| Anyone done a PhD? 23:06 - Oct 2 with 4103 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
Just started one, and feeling a little anxious. If you've any tips on time management in particular let me know.
I'll be doing it part-time over six years, whilst working full time, so time management will be key. |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 01:23 - Oct 3 with 3151 views | stringy |
part time PhD is a tough gig - you need to poke your supervisor with a stick to set you regular deadlines, and work on that skeleton outline of the thesis asap: chapter headings, bullet points of what discussions/theories/data go in each one.
Having a clarity of vision is so important, otherwise you can meander and fly off down rabbit holes. I did my PhD part time the first two years, and then was lucky enough to get full funding - I worked all the time on it, but was death-by-tangent and had a very hands off supervisor so it took me *nine years* don't go there!
good luck! |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 07:56 - Oct 3 with 2992 views | choppers |
About to start mine in Jan, have heard it’s important to have good communication between you and your supervisors. And not to freak out if chapters don’t go to plan, most phds rarely do. |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 07:58 - Oct 3 with 2980 views | JohnTy |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 01:23 - Oct 3 by stringy |
part time PhD is a tough gig - you need to poke your supervisor with a stick to set you regular deadlines, and work on that skeleton outline of the thesis asap: chapter headings, bullet points of what discussions/theories/data go in each one.
Having a clarity of vision is so important, otherwise you can meander and fly off down rabbit holes. I did my PhD part time the first two years, and then was lucky enough to get full funding - I worked all the time on it, but was death-by-tangent and had a very hands off supervisor so it took me *nine years* don't go there!
good luck! |
Best of luck. Took me about 6 years long ago. it is very difficult if you are working and have a family as I was.
I got a lot out of it in terms of my own intellectual development but I couldn't bear to read my dissertation for some time after I had finished! Once I had started I wasn't going to give up but it was not an experience that I look back on happily.
A good supervisor is I think the key. |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 08:02 - Oct 3 with 2966 views | Herbivore |
Yes, I've got one. Took me about 3.5 years full time so it's a hefty undertaking. Make sure you/your supervisor are setting regular deadlines. Planning is good but you won't really know how long things take so don't be alarmed if something you thought would take you three months actually takes you six months, on the flip side there will be things you're expecting will take you months that you and up getting done within weeks. PhDs vary hugely by subject but in the social sciences a rough breakdown is Years 1 and 2 (part time) do your draft lit review, refine your research proposal, get ethics approval (if you need it) and start finding participants, Years 3 and 4 will involve data collection and analysis, Years 5 and 6 continuing your analysis and writing the thing up, which will include a lot of rejigging of your lit review to ensure there's a golden thread running through your thesis. |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 08:12 - Oct 3 with 2953 views | Cotty |
I've done one, and supervised many. Happy to have a chat by PM any time you need it.
Part-time is really tough. Even full time there are long stretches where it feels like you're not making much progress, and that's only going to be exacerbated if you're not working on it all day every day. Sounds like your weekends are booked up for the foreseeable! |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 08:25 - Oct 3 with 2925 views | gordon |
Really important to set hard deadlines along the way in agreement with your supervisor(s), and for you to accept that work isn't going to be completed to the standard that you initially hope for - but just get chapters/chunks of work finished! |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 08:28 - Oct 3 with 2916 views | SonOfSpock |
Haven't done one but its on my list of ambitions, am very envious of you.
What is your research topic if you dont mind me asking?
Hope it goes well for you! |  | | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:03 - Oct 3 with 2881 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
Nope, however I said I'd never do a MSc and I started one of those last week, so never say never.
What are your reasons for doing it? |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:06 - Oct 3 with 2859 views | Herbivore |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:03 - Oct 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Nope, however I said I'd never do a MSc and I started one of those last week, so never say never.
What are your reasons for doing it? |
I'd assume that, as with everyone else that's done a PhD, it's so he can call himself doctor. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:11 - Oct 3 with 2852 views | _clive_baker_ |
6 years! Strewth.
Having done school and A levels, straight to Uni and straight out of Uni into a job that put me through my professional finance qualifications alongside work for 4 years, I vowed to never lift a text book again once that was finished. I've teetered on that a little of late, but realistically with work and family now I just wouldn't feasibly have the time to pursue anything. Perhaps one day, and it would purely be for interest / enjoyment at that stage rather than work prospects.
Good luck with it. Not PHD experience but doing finance qualifications alongside work was tough, I had to compromise a fair amount on social things at times. My advice from that would be to "enjoy it, but enjoy it by being bloody disciplined in there". Time management and setting realistic and achievable check points. I'm a planner, I liked to have a clear structure and tried to stick to it. Block time out in your diary, take yourself off to the library if that's a better working environment with less distractions. I used lunch breaks at work, eating and studying for an hour in the middle of the day proved a pretty effective way of 'stealing' study time. I used to get in an hour early in the mornings a couple of days per week too, and sit in a meeting room with my books. Before you know it you've done 6 or 7 hours per week without it feeling like much of a compromise.
Good luck with it, keep us posted on your progress. |  | | |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:12 - Oct 3 with 2850 views | nodge_blue |
I didn't do a PHD but I did do an IT degree with the OU over the course of six years.
Id say:
1. Try to get ahead of any set schedule to give yourself breathing room and not extra pressure if you fell behind.
2. Treat it as your hobby for the next few years. Try and see it as something that you enjoy in your down time rather than a burden. I actually enjoyed aloft of the coding challenges etc that I had.
