hit my first dead end.

Fortunately, after persistent searching I found an ideal match. All in all, this took about two months. I cast my net wide, reviewing the full faculty of all the top 20 European finance schools. My goal being to find those that were 1) interested in my field of study (the European debt markets) and 2) open to part-time PhD degrees. Arriving at a shortlist of supervisors, I emailed and spoke to potential supervisors until I had made a final decision. Supervisor, check!

What is a PhD? Advice for PhD students

My next hurdle was in my place of work. I had heard of managers who wouldn’t consider a degree valuable if it wasn’t chartered. And other old-school types who, on hearing about an employee’s desire to “learn more”, simply dish out extra work assignments for them. They seem to live by the attitude that they don’t need any doctors in their workplace. 

I had to therefore sow the seeds carefully. My sales pitch was full of corporate-speak, linking my degree to my division’s strategic objectives and the competitive international landscape. Did you know, for instance, that two-thirds of German CEOs have a PhD? Last time I checked, their economy is doing pretty well. 

With employer support in the bag, I was ready to start juggling a research degree with a professional career. I became a compulsive planner; the PhD felt like a constant guilty conscience and I always felt like I could be studying more. The bulk of my research was done on Saturdays, which I occasionally topped up during the evenings, Sundays or dedicated holidays.

My work chipped in too, granting me two weeks of research leave a year – as part of a tailor-made support agreement that I had negotiated with my managers. They became very supportive of my endeavour, with the understandable condition that my job remained my priority. Banker first, researcher second.

Despite my limited free time, I realised that moderation was important and tried to pace myself. Long bouts of study would leave me insufficiently energised for the work week or put excessive pressure on my social life.

I wasn't in a rush. Being a part-timer, I did not have the same money stresses as my full-time peers. Living expenses were paid for through the day job and tuition fees were covered by my employer. I intended to enjoy both the process and the outcome. “What is a few months delay in a lifetime anyway?”

With corporate support and sponsorship in the bag, I was ready to be initiated into the academic community. This did not happen overnight. I only had one foot in the faculty, while using the other to run the rat race. The secluded professorial life seemed idyllic, spending days researching and working. However, when I heard esteemed lecturers conferring about the “quickest ways to get to British Airways Platinum status” or the “most lucrative visiting scholar jobs” I grew disheartened.

Realising that academics were also human was an important step for me. My interaction had to go beyond just talking about my thesis. A pint and a chat about the Premier League did wonders for my research collaboration. This interpersonal approach helped to solidify my academic relationships, both with my supervisors and other researchers.

And of course you won’t just be speaking to academics day in and day out. You’ll still have to make time for socialising with your family and friends, and often they may not quite understand how a part-time PhD works. 

For example, asking “what will the research be about?” can be like asking a new parent “what will your child be like when he is five years old?” The doctoral process is highly iterative – it involves constant rewriting and refocusing.

Or wanting to know “when will you be done?”. This is not too different from asking an entrepreneur “when will you raise £1 million?” It depends on many factors. Not least the opinion of the supervisor, being your gatekeeper to that gold-plated doctoral certificate.

And, crucially, it also depends on your ability to be able to overcome all these hurdles and dedicate yourself to your research. 

Read more:  The romance versus the reality of a PhD

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25 Best Part Time PhD Programs [2024 Guide]

Explore part time PhD programs. Compare schools and see why you should consider earning your doctorate part time.

If work or other responsibilities have been holding you back from diving headfirst into doctoral studies, consider part time PhD programs instead.

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You may enroll in an on-campus or online PhD program to earn your doctoral credentials on a schedule that fits your busy lifestyle.

Universities Offering PhD and Other Doctorate Programs Online

Methodology: The following school list is in alphabetical order. To be included, a college or university must be regionally accredited and offer degree programs online or in a hybrid format.

1. Andrews University

Andrews University is a private university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, that is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Founded in 1874, Andrews has a current annual enrollment of 3,366.

Students can pursue 130 undergraduate and 70 graduate majors across eight schools and colleges. Degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels are available.

• PhD in Curriculum and Instruction
• PhD in Educational Leadership
• PhD in Higher Education Administration
• PhD in Leadership

Andrews University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

2. Clemson University

Clemson University is a public research university located in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson boasts an annual student enrollment nearing 30,000. U.S. News & World Report ranks Clemson University in 24th place among all public universities.

Students can pursue bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across Clemson’s seven schools and colleges.

• PhD in Healthcare Genetics
• PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
• PhD in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design

Clemson University  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

3. George Washington University

Chartered in 1821 by an act of the United States Congress, George Washington University stands today as a private research university with an annual enrollment of more than 27,000. GWU is divided into 14 colleges and schools offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs.

The Princeton Review consistently ranks George Washington University as a top college in a number of categories. In addition, GWU has been ranked as one of the Top Universities for Producing Billionaires by the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings.

• PhD in Nursing
• PhD in Systems Engineering

GW  is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

4. Hampton University

Hampton University is a private, historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, that was founded in 1868. The university is comprised of 10 accredited schools and colleges offering 50 bachelor’s programs, 26 master’s programs, and seven doctoral programs. The Alumni Factor has named Hampton one of the best colleges in Virginia.

• PhD in Business Administration
• PhD in Educational Management

Hampton University  is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

5. Indiana State University

Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a history dating back to 1865. ISU offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and 75 graduate. Students can pursue 20 bachelor’s degrees, 22 master’s degrees, and seven doctoral degrees on campus and online through ISU’s six academic colleges.

• PhD in Educational Administration – Higher Education Leadership
• PhD in Educational Administration – School Administration
• PhD in Technology Management

Indiana State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

6. Keiser University

Keiser University is a private university based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded in 1977, Keiser offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs available both on campus and online. Money magazine has rated Keiser University one of the top colleges for the money in Florida. Nearly 20,000 students study at Keiser.

• PhD in Criminal Justice and Criminology
• PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• PhD in Instructional Design and Technology

Keiser University  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

7. Liberty University

Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian university founded in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1971. The school consists of 17 distinct colleges offering a wide variety of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs. Programs are divided between 366 on-campus options and 280 online options.

• PhD in Bible Exposition
• PhD in Communication
• PhD in Criminal Justice
• PhD in Criminal Justice – Homeland Security
• PhD in Criminal Justice – Leadership
• PhD in Education – Curriculum and Instruction
• PhD in Education – Instructional Design and Technology
• PhD in Education – Organizational Leadership
• PhD in Education – Special Education
• PhD in Higher Education Administration – Educational Leadership
• PhD in History
• PhD in Nursing – Nursing Education
• PhD in Psychology – Developmental Psychology
• PhD in Psychology – Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• PhD in Psychology – Social Psychology
• PhD in Public Policy
• PhD in Public Policy – Economic Policy
• PhD in Public Policy – Education Policy
• PhD in Public Policy – Foreign Policy
• PhD in Public Policy – National Security
• PhD in Public Policy – Social Policy
• PhD in Strategic Media
• PhD in Theology and Apologetics

Liberty University  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

8. Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University is a public research university located near Starkville, Mississippi, that is classified among RI Doctoral Universities for very high research activity. MSU’s more than 22,000 enrolled students can pursue more than 180 areas of study for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The school was founded in 1878.

• PhD in Community College Leadership
• PhD in Computational Engineering
• PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• PhD in Engineering – Aerospace Engineering
• PhD in Engineering – Civil Engineering
• PhD in Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
• PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering

Mississippi State University  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

9. North Carolina A&T State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a public, historically black university located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The school was founded in 1891 by the North Carolina General Assembly. It is ranked among the top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) by U.S. News & World Report.

A total of 54 bachelor’s, 29 master’s, and nine doctoral degrees are offered through the school’s eight colleges.

• PhD in Leadership Studies

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

10. Texas Tech University

Established in 1923, Texas Tech University is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, featuring 13 colleges and 60 research centers. The Princeton Review has ranked Texas Tech among the 125 best colleges in the Western United States.

Texas Tech offers 150 options for bachelor’s degrees, 110 options for master’s degrees, and 59 doctoral degree programs.

• PhD in Curriculum and Instructions – Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education
• PhD in Curriculum and Instructions – Language, Diversity & Literacy Studies
• PhD in Curriculum and Instructions – STEM
• PhD in Educational Leadership Policy
• PhD in Family and Consumer Science Education
• PhD in Special Education

Texas Tech University  is accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

11. University at Buffalo

Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. Nearly 32,000 students are enrolled in what is considered to be the largest public university in New York. UB offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across 13 academic schools and colleges.

• PhD in Information Science

The  University at Buffalo  is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

12. University of Alabama – Huntsville

The University of Alabama in Huntsville was founded in 1950. It is one of three members of the University of Alabama System. UAH school awards 44 bachelor’s, 30 master’s and 15 doctoral degrees across nine colleges to a study body of nearly 10,000.

UAH is a space-grant university with a large focus on engineering and science programs.

• PhD in Civil Engineering
• PhD in Engineering Management
• PhD in Industrial Engineering
• PhD in Joint Nursing Science

UAH  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

13. University of Colorado – Denver

A member of the University of Colorado system, the University of Colorado Denver is a public research facility offering hundreds of degree programs for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies across dozens schools and colleges.

Total annual enrollment stands at 24,910. Forbes places the University of Colorado Denver 34th on the its list of best public colleges.

University of Colorado – Denver is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

14. University of Florida

The University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university with a main campus in Gainesville, Florida. This senior member of the State University System of Florida offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs to the more than 56,000 students that enroll annually.

The list of notable UF alumni includes Erin Andrews, Emmitt Smith, Faye Dunaway, and Marc Rubio.

• PhD in Classical Civilization
• PhD in Latin and Roman Studies

The  University of Florida  is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

15. University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university based in Lawrence, Kansas. Founded in 1865, KU offers more than 345 degree programs for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies. KU has an annual enrollment of more than 28,400 students.

The school’s faculty and alumni list includes four NASA astronauts, seven Pulitzer Prize winners, 27 Rhodes Scholars, and 325 Fulbright Scholars.

The  University of Kansas  is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

16. University of Missouri

The University of Missouri was founded in 1839 as the flagship of the University of Missouri System. Mizzou currently offers more than 300 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 13 major academic divisions for its more than 30,000 enrolled students.

• PhD in Architectural Studies

The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

17. University of North Carolina – Greensboro

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a public research university located in Greensboro, North Carolina, that dates back to 1891. This school with an annual enrollment topping 20,000 is part of the University of North Carolina system.

More than 100 bachelor’s, 61 master’s, and 26 doctoral programs are offered at UNCG.

The  University of North Carolina at Greensboro  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

18. University of North Dakota

Located in Grand Forks, the University of North Dakota offers 90 bachelor’s majors, 54 master’s programs, and 27 doctoral programs. UND was founded in 1883. Currently, UND has an annual enrollment of 13,581 students spread across its 10 academic divisions. The school’s athletic teams compete in the NCAA’s Division I.

• PhD in Aerospace Sciences
• PhD in Biomedical Engineering
• PhD in Chemical Engineering
• PhD in Electrical Engineering
• PhD in Energy Engineering
• PhD in Environmental Engineering
• PhD in Indigenous Health
• PhD in Petroleum Engineering

The University of North Dakota is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

19. University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public research university located in Columbia, South Carolina. The more than 35,000 students enrolled at USC today can study toward bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. The school’s history dates back to 1801.

• PhD in Computer Engineering
• PhD in Computer Science
• PhD in Mechanical Engineering
• PhD in Nuclear Engineering

University of South Carolina is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

20. University of South Dakota

The University of South Dakota is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, with an enrollment of nearly 10,000 students. The university is divided between seven colleges offering hundreds of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. USD’s campus is home to the National Music Museum. The school was founded in 1862.

• PhD in Health Sciences

USD  is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

21. University of Southern Mississippi

The University of Southern Mississippi is a public research university with a main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Southern Miss awards bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across more than 189 programs. Founded in 1910, the school boasts an annual enrollment of more than 14,00 students.

Southern Mississippi’s academic offerings are divided across four colleges and schools.

• PhD in Nursing Leadership

The  University of Southern Mississippi  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

22. University of Tennessee – Knoxville

Founded in 1794, the University of Tennessee is a public research university located in Knoxville, Tennessee. UT offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across 10 undergraduate colleges and eleven graduate colleges. Annual enrollment stands at close to 29,000 students.

Established two years before Tennessee officially became a state, the University of Tennessee is one of the oldest public universities in the country.

• PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering – Engineering Management

The  University of Tennessee – Knoxville  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

23. University of the Cumberlands

The University of the Cumberlands is a private university located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, dating back to 1888. Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in a variety of specialties in the arts and sciences are offered across four colleges. Total annual enrollment is 13,476.

University of the Cumberlands  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

24. Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university located in Richmond, Virginia, with a history dating back to 1838. VCU offers more than 217 programs for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across 11 schools and three colleges.

U.S. News & World Report has classified VCU as a Tier 1 University that ranks in 84th place among all public colleges and universities in the United States.

• PhD in Health Related Sciences

VCU  is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

25. West Virginia University

Founded in 1875, West Virginia University is a public research university with a main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. More than 350 academic programs for bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees are offered through 14 schools and colleges for the nearly 30,000 students who enroll at WVU annually.

Designated among the R1 Research Universities for very high research activity, WVU boasts research partnerships with the Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

West Virginia University  is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Do Part Time PhD Programs Exist?

Yes, part time PhD programs do exist. Universities know that many people have packed schedules. To accommodate busy students, some schools give the option of part-time enrollment in PhD programs online or on-campus.

The idea is that you may work your way through one of these programs while still living at home and holding a regular job — no uprooting your life required.

Many part-time PhD programs are offered online, which can be particularly convenient. Online college allows you to attend the university of your choice without having to move away from your hometown.

You may take classes online, chat digitally with your academic advisors, and work on your dissertation from the comfort of your own home. Even still, there may be some in-person residencies or practicums required.

Finances are one of the best reasons to enroll in a part-time online program. The paycheck that you bring in each week can help you afford your grad school tuition without living on ramen noodles for five years straight.

Of course, being able to hold a full-time job while going through your doctoral program is more than just a way to make money. Particularly if your field of study is relevant to your job, you may find many opportunities to connect your classroom studies to real-world experiences.

It’s even possible that a situation at work may provide inspiration for the topic of your doctoral dissertation. If you feel that a dissertation may prevent you from finishing your PhD, then a professional doctorate may be a better choice.

For example, doctor of education programs don’t require dissertations in many cases. Instead, students may complete a final capstone project to demonstrate subject mastery.

Part-time students don’t make up the majority of doctoral candidates; even still, you certainly won’t be the only one if you choose to go this route. In the past year, approximately 44% of doctoral students were enrolled in part-time programs .

What Are the Most Popular PhD Programs?

Doctorates are available in practically any field, but some are more common than others. The following table shows some of the top PhDs that you may be able to earn online.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some related careers and their average salaries include:

Getting your doctorate may certainly increase your earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for PhDs is $110,200. That’s a large jump from $78,210, the average annual earnings for those with a master’s degree.

How Do Part Time PhD Degree Programs Work?

To graduate from a part-time doctoral program, you’ll need to do the same work that you would for a full-time course of study. You’ll simply spread the work out over a longer stretch of time.

The first portion of your program will likely be devoted to classes. If you’re enrolled on a part-time basis, you’ll probably keep your course load light instead of taking multiple classes at once.

You may be able to take the classes online, but your school may require a few in-person residencies as well.

Some classes will focus on the research methods that are essential for all doctoral candidates to know, such as analyzing data and writing scholarly reports. At this point, you may also start thinking about a topic for your upcoming research project.

Other courses will be related to your field of study. While some classes may be required of every student in your PhD department, others may be electives. That way, you may build a course of study that is tailored to your career goals and research interests.

After completing your classes, your school may require oral or written testing as a way of assessing your knowledge.

Next, you’ll turn your attention toward your dissertation or another final project. This usually requires completing original research and reporting your findings in a detailed paper.

Even for full-time students, it may take several years to complete a dissertation. On a part-time basis, you may be working on this project even longer.

Once you finish your dissertation, the school’s faculty will need to approve it. Then, you’ll answer questions during a defense of your research. If the faculty determines that you have successfully defended your dissertation, you’ll then be awarded your PhD.

How Long Does It Take to Do a PhD Part Time?

How long it takes to complete your PhD through a part-time schedule is largely up to you and how much you can commit to your studies at any point in time.

You may find that there are some seasons in which you’re able to invest a good portion of your time and other seasons when you’re only able to do the bare minimum to keep going.

As a general rule, though, you should expect your part-time studies to last for several years. Being a part-time student won’t exempt you from any of the program’s requirements.

You’ll still need to earn just as many credit hours, complete any residency or internship experiences, and do the same final projects. The work will just be spread out over a longer period of time.

You should probably plan to work on your doctoral program for six to eight years. Some students take even longer. There may be a maximum duration allowed by your program, so be sure to discuss that with your faculty advisor.

Although part-time schooling is convenient, being enrolled in the same program for years on end may start to feel tedious. It’s important to choose an area of study that you really care about.

Your passion for your studies can keep you motivated even when graduation still seems a long way off.

Admission Requirements for a PhD

No matter what type of doctoral program it is, whether it is a part time or an online accelerated doctoral program , they can be competitive and you’ll want to make sure that your application stands out to the admissions committee. The first step is making sure that you meet the requirements and include all necessary documentation.

• Application and fee: Filling out this form gives the committee basic information about you, so be sure to complete it thoroughly. The fee will be non-refundable, even if you aren’t admitted.
• College transcripts: These demonstrate whether you have the appropriate academic background. You will need to hold a bachelor’s degree, and you may need a master’s degree as well. There may be minimum GPA scores required.
• Test scores: Many schools use GRE or GMAT scores to determine whether you have what it takes to succeed in a PhD program. If you’re an international applicant, you may also need TOEFL scores to demonstrate your proficiency with the English language.
• Letters of reference: These should come from academic or professional colleagues who can attest to your commitment and character. Two or three letters may be required.
• Personal statement or research proposal: This is your chance to communicate your study goals. That way, the school can determine whether your interests align with the expertise of the faculty.

Pay close attention to application deadlines. It’s smart to submit your materials a few weeks before the cutoff since schools don’t usually take late applications.

Accreditation for PhD Programs

Accreditation is a process in which an independent organization evaluates a college’s programs and results to determine whether the school is doing a good job of educating students. If the college is up to par, then it receives approval from an accrediting body.

The primary type of accreditation to consider is regional accreditation . There are seven U.S. organizations that have the right to grant regional accreditation.

There are fairly high standards for regional accreditation. As a result, this type of accreditation is well-respected, and employers are often more inclined to select candidates whose degrees come from regionally accredited schools.

Financial Aid for PhD Students

Paying for a doctorate out of pocket can be an overwhelming prospect, but there are a number of options for funding your PhD.

• Fellowships: Based on your personal merits, your school or a private organization may give you fellowship money intended to further your research goals.
• Government grants: If your income qualifies, you may get free tuition help from the state or federal government.
• Government loans: You may have the option to take out low-interest loans from the federal government or your state.
• Private loans: To supplement your financial package, you may also need private loans. Just be aware that these can come with high interest rates.
• Scholarships: You can apply for gift money from a scholarship-granting organization, such as a professional association in your field.
• Stipends: Some schools grant PhD candidates a small stipend. There are usually stipulations to this, and the rules may differ for part-time students.

To find out more, talk to your school’s financial aid department. Be sure to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) .

Also, if getting a doctorate could benefit your performance at work, you may be able to request tuition assistance from your employer.

Can You Do PhD Part Time?

Yes, you can do a PhD part time. Studying for a PhD doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Just as there are part time masters programs , you can likewise enroll in a doctoral program on a part-time basis.

With that approach, you may be able to go to work during the day and take classes or write papers in the evening. It may even be possible to complete the coursework online.

Is PhD Full Time or Part Time?

Both full-time and part-time PhD programs are available. Some people choose to earn their doctorates as quickly as possible by going to school full-time. Others opt to enroll part-time so that they may keep up with work or family responsibilities.

Keep in mind that not all schools give you the choice between full-time and part-time study; their traditional or online doctoral programs may be specifically designed for one or the other.

Is a PhD Worth It?

Yes, a PhD is worth it for many students. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 5.9% job growth for doctoral or professional degree holders over the next 1o years, faster than the average for all occupations.

Getting a PhD may open new doors. Earning this top degree may grant you entrance into academia as a researcher or a professor.

It may also prepare you to assume high leadership roles and earn more money in your field. Plus, there’s often a sense of personal satisfaction that comes from accomplishing a huge goal like earning a PhD.

If you’re ready to put those three letters after your name, then it’s time to think about enrolling in a doctoral program. Apply to part-time PhD programs so you may pursue your degree without putting your life on hold.

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5 Things to Consider Before Doing a PhD While Working

• By Nicholas R.
• August 19, 2020

Those interested in getting a PhD but dreading the several years of no income or a stipend that doesn’t meet their needs may consider a part time or even a full time job. That way, they can gain experience in the field, save up a little money and have a non-academic route they could later make use of. After all, if you’ve already made it to the point where you’re eligible to study at PhD level, you’ve already proven that you have great time management skills and that you can dedicate yourself to your studies, right?…

It might sound like a workable plan to many, but getting a PhD while working might not be as easy as you may think. Take it from many PhD students and postgrads who warn that it a slippery slope from a part time PhD to no PhD at all.

If you decide to go down this route, keep the following considerations in mind to give you the best chance of succeeding.

1. Know Your Programme

Some part time PhD programmes, especially the ones offered by online universities and distance learning schools, are well suited for those who want to work and study at the same time. Some aren’t as rigorous or time-consuming as others, and in some fields, the experience of working in industry through your current career will be a great benefit. A part time PhD will also have a more manageable workload , and supervisors will usually be more experience in providing support to working students. But keep in mind that some PhD part time programmes will not be eligible for financial aid or funding , at which point part time study may no longer be personally worth it.

2. Know Your Job

If your work is related to your field of study and your employers understand and support the requirements of your PhD, you will have a much less stressful few years. Therefore, one of the first things you’ll want to do is to get your employer on your side.

You can go about this by sitting down with them and explaining what your research will be about, how it will benefit your professional development and how it will benefit them as a business. You will also want to reassure them that you’ll be able to remain committed to your job during your studies, as this is likely to be their biggest concern. Don’t just stop at their verbal support, ask your manager to sit down with you to discuss the possibility of funding support, study days and the assignment of a mentor if your workplace has a doctorate holder.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

3. Know Your Situation

If you have young children, a sick parent, or generally any commitments that require hours of your time, it’s probably best to stay a full time student. If your field requires many publications or relies heavily on being able to network and interact with other researchers, keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to live up to their expectations if you already have work commitments you need to keep up.

4. Know Your Supervisor

Your supervisor should be supportive of the fact that you’re attempting to carry out a PhD whilst working part time rather than seeing it as a hindrance. As is to be expected, part time students generally struggle more than full time ones due to having greater external commitments, less contact time and a longer programme duration (beyond five years). You will want to find a PhD supervisor who is aware of these challenges, and if at all possible, try to get one who has taken this path themselves.

A good supervisor won’t only limit their support to physical help , such as introducing you to other researchers, suggesting relevant literature and facilitating data access, but also to emotional and mental support. A supportive supervisor maintains a good attitude and demonstrates concern for your research project. They should be keen to see you excel, help you refine your research skills and make you feel confident enough to experiment with your research approach and share your work whenever the opportunity presents itself, whether it is at a conference or in your place of work. Although you will be responsible for navigating yourself through your doctorate, a good supervisor will act as your safety net for when you get a little lost.

5. Know Yourself

Even the most organised people aren’t prepared for the workload that comes with a PhD. Make a time chart and be truly honest with yourself about how much time you have in the day, it might not be as much as you would think once you’ve factored everything in. Doing a part time PhD requires about 15-20 hours of commitment per week – will you have 15 hours to spare alongside your job, family and friends and other obligations? If not, then working and studying at the same time will most likely be out of your reach.

These considerations will hopefully put you in a better position to tackle a PhD while working part time (or dare I say it, working full time!). Even still, tackling a several year long PhD programme whilst working is probably one of the hardest things you will do, so if you decide to go down this road, much kudos to you.

There’s no doubt about it – writing can be difficult. Whether you’re writing the first sentence of a paper or a grant proposal, it’s easy

A concept paper is a short document written by a researcher before starting their research project, explaining what the study is about, why it is needed and the methods that will be used.

Is it really possible to do a PhD while working? The answer is ‘yes’, but it comes with several ‘buts’. Read our post to find out if it’s for you.

Join thousands of other students and stay up to date with the latest PhD programmes, funding opportunities and advice.

Browse PhDs Now

The scope and delimitations of a thesis, dissertation or paper define the topic and boundaries of a research problem – learn how to form them.

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Charlene is a 5th year PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She studies depression and neuroticism in people with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) using MR Imaging and behavioural tests.

Dr Manning gained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 2019. He is now a postdoc researcher studying molecular simulations on nanomaterials at the University of Bath.

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Should I do a PhD? 4 things I wish I knew before starting my PhD

Editor’s Note: This post is by Alon Loeffler, co-founder of Find My Pathway, who is completing a PhD in Physics at The University of Sydney after an undergraduate degree and honours in Psychology .

So you’ve finally finished 3-5 years of an undergraduate degree . Maybe an honours year too. Perhaps you’ve even taken a year off to travel and find yourself.

What now? Should you take on another 3-5 years of study, and take on the daunting task of doing a PhD?

Here are 4 things I wish I knew before ultimately making the decision to pursue my PhD.

“A night out with PhD colleagues at a bar, you might meet the next Nobel prize winner”

1. A PhD will give you so much more than just a career pathway

During my first year as a PhD student, I learned a lot about my new field. Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and Nanotechnology were not areas I had much experience in from a Psychology background. Pursuing a PhD in the school of Physics opened me up to a huge range of new topics, technologies and people, which I never would have been exposed to previously. Choosing to move cities from Melbourne to Sydney to undertake my studies also impacted my life drastically: a new house, new friends, and new experiences.

I learned more about myself in the past year than I did in the entirety of my undergraduate degree. Before my PhD, I never thought I could gain complex skills and adapt to a new discipline so quickly. I had to throw myself into uncomfortable, sometimes awkward social and professional situations. From all of this, I came out a better person – and much closer to the  real  me than I was before.

So many people I know opt to travel to find themselves, which is great. But for me, one year of a PhD did more than a lifetime of travel ever could (although travel is also a huge part of a PhD).

Pursuing a PhD will help you understand your limitations, both good and bad. You will learn how much better at learning new things you are than you believe, and you will face and overcome challenges that you didn’t even think possible. You will hone cutting-edge skills while meeting incredible people who have powerful, and deep-reaching connections.

At a night out with friends at a bar before your PhD, you might meet some fun, interesting people. But at a night out with PhD colleagues at a bar, you might meet the next Nobel prize winner .

How will a PhD help you in your career?

Visualise your career pathway and get personalised career guidance, opportunities and insights.

2. There are many different paths into a PhD

I’ve been asked many times about the requirements for pursuing a Doctorate degree. Are there qualifying exams for a PhD? Do you need to complete a masters degree to start a PhD? Can I do a PhD while working full time?

The answers to all of these questions will depend on which institution you apply to, and your personal circumstances. In Australia, there are no qualifying exams for PhD degrees. Having a masters degree might help you receive a scholarship for your PhD, but is not necessarily a requirement. Many Doctoral programs in Australia only require a year of honours as part of your undergraduate studies.

However, there are many exceptions to this as well. Most universities should allow you to start a Masters degree, and then switch to a PhD after one year. If you’re working full-time or part-time you can also pursue a PhD on a part-time basis, where the workload is much more manageable, but the duration of the program is increased. You might also be able to undertake an industry PhD program, where your company partners with a university to sponsor your doctoral candidature.

Interested in finding your pathway into a PhD? Take a look at the  Pathways  page and select your field.

3. What you plan to do is not always as great as what you accidentally do

Before you even start your PhD, you will be required to write plans about what your research will cover. Planning is a crucial component of completing a PhD within the time you are allocated. Without to-do lists, or general ideas about what you will be working, or search for during your doctorate, you will certainly be lost.

I use a really great note-taking and to-do list app called Typora  which offers a markdown editor with support for LaTeX styling.

Plans and to-do lists will help you keep track of your goals and research. But things don’t always go according to plan. There will be times where you get sidetracked and go off on a reading tangent about topics that seem unrelated; or situations where an unexpected result might push your research in a completely unexpected way.

When these serendipitous events occur, don’t be afraid to chuck out your plans and follow the unexpected. Some of the most important inventions to date happened completely by accident, many times during research on a completely separate topic (Penicillin, microwave ovens and Cornflakes are a few examples of this).

However, abandoning all your plans and pursuing an entirely accidental discovery could also be very costly. Plans can and should be broken when it is important to do so, but new plans should take their place, and help shape the altered course of your research as soon as possible. Make sure you meet regularly with your supervisor to track and update your plans, so that when something accidental and lucky does happen, you will feel comfortable enough to test it without losing all your hard work.

4. Everyone feels like they are inadequate sometimes

Imposter syndrome – my old friend. Imposter syndrome is the niggling feeling in your mind that you just can’t seem to get rid of, like an itch at the back of your throat. It’s a sensation of dissatisfaction and inadequacy in everything you do.

Imposter syndrome can be the hardest part of a PhD.

Sometimes you try and read a research paper, or a book, and the words all seem to blur together, none of it sinking in. Other times you might accidentally delete important data, or have a conversation with another student or professor who seems to know  so much more . You might feel like you will never be as good as that person, or that you are so far out of your depth and you’ve forgotten how to swim.

On the brighter side, imposter syndrome is incredibly common, and not just in PhD students, but even CEOs of major companies.

It took me over a year to realise this and come to terms with this feeling. I wish I had known to expect it before starting my PhD, and how to deal with it.

How do you deal with this feeling?

A lot of practice. Determination. Hard-word and self-kindness.

It doesn’t matter if your experiment didn’t work the first time, or if a guest speaker seems so much more knowledgeable than you. I guarantee two things: 1) They too have felt this way once, or still feel this way, and 2) You will one day be looked at by other people in the same light – an expert in your field.

Be kind to yourself. Believe in your process. Open up to your friends and supervisors regularly, and work to fix what you don’t like. If you do these things, imposter syndrome will become the easiest part of your PhD, and that means you’re in a really good place!

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Is it a good time to be getting a PhD? We asked those who’ve done it

Researcher, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University

Postdoctoral Research Associate, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University

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Career Sessions was sponsored by a grant from Inspiring SA ( https://inspiringsa.org.au/ ).

Flinders University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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The number of Australian PhD graduates reached around 10,000 a year in 2019, twice as many as in 2005. However, the number of PhDs has been exceeding the available academic positions since as early as the mid-1990s. In 2020, universities purged around 10% of their workforce due to the pandemic, and many university careers are still vulnerable .

Given these statistics, you might wonder if doing a PhD is still a good idea. Based on our discussions with PhD holders, there are still plenty of very good reasons, which is good news in 2021.

Read more: 2021 is the year Australia's international student crisis really bites

In June 2020 we interviewed 12 PhD holders from multiple disciplines for our podcast Career Sessions to investigate the question: why do a PhD?

Why do a PhD?

The PhD is a mechanism for developing high-level research skills, learning about rigours of science or the development of theory. It sets you up with project management, problem-solving and analytical skills that are meaningful within and beyond academia.

“It just taught me all those transferable skills, project management, and also now starting businesses. I’m amazed at how close starting a business is to doing a science project.” – Dr Andy Stapleton

For our interviewees, the PhD is an opportunity to dive deeply into a topic they are passionate about. They also considered contributing new knowledge to be a privilege. The process taught them to be better thinkers, critical thinkers, and to view the world through new eyes.

“The mental fitness to work at a high level, to be able to think at a high level, to be able to write it […] The topic is less important.” – Dr Gareth Furber

The PhD is a voyage of discovery to a better understanding of how things work. It gives them a credible platform from which their voice can be heard and respected, and they can contribute to change.

“I think it’s definitely like a springboard or something. It launches you into a whole other place and it gives you […] more of a voice. It’s a political act for me. It’s about making change.” – Dr Elizabeth Newnham

The PhD is a tough and sometimes painful journey, but ultimately rewarding. The extraordinary was tempered by frustration, and the experience shaped their lives, increasing self-confidence and leading to new self-awareness.

Read more: PhD completion: an evidence-based guide for students, supervisors and universities

When asked whether they would they do it again, no-one hesitated in saying “yes”.

“You will never stretch your brain in a way that a PhD forces you to.” – Professor Kate Douglas.

The PhD is not necessarily a golden ticket to an academic career, but the experience and skills you develop will be meaningful for your future.

“What I’d done in my PhD gave me a lot broader sense than just my own personal experience. There were a lot of people that have heard me speak and a lot of that’s been informed by the PhD. So it might not be direct, but it’s informed who I am.” – Dr Susan Close

Advice from our guests

Keep both your eyes and your mind open. Pick a topic you are passionate about. Speak to people both within and outside academia to find out where this could lead. Think about whether you actually need a PhD to get to where you want to be.

You’ll have to make some judgement calls about how a PhD can fit into your life.

And find the right supervisor! They are the most important relationship you will have throughout your candidature, and they are a solid reference for what comes next. Finding the right supervisor will always enhance your PhD experience .

Read more: Ten types of PhD supervisor relationships – which is yours?

A PhD isn’t right for everyone. Ask yourself, is it the right time for you and your research interests? Are you resilient? Mental health among PhD students is poor

Our podcast guests have witnessed PhD students’ struggles. The pathway of a PhD candidate is not linear. There are many ups and downs. You will meander in many unplanned directions and often take wrong turns.

When you have completed your PhD, the hard work is really just starting. It is a gateway, but there are a lot of PhDs out there. It is what comes next that really counts.

“It’s a gateway. You’re learning how to do research. But if you really want to be successful afterwards, you need to apply that, and be diligent about that as well, and have a good work ethic.” – Dr Mark Krstic

Read more: 1 in 5 PhD students could drop out. Here are some tips for how to keep going

A PhD in any field is an achievement. Even the most niche topics will contribute knowledge to a field that is important for many people. The reward is intrinsic and only you can identify how doing a PhD will contribute to your life. It gives you a great toolkit to identify the doors that are appropriate for you.

“The first paper was the most exciting thing. […] at that time I thought of papers as like a version of immortality. My name is on something that will last forever. I think this is my legacy.” – Dr Cameron Shearer

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• Working While you Study for Your PhD

Written by Hannah Slack

It's possible to work during a PhD with careful time management. You might choose to do this if you need a job to help cover the cost of a postgraduate degree. Or, you may want to learn industry-based skills to benefit your future career. This page will take you through the different types of work PhD students often undertake, and the pros and cons of maintaining a job alongside such an intensive degree.

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Can you work during a phd.

The simple answer is yes, you can work while studying a PhD and in fact, many do. The most common form of work is teaching during your PhD . But some students may also have part-time (or full-time jobs outside of the university).

Depending on the amount of work you plan to undertake, you will have to consider whether it would be better to do your PhD part-time or full-time. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to do a full-time job alongside a full-time PhD. However, it is possible to work part-time alongside a full-time PhD (or vice versa).

What type of work can you do during a PhD?

There are many different types of work PhD students can apply for. When someone says that they work alongside their PhD, most will assume that they have a stable, permanent contract. However, many PhD students work short-term contracts.

Contract work

The most common job for doctoral students is teaching undergraduates. Most departments will offer teaching opportunities to second-year and above researchers, paying you for training, seminar time, prep work and marking. Usually, you'll be able to decide how many seminar groups you wish to take on, allowing you to schedule work around your research. Teaching is an excellent chance to experience the other responsibilities that come with working in academia .

Another popular type of contract work is assistance roles . Many academics run outreach programmes that require more hours than they’re able to put in. Usually, emails will be sent around the departments advertising a short-term role. Jobs often include data entry, content management and research assistance. Again, these can be a great opportunity to build up workplace specific skills and receive a small financial boost.

Permanent roles

Some PhD students may also work more permanent roles. Often, self-funded students have to seek employment in order to financially afford tuition and living expenses. These students usually work part-time in industry . This can be both within and outside of the university. The types of roles students may undertake include admin, hospitality and even marketing. It’s a good idea to search for roles that match up with your skill set and future career goals .

Given the academic pressures of a PhD, many universities advise students not to work more than 16 hours a week . Otherwise, they may find themselves falling behind on a full-time PhD programme.

Pros and cons of working during a PhD

Working during a PhD can be a great opportunity to learn new skills and refine your current ones for future job applications. In fact, many Research Councils often require their funded students to undertake some form of work experience in order to build industry related skills.

However, managing a job on top of your own research can be stressful and limit the amount of free time you have available. Here are some of the most important pros and cons to consider before applying for a job.

• Gain more industry related experience
• Helps reduce financial pressure
• Regular forced breaks from your research can help refresh the mind
• Make connections with work colleagues, reducing the isolation often associated with PhD research
• Less time in the week to work on your PhD
• Schedule clashes could mean you miss out on academic opportunities, such as conferences
• Potential feelings of isolation from the academic community if you’re committed to an industry job

Tips for working during a PhD

#1 prioritise workload management.

The main thing to consider before applying for a job during your PhD is how you’re going to manage the workload. The PhD already comes with a hefty amount of work and so adding to that can cause additional stress.

The key is to set your priorities and manage your time effectively , taking regular breaks. Just like a job allows you to take holiday, do the same for your PhD. If the workload gets too much, be willing to consider the necessity of your job or whether it would be possible to reduce your PhD from full-time study to part-time .

#2 Talk to your supervisor

You should also discuss your situation with your supervisor so they’re aware of your wider responsibilities and time restraints. They’ll then be able to better advise on your progress. Additionally, you should make your industry boss aware of your PhD commitments. They too may be able to assist you. This might mean offering flexibility to your hours in case of last-minute academic events or allowing extended holiday to prepare for the viva .

#3 Don't forget to get involved in the research community

Working while studying can be time-consuming, but it's important to stay in touch with the wider research community nonetheless! Make sure you still find the time to attend conferences, seminars and networking events. This will help you form academic connections and get the most out of your doctorate.

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Frequently asked questions.

In short, yes, you can work while studying for your PhD.

The hard part to juggle is finding the time to do both. You may find that part-time study is more flexible for you but it takes longer to complete. An excellent way to combine work and study is to get a job within the university you are studying at.

Check out other sources of support for PhD Students .

There are several benefits to both full time and part time PhD study. It can be extremely difficult to juggle a full time postgraduate position alongside working. It’s not called full-time for nothing! This is intensive but you can complete a full time PhD faster than it’s part-time equivalent.

Studying for a PhD is a big commitment, either full time for 3-4 years or part-time for generally 6-7 years. If you want, or need, to be working and studying for PhD this could have an impact on your study: here are some of the things you may find it helpful to think about before starting your PhD.

Is funding for a PhD in the UK enough to live on?

If you are fortunate enough to have full funding for your PhD, your studentship should cover both fees and living expenses and be tax-free. The stipend levels for students studying for a PhD in the UK is set by UK research councils for their own studentships, and this is followed by Universities for their own studentships. These will provide enough to live on and not to have to be working and studying for a PhD.

If you are looking for PhD Funding, you can search for your ideal studentship from the many opportunities we have listed on Postgraduate Studentships. We have a section for Charities and Trusts who are set up to support students looking to get additional financial help with their studies.

How much work is included in a Graduate Teaching Assistantship?

Some PhD studentships are called Graduate Teaching Assistantships – this means that you will be teaching for a certain number of hours in each academic year and this is part of the conditions of the studentship. It is advisable to find out exactly how this works with the University advertising the opportunity. Will you receive separate payments or is this part of the studentship? How many hours will it involve and how will that relate to your PhD? Will you receive training?

If you are considering an academic career, there may be some advantage in getting some initial experience. However you may also struggle with working and studying for a PhD at the same time.

Should I study my PhD full-time or part-time if I need to work?

If you need to work and study, it’s important to think about how you will manage that. Can you study full-time and work at the same time and if so how much work can you do? A full-time PhD is regarded as a full-time commitment. So anything other than a supplementary job for a few hours per week is challenging. Some students start with a full-time PhD and then move to studying the PhD part-time. So you would need to discuss this with your university first.

Planning to study a part-time PhD takes longer overall but it may also give you the time to do your PhD and to make the money you need. If you do decide to study part-time you may already have a job that will allow you to have flexible hours. Think also about part time work in a field that relates to your study. If you need to look for a job that will help you do your PhD, your University is likely to have temporary or part-time jobs that students can apply for on campus – most universities have a database of these jobs for students so you can find out in advance what the pay rates are and if that would be enough.

Universities also have a range of part-time jobs which may be administrative or involve working in labs. If you apply for one of these jobs, especially in your own department, it’s important to make sure you work out how you will manage this. This way, you're prepared for when you are working on your PhD and when you are working on your job.

What if I am an International Student?

If you are an international student in the UK there will be restrictions on how many hours you can work. The UK Government has made some improvements to this. There are more opportunities now to study and work in the UK .

Talking to your University about your options

Your university wants you to succeed at your PhD. It has experienced students working whilst studying and works and what doesn’t. If you are planning to work whilst studying it’s a good idea to talk to your department. These questions may form part of your application process because your Supervisor will want to make sure you have the means to conduct your research as well as support yourself.

Many students study for a PhD and work for at least part of the time and complete their PhD successfully. If you look at the options beforehand, you can plan what works best for you. This way you can get the most from your PhD whilst working at the same time.

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The best PhD student part-time jobs [Full guide]

Having a part-time job as a PhD student can be a way to earn more money and live more comfortably but, it also has a downside. It can also be a huge distraction and stop you from focusing on your primary goal which should be working towards your PhD.

The good news is that there are job options that allow you to build valuable skills for the future and not get distracted. My favourite jobs, during my PhD, were teaching in laboratories and tutoring.

The best PhD student part-time jobs include university-based jobs such as tutoring, marking exams, running workshops or laboratories, and working in student services. You can also do online part-time jobs such as user testing to earn a small amount of extra income per month.

Having a part-time job as a PhD student is essential if you are a self-funded PhD student. Without the extra income, you will be relying on savings and eating away the money in your bank account.

This article will cover everything you need to know about the best PhD student part-time jobs and provide you with some options that may suit your current availability and interests.

Can I have a side job as a PhD student?

In all the universities that I have worked at, there has never been any issue with PhD students having a part-time job as long as it did not interfere with their research and it was approved by their supervisor.

PhD students are able to get a stipend which will support their basic living costs throughout their PhD. For example, I was supplied with AU$20,000 per year as a PhD stipend in Australia .

This amount provided me with enough money to afford a reasonable rent in a share house and run a very old and tired car. Nonetheless, I often had plenty of money for entertaining myself with my friends. There wasn’t a lot of money saved but it meant that I didn’t have too worried about the basics (food, accommodation, travel, et cetera).

Some PhD students find that their stipend is not enough for their desired lifestyle and, therefore decide to get a part-time job.

But should you get a part-time job during your PhD?

Should you have a job during a PhD?

Even though there are no explicit rules in many universities for students having part-time jobs it can be a huge distraction.

A PhD takes up a lot of brainpower and time. Trying to balance the demands of a part-time job may be too much for many PhD students.

In general, I would recommend that a PhD student does not have a part-time job in at least the first year of their studies.

Ensuring that your mind is fully on the research will help you start strong – the work performed in the early years are the most important for a timely finish.

You should definitely get a part-time job during your PhD if you are under financial stress. Worrying about where the next meal will come from will do nothing but distract you from the research. Going down to a part-time PhD is also an option if you are struggling financially.

Do what is best for you and the general rule of thumb is to dedicate as much time as possible to your PhD whilst also balancing other aspects of in adult life such as obtaining money for a basic lifestyle.

If you do decide to get a job during your PhD here are some of the best options for balancing with your research.

Best PhD student part time jobs

The best PhD student part-time jobs will have flexible hours, provide you with a reasonable hourly rate, and not distract you from your primary goal of completing your PhD.

I have highlighted in my YouTube video, below, all of the different side hustles that PhD students can try if they need to earn a little bit more money.

There are, of course, many more options than I was able to highlight in my YouTube video.

Typical common part-time jobs in hospitality and customer service are a great place to start if you need to start work quickly.

Common part-time jobs

Even though it can sometimes feel like a bit of a backward step in your life, getting a job in hospitality or customer service can be the perfect balance for your PhD schedule.

Think of areas of employment that employ undergraduate students. These employers are often understanding of student timetables and are often more flexible with your rostering.

Hospitality

Working in a bar, restaurant, café, or other hospitality area can be a fantastic way to earn money as a PhD student in a part-time job.

The benefits include working outside of 9-to-5 and being relatively flexible with working hours.

Unfortunately, hospitality can be very physically demanding. Standing up all day, serving customers, and delivering food can take its toll. Ensure that you are able to balance this role and rest appropriately to allow your mind to be on tiptop form when you are doing research.

Customer service

Customer service is another awesome job that often employs university students.

Working in a store on weekends may be the best way to balance your PhD and your work.

In high school, I worked in a department store and I was also able to earn commission on top of my regular base salary. I sold suits.

Looking for customer service/sales roles that have an extra commission on top of the base salary may be a good way to maximise your earning potential in a part-time job.

University-based jobs

One of my favourite areas to work as a PhD student was within the university itself.

Having a part-time job in a university means that you don’t have to travel very far. It is also very easy to fit in around your other research responsibilities.

There are a number of university-based jobs including tutoring, marking exams, working in student services, and more.

One of my favourite ways of making money as a PhD student was fired tutoring.

If you enjoy working with students tutoring may be one of the most lucrative things for you to do with your time.

I used to offer students “cram sessions”.

Towards the end of a teaching semester I would offer chemistry students the ability to go through past exams with me. I would break down all of the common questions in the past exams and the best way to answer them.

This was valuable for the student as it focused their attention towards passing an exam. I was able to earn a lot of money in two weeks because of the demand for extra tutoring.

Simply placing in advertisement on a high traffic student area is all the marketing you need to do. Alternatively, you can place ads online in the appropriate forums and Facebook groups et cetera.

Marking Exams

Marking exams is something that senior PhD students can consider.

I used to mark lecturers’ exams because they did not have the time to do it themselves.

I approached several lecturers and asked whether or not they would be interested in outsourcing their marking. I was provided with an ideal answer marking sheet to mark up to 300 papers.

Once I got into the swing of things and memorise the answers it was very easy to go through the exams and pick out the areas in which the marks are awarded.

Workshops/laboratories

In the chemistry area, undergraduate students have two do laboratory assignments.

It was very common for PhD students to sign up for demonstrating in the labs.

The job would involve attending a lab, demonstrating the activities, supervising the students and answering questions, and marking their lab books.

Even though the role was performed throughout the day it only happened a couple times a week and was easy to fit into a typical PhD workload.

I also ran the chemistry tutorials.

These were where students asked questions about the lecture material and we went over many examples so that they were able to fully understand the, sometimes very complicated, material.

If something like this interests you, reach out to

Student services

Other PhD students in my cohort often signed up for contract roles with the student services office.

They would help undergraduate students with activities like:

• literature review writing
• article writing
• finding and citing sources
• and other academic activities

Often these services were for international students struggling with academic English.

Have a look to see if your university offers the services and how you can get involved.

Best online jobs for PhD students

In the modern world, it is possible to earn money online. It isn’t necessarily the easiest way of earning money and it can be very difficult and time-consuming to earn money online.

Nonetheless, there are some options for you if you need to be location independent and have a desire to earn your money online.

The great thing is that you only need a laptop and a stable Wi-Fi or Internet connection to earn money.

Here are some of my best ways of earning money.

User testing

User testing is when you provide feedback to developers and website owners on the usability of their website or app.

I did this for a while and it earned me anywhere between US$200 and US$300 a month. Not a lot but enough for a little bit of a top up of your scholarship.

The onboarding process was relatively simple and you have to submit an example of your work. Speaking aloud clearly, and following the brief allows you to get the highest reviews back from your clients and ensures that you are recommended for more tests.

Check out a service like usertesting.com .

If you can read and write in a foreign language fluently and understand the basics of translation you can make a good money as a freelance translator.

This is brilliant for international students who are doing their PhD in a second language and it can make you up to $29 per hour . Your pay will vary based on your experience and the complexity of the project you work on.

An interesting way of making money as a PhD student is to become a notetaker for a service like studysoup.com

You will be able to earn a lot of money whilst helping struggling college students with their notetaking in difficult classes.

If you are someone who loves organisation and learning this may be the perfect opportunity for you to earn some money alongside your PhD.

It could be a little bit time-consuming but will also help you revisit the basics and foundations of your field. Something that is quite valuable for PhD students who are getting lost in the specifics of their research.

Search engine evaluator

Search engine performance evaluation can be relatively lucrative for PhD students but it can be lonely and demand a lot of your time.

You will be evaluating whether a search result is timely, relevant, and accurate to their search intent.

You’ll be providing a human perspective on the results to help inform their algorithms.

It has excellent flexible working hours and often employs new evaluators.

However, the workflow can be very irregular, just like most online ways of earning money, and may involve training periods and non-compete agreements.

If you’re interested in other ways to earn money check out this YouTube video, below.

Best freelance jobs for PhD students

Getting a freelance job can be relatively difficult. Unfortunately, building up your reputation as a reliable and capable freelancer is a full-time job on its own.

However, if you have got a particular skill that is highly valued you can earn good money.

Freelance jobs for PhD students include:

• translation
• video editing
• graphic design
• search engine optimisation
• website development
• and many other skills

You can use services like Upwork to find clients but these services are often a “race to the bottom” for pricing. You may not get what you deserve and you may be better off finding clients through your own networks and connections initially.

Choosing the best PhD student part-time jobs

If you decide to take up a part-time job as a PhD student is important that you follow some simple rules to ensure that it does not take over your life.

Balancing the time commitments required for a PhD student with a part-time job is difficult but certainly not impossible.

Good communication with your employer, supervisor, and direct manager will ensure that you are able to balance everyone’s expectations.

Here is everything you need to do to make sure that you choose the best PhD student part-time job.

Time commitment

Part-time jobs can become a massive time sink.

Ensure that you write out your schedule and dedicate as much time as humanly possible to your PhD studies.

Look for a job that has the smallest amount of time commitment for the largest amount of hourly pay so that you can be as efficient as possible earning money.

Skill building

The one reason I loved getting a part-time job in my university was that it allowed me to build up skills that helped me later in academia.

Learning to teach, explain, and help students certainly look good on my CV and it was something I enjoyed. It led to me lecturing as a postdoc and allowed me to build up evidence of quality teaching.

Try to find a part-time PhD student job that allows you to build skills that you enjoy. For me, that was teaching, lecturing, and interacting with students.

No matter what you decide to do, make sure that everyone is on the same page.

You need to be explicit with each person involved. Whether that is your research supervisor, your boss, manager, or family, you need to make sure that everyone knows what you are able to do and the time that you can dedicate to each activity.

People can get confused about your motivations and asked too much of you as a PhD student.

Remember to write down your agreements and have everyone sign off on what you are committing to. Jobs can easily take over a lot of your life if you allow them to.

Wrapping up

This article has been through everything you need to know about the best PhD student part-time jobs and all of the options available to you.

I have shared my experience during my PhD and found that a university-based part-time job was the best way to balance the time commitments of both a job and my research.

I also really liked lecturing and, therefore, built up skills which enabled me to bolster my CV and position myself later in my academic career.

No matter what you end up doing, make sure that everyone understands the commitments you are able to provide to each role and that you are explicit with your supervisor and your boss.

Earning a little bit of extra money throughout your PhD will help you stay away from financial anxiety and provide a little bit of extra spending money on top of your PhD stipend.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

Thank you for visiting Academia Insider.

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Is it usual and/or healthy for Ph.D. students to do part-time jobs outside academia?

One of my cousins is doing a Ph.D. in anthropology at Georgia State University. He is living with his wife and two kids. Clearly, his Ph.D. stipend is insufficient, so he works in a gas station and pizza shop.

On the other hand, I am doing a Ph.D. at a leading university in Poland in Computer Science. I am not doing any such part-time job because that distracts me from my research tasks and my aim in my life. I have been looking for a white-collar job related to computer programming, etc but haven't been able to find one. Why the employers don't like my CV is unclear. My family doesn't live with me as I can't afford it. So, my wife is furious and is threatening to leave me.

• 21 You and your cousin and any other grad student must figure out how to live. There's no one size fits all. –  Ethan Bolker Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 17:04
• Who is Crealy? . –  Azor Ahai -him- Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 0:46
• 1 @AzorAhai-him-, Typo. –  user366312 Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 0:56
• 7 PLEASE can answerers list their approximate background (country, field, rough time range) when citing their own experience? Academia varies more than you think it does — another answer saying “No, this is not normal” adds no value (and as a blanket statement, is simply wrong ), but an answer saying “In STEM fields in the Nordics, this is currently very unusual…” is informative and useful. –  PLL Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 12:29
• 1 If the PhD is threatening your marriage, you may want to consider whether you should leave your PhD program. It's your call which is more important to you. –  Drake P Commented Jul 1, 2023 at 19:53

10 Answers 10

It is neither usual nor helpful.

Most PhD students already work far more hours than is helpful to either their progress or their well-being. Wearing yourself down before you even reach your workplace is never beneficial.

Academic side-jobs, e.g. as teaching assistants, lecturers, or demonstrators, etc. are, at least, beneficial to your main work, and usually both flexible and arranged around your primary occupation. It is unfortunate that most countries massively abuse PhD students as cheap research labour and pay them a fraction of what they should be paid or, worse, pay them a stipend instead of treating them as employees with rights and pensions, but that's not something an individual student can address.

Unfortunately, the individual parts of your question regarding your personal relationships are not something that StackExchange can or should address. How that influences your choices is up to you.

• 5 I don't know what country you're from, but it's pretty normal in the UK... –  ScottishTapWater Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 8:01
• 6 @ScottishTapWater: That does not reflect my experience at all. Few PhD students worked outside of academia, and those that did struggled as a result. –  Jack Aidley Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 8:45
• 8 "not helpful" for which goal? If you need the money then you need the money... It might be actively bad for you progress, but if the alternative is "not enough money --> no PhD" then it is helpful... –  fgysin Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 9:24
• 3 I'm in the UK, I only know one PhD student who does part-time work and he is struggling. I don't mean teaching, invigilating, or marking: I mean an actual job outside academia which has nothing to do with your university. The question was specifically about jobs outside academia, all PhD students have done work as a teaching assistant at some point. –  Tom Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 14:13
• 3 "not" in the first line should be "nor", I don't have enough rep to have an edit less than 6 characters –  Samathingamajig Commented Jun 30, 2023 at 13:45

As a supervisor, I don't like the idea of students taking jobs outside of academia. I don't know of any supervisor who is ok with the idea, either. But it is also true that the interests of supervisors and graduate students are not always aligned. Yes, as a supervisor it's to my advantage that students put 100% of their work-hour efforts towards research. But it's also true that most grad student stipends are not enough to make a living wage. And in any hierarchy of needs , eating and paying rent is above pleasing your supervisor.

Having said that, two points:

• Graduate students waste So. Much. Time. that I'm sure they could each take two part-time jobs and still get the same amount of lab work done. This is mainly because most are young and still have not learned how to prioritize their time. But the point remains true.
• Among graduate students without second jobs, most I dare say, have hobbies outside of academia that take the time equivalent to a part-time job. I am surprised how academic supervisors frown on students taking unrelated part-time jobs, but matter-of-factly accept hobbies that are socially acceptable within academia, e.g. ultramarathoners, musicians, etc. This is not an argument against having hobbies, but rather an argument that we should let graduate students have second jobs until we pay them a living wage.

As a supervisor, I also have to remind myself that during my PhD studies I had like 5 part time jobs, all inside academia but unrelated to research. So I can't point fingers (and don't.) And in the US and UK, most graduate students have in fact second jobs which are tangentially related to research: it's called TAing. Universities call it training, but it's just an excuse for not paying living wages for people doing most of the teaching.

Is it common? People who can afford it don't have second jobs, and people who cannot afford it, well, they do.

This is just an opinion, but if I were in your shoes I'd sharpen that CV and get a job. There's no upside to coming home to a furious partner.

• 15 STEM stipends are one thing, social sciences are quite another. The anthropology stipend may really not be enough to live on as a single person, much less with a family. –  Jon Custer Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 12:41
• 3 @Jon. I agree, and that's why I wrote that if you can't afford it on your stipend, you get a job. Supervisors' and students' wants don't always align, but one must eat. –  Cheery Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 13:02
• 2 @cheery.beach7701 - well, both must eat... –  Jon Custer Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 13:05
• 2 @cheery.beach7701 - understood. The issue of non-STEM stipends not being enough goes back a long long ways. Nothing new. And these days the pay of temporary or non-tenure faculty is making it hard for them to eat as well. –  Jon Custer Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 13:26
• 14 Downvoted for the tacky comment on grad students' behavior. Not to mention that you are pointing fingers while claiming not to. –  Ethan Bolker Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 17:02

It's much more common to hold jobs outside your field if you're a social sciences or arts major. There's simply not that many "part time anthropologist wanted" job ads laying around. Is that ideal for advancing ones skills? Probably not. But certainly healthier than going hungry. Also, the difference of student dept in USA vs EU can push one towards side hustles and might be playing a role in your example.

On a sidenote - there's a lovely stack called the Workplace where I see people sharing great tips on looking for jobs, how to improve CVs, how to showcase your skills if you don't have industry experience. Maybe you'll find some help with the issues you've faced with your CV.

It's perfectly normal.

Whether it should be or not is a completely different matter however. At the end of the day, a lot of universities are in expensive cities and PhD stipends in a lot of countries simply aren't enough to have a decent standard of living in such locations.

This is doubly true if you're supporting a family.

Heck, enough PhDs have full time jobs and do their PhDs part-time (myself included), which is (in the UK at least) roughly equivalent to having a 20 hour a week job and a full time PhD.

Some advice if you do go down this route though:

Be very wary of burnout. You need to be constantly introspective and on the watch for it because it will sneak up on you and it can be catastrophic. At the first sign of burnout you need to take a rest or make adjustments to head it off.

Be up-front with your supervisor about it. They can help support you with this and try to manage your workload around your job if necessary. They may even be able to find some extra funding for you if you're really lucky.

If you can, get a part-time job teaching undergrads or running labs. This work often pays better than your typical retail job, and it makes a huge difference to your time if you just need to nip downstairs to teach a couple of hours' lab, than walk home, get changed, walk to work, etc.

• 2 The question specifically referred to jobs outside academia. Almost all PhD students have done some work as a teaching assistant here and there, this is completely different to going to look for a job in retail alongside the PhD. –  Tom Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 14:19
• @Tom - My answer holds even in that context. My advice is that if you can make enough money without resorting to a university based job then do, but even that's not enough for a lot of PhDs in a lot of cities these days. Of those people I know doing PhDs right now, about half have other work. –  ScottishTapWater Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 16:14

It depends on the contract. Despite my PhD stipend not offering a living wage, there was a clause in the PhD contract that students not work any outside jobs due to the fact that pursuing the PhD was supposed to be their full-time job. Many students went around this, or else they would not have been able to afford rent.

• This is interesting. What country? –  Cheery Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 18:52
• 1 The United States. –  Parrever Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 18:54
• 2 I had a clause of not being aloud to work more than 5 hours outside my Phd while studying in the UK. –  Rob Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 9:36
• 2 5 hours Per week –  Rob Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 15:17
• 1 Also, the problem of not being allowed to have a second job is much bigger for international students. –  Amelian Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 21:07

To counter some sweeping generalizations in the other answers: in some places/fields it is not uncommon and can be unproblematic or even slightly beneficial.

I did my PhD in computer science in Czech Republic. Since the stipend was quite low and we had no big grant, there was a tacit agreement in my group that PhD students actually work ~3 days a week on PhD and use the rest to get a part time job. I've seen similar setups in other CS groups I've interacted with, as well as some in different fields.

On the other hand, when there was grant money, PhD students were usually supposed to work full time on PhD - but then also got an OK-ish (but not great) wage beside the stipend.

I personally benefited from the part time work as it forced me to improve my software engineering skills and those allow me to work more efficiently in my current research area (biostats/bioinformatics). It also gave me the confidence that academia is not my only option in life, lowering stress around funding/job prospects etc. While I had some hard weeks during my PhD around various deadlines, I am quite sure I worked < 40hrs a week on average and still got a good (though not excellent) publication record at the end and finished my PhD on time (4 years as is the local default).

With that said, being expected to work full time on PhD and have another job on top of that sounds terrible. Also note that there is relatively good evidence that people generally do not get more work done when regularly spending more time at work beyond ~40hrs a week - although it may feel like you are achieving more. The exact optimal number of working hours definitely differs across industries and people, but is generally not very high (famously Henry Ford's experiments indicated that 40hrs was optimal for assembly line workers in his plants - presumably this work is less intellectually taxing than PhD). If you work too much, then after an initial boost from working longer, there is always a point when you get tired and end up achieving less per-week than previously, despite spending more time working. So if you have a second job and manage to fulfill your PhD obligations at the same time, it is likely that should you be allowed to spend less time physically at the lab/uni you could achieve very similar results (by virtue of being more focused and making less mistakes/wasting less time) but with much less stress.

Hope you find a good solution for you and your family.

There is no clear definite answer to your question as every solution to your problem has different pros and cons, so let's look deeper into possible options

• culture wise it can be unacceptable for academia people to have an outside job, but you're a free human being, so it is totally up to you to decide, what you do with your spare time as long as you don't break your academia contract;
• you are likely to extremely overload yourself and burn out pretty soon, which is the main point to consider in this scenario. If you believe, you can cope with all the load and live a happy life, take this opportunity.
• it will require big effort and probably relocation to get into PhD that can actually provide you with living wage, but in the end bread on the table is way more important than studies;
• this scenario requires you to invest a decent amount of time and likely money now, but if it is achievable and you'll be happy with the new PhD as much as your current one, this is a great way to go.
• if you cannot realistically sustain a living with PhD + job at the same time, which is the case for the majority of people, it can be necessary to accumulate decent amount of money in advance and go into PhD afterwards;
• you will sacrifice some time in this case as you will do PhD later, but you will not need to sacrifice your happiness if you can find a job that you will be happy with for a year or couple of years;
• also, you will have way more time to actually spend with your family during this course.

Academia life isn't really good for everybody and it is clearly not suitable for you in the current state of things. So any decision you take at this point is a good one as long as it will make you well-fed and happy.

The only thing I would add to this answer from my personal history of working at 4 part time jobs during PhD is the following: Do not take jobs that pay by the hour, I had taken these contracts exactly for your reasons. I thought if I take contracts that take too much of my time, I wouldn't be able to focus on my career, etc.

It was a bad call.

Instead of taking 4 part time jobs, I should have taken 1 part time job that pays by month/week which covers everything. In Parisian conditions that would correspond to working at a cafe or restaurant.

4 part time jobs weren't really good for my career as it meant that I was working almost everyday on something even if it is for 2-3 hours a day. It also kept me away from most of the networking opportunities.

In the end I finished my PhD, but moved on to private sector. I assume however, if you have already a PhD stipend, you can take some time for searching for the perfect part time job. I would suggest to be on the look out for jobs with night shifts, such as being a watchman for some factory or better some company building at night or being a receptionist in a hotel at night etc.

• 1 I would expect that openings for part-time salaried work are pretty rare. In the US, it would be basically unheard of for a waiter to make a salary rather than an hourly wage. –  Nuclear Hoagie Commented Jun 30, 2023 at 14:12

TL:DR: It is common in the Czech Republic in some fields. It may or may not be healthy, try and see.

A PhD student of Econometrics in Prague here (so at least partially relatable). I work full time and from my experience, working at least part time outside academia is the absolute standard here, since the common stipends are about the 1/4 of the average wage in the city and below 1/2 of our rent. Although, they probably often continue at the job they started during their (under)grad. However:

I would be surprised, if there are no grants for "proper" PhD students, who actually do their PhD as a full-time research career. At least in the Czech Republic, there are country wide grants, which offer enough to "make a living". I would certainly recommend to apply for those.

It may or may not be healthy. Some kinds of blue collar job might be healthy even in the literal sense, since we tend to neglect any form of physical activity. However, when it comes to the issues related to working too much and experience too much stress... that is a tough one. It will depend on the individual, but it definitely can get pretty daunting at times. However, I cannot imagine it being worse than the stress from not living with your family and facing a break up. Also, when I started to work more, I surprisingly found out, that I did not really have that much less useful free time. It seems like it forced me to waste the time less and/or use tools that increases productivity. There is also something to be said about the benefit of having a job that is complementary to your research and teaching.

I also find quite odd, that "employers don't like your CV". It obviously differs across countries, but I cannot imagine that no employer would take a CS PhD student (majoring in CS, I assume) as their junior programmer. I guess I would recommend to invest a bit of time to polish the CV, but you surely know more abut the situation than me.

Universities should be responsible for paying PhD students a living wage. They should not need an additional job.

If the university is not paying you a living wage, you should not be a PhD student there. You also should not work for anyone else who does not pay a living wage.

• 12 Sorry, but this basically means that the OP should not do a PhD in their country until the system changes completely, which is useless advice. Downvoted. Yes, in the US you should not do a PhD which does not pay a living wage, but this does not apply to the OP's situation. (Also, PhD students are not employees, so this is not a case of "working for someone else".) –  Adam Přenosil Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 17:11
• 2 @AdamPřenosil In the US PhD students typically are employees of the university. They do teaching assistant/teaching work. They grade homework/quizzes/tests, proctor exams, and sometimes teach entire classes. The universities rely on graduate student labor. PhD students fill out work forms, receive work documents, and list the university as their employer. When I did my PhD we went on strike, which was supported by the faculty in the department. They are employees, just like faculty are employees. –  cgb5436 Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 18:41
• 2 The status of grad students as employees is not uniform across the world, or even within the US. It's a good reason to unionize. For example, most universities do not issue W2s for grad student stipends. –  Cheery Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 18:54
• 3 This is wonderfully idealist, and in better countries it happens, but I don't think students who live outside of those countries should reject the idea of a PhD out of hand. –  Jack Aidley Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 21:50
• 3 @AnonymousPhysicist Sure. But "don't get a PhD unless the programme pays you a living wage" is a very different piece of advice in a context where good enough PhD applicants can get into programmes which pay a living wage (in particular, not being able to get into such a programme indicates something) and in a context where this is not true. Unless the OP's university is an exception in this matter in Poland (in which case I would agree with your advice), you are effectively saying that no-one should do a PhD in Poland. That seems like pretty extreme advice. –  Adam Přenosil Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 23:10

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10 things you need to know before starting a PhD degree

So you want to do a PhD degree, huh? Here we've got everything you need to know about getting started.

So you want to do a PhD degree, huh? Are you sure about that? It’s not going to be an easy decision, so I’ve put together a list of 10 things you need to know before starting a PhD degree. Oh, and don’t panic!

I have recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a PhD in Plant Sciences after four difficult, but enjoyable, years. During those four years, I often felt slightly lost – and there was more than one occasion on which I didn’t even want to imagine writing up my thesis in fear of delving into fits of panic.

On reflection, I realise that – to quote a colleague – commencing my PhD was like “jumping in the deep end with your eyes closed.” If only I’d known to take a deep breath.

1. Are you sure you want to do a PhD degree?

Let’s be under no false impressions, completing a PhD isn’t easy. There will be times when you feel like Wile E Coyote chasing after the Roadrunner – a little bit out of your depth a lot of the time. It’s four years of your life, so make sure it is what you really want to do.

If you want to pursue a career in science, a PhD isn’t always necessary.

It is possible to make great inroads into industry without a doctoral degree. That said, a PhD can also be a very useful qualification with many transferable skills to add to your CV.

By the time you’ll have finished, you can include essentials such as time management, organisational skills, prioritising workloads, attention to detail, writing skills, presenting to an audience – and most importantly – resilience, to name but a few.

2. Choose your project, and supervisor, wisely.

This is  very  important.

Time after time, our experienced scientists at EI, including Erik Van-Den-Bergh (and I agree) say, “ make sure you’re extremely passionate about exactly that subject. ” When I saw the PhD opening that I eventually was offered, I remember being demonstrably ecstatic about the project before I’d even started it.

I was always interested in calcium signalling and organised a meeting with my potential supervisor immediately, which (to quote Billy Connolly) I leapt into in a mood of gay abandon.

Not only does this help you to keep engaged with your project even through the painstakingly slow times, it also greatly enhances your ability to sell yourself in an interview. If you can show passion and enthusiasm about the project and the science then you’ll be that one step ahead of other candidates – which is all the more important now that many studentships are competitive.

You have to  be the best  out of many, often exceptional candidates.

However, as important as it is to be passionate about your project, make sure that the person who will be supervising you is worthy.

Does your potential supervisor have a prolific track record of publishing work? What is the community of scientists like in the lab you may be working in? Are there experienced post-doctoral scientists working in the lab? Who will your advisor be? Is your supervisor an expert in the field you are interested in? Is the work you will be doing ground-breaking and novel, or is it quite niche?

There is nothing more frustrating – and I know many PhD degree students with this problem – than having a supervisor who is rarely there to talk to, shows little interest in your work, and cannot help when you are struggling in the third year of your project and some guidance would be much appreciated.

Personally, and I was very lucky to have this, I think it’s incredibly useful to have two supervisors. My PhD degree was split between the University of Manchester and the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth. Between my supervisors, I had two people with expertise in different fields, who could give me some fantastic advice from different perspectives. This also meant that I had two people to check through my thesis chapters and provide useful comments on my drafts.

Make sure you are passionate about your subject before taking it to PhD level. And by passionate I mean  really  passionate.

For a start, you will most likely have to write a literature review in your first three months, which if done well will form the main bulk of your thesis introduction and will save you a lot of stress and strain when it comes to writing up.

At the end of your first year, you will have to write a continuation report, which is your proof that you deserve to carry on to the end of your three or four years. This doesn’t leave much time for lab work, which means time management is incredibly important. If you think you’ll be able to swan in at 11 and leave at 3, think again.

Fundamentally, never, ever rest on your laurels! As tempting as it may be to slack-off slightly in the second year of your four year PhD, don’t.

4. Be organised.

This is a no-brainer but still, it’s worth a mention. Take an hour on a Monday morning to come up with a list of short-term and long-term goals. You’ll probably have to present your work at regular lab meetings, so it’s always worth knowing what has to be done (lest you look a pillock in front of the lab when there’s nothing to show for your last two weeks.)

It’s always good to have a timeline of what will be done when. If you have a PCR, maybe you can squeeze in another experiment, read a few papers, start writing the introduction to your thesis, or even start collecting the data you already have into figures.

The more good use you make of your time, the easier it’ll be to finish your PhD in the long run. Plus, it’s lovely to sit back and look at actual graphs, rather than worry about having enough to put into a paper. Once you’ve typed up your data, you’ll realise you’ve done far more than you had anticipated and the next step forward will be entirely more apparent.

5. Embrace change – don’t get bogged down in the details.

Felix Shaw – one of our bioinformatics researchers at EI – put it best when he said, “ it felt like I was running into brick walls all the way through [my PhD]… you’d run into a brick wall, surmount it, only to run straight into another. ”

You’ll find that, often, experiments don’t work. What might seem like a great idea could turn out to be as bad as choosing to bat first on a fresh wicket on the first day of the third Ashes test at Edgbaston. (Yeah, we don't know what that means either - Ed).

Resilience is key while completing your PhD. Be open to change and embrace the chance to experiment in different ways. You might even end up with a thesis chapter including all of your failures, which at the very least is something interesting to discuss during your  viva voce .

6. Learn how to build, and use, your network.

As a PhD student, you are a complete novice in the world of science and most things in the lab will be – if not new to you – not exquisitely familiar. This matters not, if you take advantage of the people around you.

Firstly, there are lab technicians and research assistants, who have probably been using the technique you are learning for years and years. They are incredibly experienced at a number of techniques and are often very happy to help show you how things are done.

There are postdocs and other PhD students, too. Not only can they help you with day-to-day experiments, they can offer a unique perspective on how something is done and will probably have a handy back-catalogue of fancy new techniques to try.

There are also a bunch of PIs, not limited to your own, who are great to talk to. These people run labs of their own, have different ideas, and might even give you a job once you’ve completed your PhD.

Don’t limit yourself to the labs directly around you, however. There are a massive number of science conferences going on all around the world. Some of them, such as the Society of Biology Conference, take place every year at a similar time in different locations, attracting many of the leaders in their respective fields.

If you are terrified by the prospect of speaking at a full-blown science conference and having your work questioned by genuine skeptics, there are also many student-led conferences which will help you dangle your fresh toes in the murky waters of presenting your work.

One such conference, the Second Student Bioinformatics Symposium, which took place at Earlham Institute in October 2016, was a great place for candidates to share their projects with peers, who are often much more friendly than veteran researchers with 30 year careers to their name when it comes to the questions at the end of your talk.

Another great reason to attend conferences, of course, is the social-side too – make the most of this. You never know who you might meet and connect with over a few drinks once the talks are over and the party commences.

7. Keep your options open.

You should be aware that for every 200 PhD students,  only 7  will get a permanent academic post , so it’s  incredibly unlikely that you’ll become a Professor  – and even if you make PI, it probably won’t be until your mid-forties.

You may also, despite having commenced along the academic path, decide that actually, working in a lab environment isn’t for you. Most PhD graduates, eventually, will not pursue an academic career, but move on to a wide range of other vocations.

It might be that Science Communication is more up your street. This was certainly the case for me – and I made sure that I took part in as many public engagement events as possible while completing my PhD. Most Universities have an active public engagement profile, while organisations such as STEM can provide you with ample opportunities to interact with schools and the general public.

You might also consider entrepreneurship as a route away from academia, which might still allow you to use your expert scientific knowledge. There are a variety of competitions and workshops available to those with a business mind, a strong example being Biotechnology YES.

I, for example, took part in the Thought for Food Challenge, through which I have been able to attend events around the world and meet a vast array of like-minded individuals. Many of the participants from the challenge have gone on to set up successful businesses and have even found jobs as a result of the competition.

8. Balance.

Remember that you still have a life outside of your PhD degree – and that this can be one of the greatest opportunities to make amazing friends from around the world.

A science institute is usually home to the brightest students from a variety of countries and can provide a chance to experience a delightful range of different people and cultures. Don’t just stick to the people in your lab, go to events for postgraduate students and meet people from all over campus.

There are usually academic happy hours happening on Fridays after work where you can buy cheap beer, or some lucky institutions even have their own bar. At Norwich Research Park, we not only have the Rec Centre, along with bar, swimming pool, calcetto, samba classes, archery, and a range of other activities, but there are also biweekly “Postdoc pub clubs” which are very fun to join on a Tuesday evening.

Maintain your hobbies and keep up with friends outside of your PhD and you’ll probably find it’s not that gruelling a process after all.

Plus, the people you meet and become friends with might be able to help you out – or at least be able to offer a sympathetic shoulder.

9. Practical advice.

If, after reading all of this, you’re still going to march forth and claim your doctorhood, then this section should be rather useful.

Firstly, make sure your data is backed up. It’s amazing how many people don’t do this and you’d be bonkers not to. Keep your work saved on a shared drive, so that if your computer decides to spontaneously combust upon pressing the return key, you won’t have lost all of your precious work – or have to go through every one of your lab books and type it all up again.

Secondly, don’t leave your bag in the pub with your half-written thesis in it. I did this, the bag was fine, I was in a state of terror for at least half an hour before the kind person at Weatherspoons located said bag.

Thirdly, read. Read broadly, read anything and everything that’s closely related to your project – or completely unrelated. It’s sometimes amazing where you might find a stroke of inspiration, a new technique you hadn’t thought of … or even in idea of where you might like to go next.

Finally, ask questions – all of the time. No matter how stupid it might sound in your head, everyone’s probably been asked it before, and if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

You’ll probably look far less stupid if you just ask the person standing next to you how the gradient PCR function works on your thermal cycler rather than standing there randomly prodding buttons and looking flustered, anyway.

10. Savour the positives.

At the end of all of this, it has to be said that doing a PhD is absolutely brilliant. There’s no other time in your life that you’ll be this free to pursue your very own project and work almost completely independently. By the time you come to the end of your PhD, you will be the leading expert in the world on something. A real expert! Until the next PhD student comes along …

Related reading.

A PhD, is it worth it? Just ask our students

The realities of doing a PhD

My advice for PhD students? See what bites

COVID and my PhD: to lockdown and back

How does a PhD work and how to find the right one

Building the confidence to take on a PhD

PhD life, 10 things we learned in our first six months

What’s the third year of a PhD like? Tips for navigating your PhD

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How to Check if Your Information Was Compromised in the Social Security Number Breach

B illions of personal information records may have been exposed in April after a hacking group gained access to records from the background check service National Public Data (NPD), prompting warnings from cybersecurity experts. NPD confirmed this week that a security incident within their company resulted in a leak of personal information, including social security numbers for millions of people.

In their statement on Friday , NPD warned that the “the information that was suspected of being breached contained name, email address, phone number, social security number, and mailing address(es).” It recommended the public to take a number of steps to safeguard their identities, including freezing their credit and putting fraud alerts on their files at big credit bureaus.

The breach came to public awareness after a class-action lawsuit was filed August 1 in U.S. District Court in Florida, which was first reported by Bloomberg Law . 

National Public Data did not share how many people were at risk, but hackers, who have been identified as part of the hacking group USDoD, have been offering, for sale, what they claimed were billions of NPD records since April, though the Washington Post reported that “security researchers who looked at the trove said some of the claims were exaggerated.”

Read More : How To Freeze Your Credit If Your Information Was Leaked in the Social Security Breach

According to David Brumley, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, these breaches will become more popular with centralization of data.

“We are not talking about a startup here,” Brumley said. “Looking forward, we have to have higher standards for the custodians of our data.”

Here is how you can check if your social security has been compromised by the breach and what to do to protect your information.

How to check if your social security information has been compromised

NPD has not notified specific people whose data has been compromised. In their statement, they say they are working with law enforcement to review affected records and “will try to notify you if there are further significant developments applicable to you.”

Cybersecurity firm Pentester compiled a free database after the breach with the information in it—redacting social security numbers and dates of birth– and created a search tool for people to see if their information was involved. People can enter their name, state, and year of birth here , and the search will instantly look for information in the billions of records leaked online in the massive data breach. 

What to do if you're affected by the leak

If your social security number was breached, the best thing to do is to freeze your credit files through creating an account with one of the three consumer credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. This can prevent identity theft. Credit reporting agencies also have services for those who set up accounts to check if their social security numbers have been compromised.

Even if your social security number was not leaked, Brumley says there are protections that should become the norm in this era of data breaches.

He urges people to set up two-factor authentication on as many online accounts as possible, or use an authentication app to secure your online accounts. He also advises to set up account alerts with your bank, including any and all charges outside of your home country and ATM withdrawals.

Brumley says his major piece of advice is to “be vigilant.” 

Vigilance, he says, includes checking your credit score constantly, especially before large purchases like car loans and mortgages. It also includes awareness of phishing scams, since Brumley says leaks of this size open up the space for scammers to pose as banks and those trying to help.

He also says people should be double checking with their banks, even if they have alert services on for large purchases and withdrawals. He says that even though some banks have regulations where they require extra identification, people can now engineer ways to fool these checks. He adds that it’s up to each individual to keep a watchful eye on their credit, their identity, and their bank information.

“There’s not much more you can do when this much data has been compromised,” Brumley adds.

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How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics? Is she really the best Australia has to offer?

Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.

Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.

What's next?

Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.

Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.

The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?

Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.

He says the answer to that question is simple.

"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.

"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.

"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.

"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone. 

"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."

Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.

"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.

"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.

"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."

He described her efforts as bold.

"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."

Is she the best Australia has to offer?

Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?

"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.

"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.

"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.

"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."

Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.

"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."

Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.

Marie described this as sad.

"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.

"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."

Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.

"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.

"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."

'Toying with the culture'

Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.

He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.

"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.

"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.

"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"

Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.

"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said. 

"We like to share, right? 

"We shared 400 years of free labour.

"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."

Olympics body criticised for Raygun qualification

Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.

"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."

He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.

"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said. 

"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do. 

"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."

Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.

"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.

"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.

"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.

"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."

He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.

"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.

Should everybody just lighten up?

Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.

"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.

"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.

"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.

"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.

"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.

"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."

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Perseid meteor shower put on quite a show when it peaked overnight

By Aliza Chasan

Updated on: August 12, 2024 / 6:33 AM EDT / CBS News

The Perseid meteor shower peaked overnight Sunday into Monday, giving astronomy fans one of the best shows of 2024 as they look to the skies. 

The shower started in July and will continue through most of August, but just peaked, NASA said. The Perseids are considered the " best meteor shower of the year" by NASA, with about 50 to 100 meteors seen per hour under ideal conditions. 

What time did the Perseid meteor shower peak?

The best time to catch the Perseids was in the pre-dawn hours, according to NASA, but it was possible to view its meteors as early as 10 p.m. 

NASA noted that the moon was to set just as the Perseids started to peak. The Old Farmer's Almanac details specific moonset times  for different ZIP codes across the United States. 

Where was the Perseid meteor shower visible?

The best view of the Perseids meteor shower was from the Northern Hemisphere. NASA urged astronomy fans who wanted to check out the shower to get away from the bright lights of cities. 

" Try to get to the darkest location you can," NASA wrote . "The darker it is where you are, the more meteors you will see streaking across the sky."

Around 50 to 75 meteors an hour could be seen in darker locations. 

Where was it best to look to see the meteor shower?

NASA had a simple suggestion: Look up! NASA suggested lying on your back, enabling your eyes to adjust to the dark — and staying off your phone. There was no need to look in any particular direction as the meteors could generally be seen all over the sky.

The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggested facing roughly northeast as you lay down, but to try to take in as much of the sky as possible because meteors can appear all over.

When will the next meteor shower be?

Two other meteor showers are actually active right now. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower began last month and will run through Aug. 21. It peaked in late July. The alpha Capricornids, a small meteor shower, also started last month. It will continue through Aug. 11, according to the American Meteor Society.

The next major meteor shower, the Orionids , won't be active until late September, with a peak in October, according to the American Meteor Society. NASA describes the Orionids as one of the most beautiful showers of the year. The Orionids are known for their brightness and speed.

What are meteor showers?

Meteors — space rocks that enter Earth's atmosphere — streak through the sky every night, but meteor showers happen less frequently. During a meteor shower, many meteors hit Earth's atmosphere over a short period of time. When they pass through the atmosphere, the meteors leave behind streaks of light caused by glowing, hot air. 

While most meteors burn up as they fall, some survive the trip and reach Earth. Those surviving space rocks are considered meteorites.

Look up — what else can you see in the sky this summer?

There are two more full moons this summer. August's full moon, known as the Sturgeon Moon, reaches peak illumination on Monday, Aug. 19. September's full moon will reach peak illumination on Tuesday, Sept. 17, just days before the start of fall. 

• Meteor Shower

Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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The Perseids Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch.

Warm summer nights and swift colorful streaks make this meteor shower a crowd favorite, but this year, observers may have to compete with light from the moon.

Perseid meteors fell over northern Spain in August 2021. Credit... Pedro Puente Hoyos/EPA, via Shutterstock

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By Katrina Miller

• Published Aug. 9, 2024 Updated Aug. 11, 2024

Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with your naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.

The latest observable meteor shower will be the Perseids, which have been active since mid-July and are forecast to continue until the end of August, at the latest. They reach their peak Aug. 11 to 12, or Sunday night into Monday morning.

To get a hint at when to watch, you can use a meter that relies on data from the Global Meteor Network showing when real-time fireball activity levels increase in the coming days.

A favorite among skywatchers, the Perseids are one of the strongest shows each year, with as many as 100 long, colorful streaks an hour. It reaches its peak as two other showers, the Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquarids — which both peaked at the end of July — are petering out.

The Perseids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, just before dawn. This year, viewers may have to compete with light from the moon, which will be nearly half full on the night that the shower peaks. But according to Sky & Telescope , the moon will set before midnight, leaving the early morning hours sufficiently dark for a spectacular show.

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