3. Consider asking work for study leave or maybe even dropping a day a week if you can afford it. It doesn't have to be for ever. |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:17 - Oct 3 with 2833 views | GlasgowBlue |
Good on you for doing it. It will be incredibly hard to fit your studies in with working full time and having a home life.
My Mrs had very little formal education due to her background, and at the age of 55 decided she wants to go to Uni next year. She’s currently doing a seven subject crash course at college which involves social sciences, English and IT * 3 days a week whilst also running a business and it’s consuming every hour. Obviously I don’t know your personal life but you will need 100% support from the people you live with and they are going to have to understand that you will need to sacrifice a lot of your social life.
Good luck.
* other than sending emails and doing online ordering, she’s never had to work her way around a computer. In her second week she was expected to design and present PowerPoint on the Weimar Republic. She didn’t even know what PowerPoint was. |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:33 - Oct 3 with 2741 views | lowhouseblue |
i did mine full-time over 3 years (ish) - i treated it as something akin to a full-time job and tried to do the equivalent of office hours. i think i would find part-time very challenging - so lots of respect to you. maintaining enthusiasm and focus over a longer period will be tough? a big part of the challenge is just finishing it, so setting out with that in mind from the start is key. you are doing original and exciting work but you also need to end up with something that you can bind and the examiners will pass. so after an initial scoping process, coming up with a strategy to get you there - narrowing in on what is possible, deciding which loose ends you can't follow up, being disciplined about what is feasible in the time available etc. i do think discipline and a hard nosed plan to get a finished thesis - when they are so many tempting tangents - is key. i also tell people they must network manically and do the conference / presentation thing whenever opportunities arise, but even harder on a part-time basis i guess. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:24 - Oct 3 with 2655 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 08:28 - Oct 3 by SonOfSpock |
Haven't done one but its on my list of ambitions, am very envious of you.
What is your research topic if you dont mind me asking?
Hope it goes well for you! |
It's a research by practice PhD.
Topic is around the notion of 'British Identity' specifically what causes the British in particular to constantly look backwards and yearn for a bygone age, something that doesn't really happen in the rest of Europe.
The research topic will be produced as a thesis and 3x 45 minute documentary films, which examine a different aspect of looking backwards. Firstly, Tribute Acts, why people perform them, why people watch them, and the memories of those acts when they were performing live.
Second film will be on re-enactors that reenact battles and recreate war scenes, with very much the same direction as the first. (Why Why Why)
The final film will examine Brexit, and the causes of, based in the false narrative given at the time by many that life was better before.
As brief a synopsis as I can give you. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:25 - Oct 3 with 2641 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:06 - Oct 3 by Herbivore |
I'd assume that, as with everyone else that's done a PhD, it's so he can call himself doctor. |
Its actually so when I'm on a plane and they ask, "is there a Dr on-board?", I can put my hand up and pi55 my wife off. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:26 - Oct 3 with 2616 views | Ewan_Oozami |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:24 - Oct 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
It's a research by practice PhD.
Topic is around the notion of 'British Identity' specifically what causes the British in particular to constantly look backwards and yearn for a bygone age, something that doesn't really happen in the rest of Europe.
The research topic will be produced as a thesis and 3x 45 minute documentary films, which examine a different aspect of looking backwards. Firstly, Tribute Acts, why people perform them, why people watch them, and the memories of those acts when they were performing live.
Second film will be on re-enactors that reenact battles and recreate war scenes, with very much the same direction as the first. (Why Why Why)
The final film will examine Brexit, and the causes of, based in the false narrative given at the time by many that life was better before.
As brief a synopsis as I can give you. |
Hope to see them on Nebula at some point! :-) |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:47 - Oct 3 with 2585 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 09:03 - Oct 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Nope, however I said I'd never do a MSc and I started one of those last week, so never say never.
What are your reasons for doing it? |
Work reasons. I'm, a lecturer at The Uni of Gloucestershire and am acutely aware that institutions are more focused on staff having PhDs now.
Just feathering my nest incase I need to move on. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:58 - Oct 3 with 2543 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:47 - Oct 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
Work reasons. I'm, a lecturer at The Uni of Gloucestershire and am acutely aware that institutions are more focused on staff having PhDs now.
Just feathering my nest incase I need to move on. |
That was my guess as to why.
Good luck. Sounds like you'll be well-prepared for the next step. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:58 - Oct 3 with 2544 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:25 - Oct 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
Its actually so when I'm on a plane and they ask, "is there a Dr on-board?", I can put my hand up and pi55 my wife off. |
I’ve been tempted to do that, but then if you’re taken to see someone with an extreme case of prolapsed piles you’d regret it pretty quickly! |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:09 - Oct 3 with 2480 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:58 - Oct 3 by Swansea_Blue |
I’ve been tempted to do that, but then if you’re taken to see someone with an extreme case of prolapsed piles you’d regret it pretty quickly! |
"Sorry, I'm not THAT kind of Doctor!, Whilst I'm up, could I have a packet of pretzels please?" | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:16 - Oct 3 with 2458 views | Guthrum |
Various friends of mine have done them and the biggest issue seems to be around supervisors - retiring, moving on or just not doing their jobs properly. The sheer timescale of a part-time PhD leads to the first two, but the third causes problems with lack of guidance and comment on the work being done. Which in turn can require sudden, major rewrites when it comes to being assessed. |  |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:23 - Oct 3 with 2435 views | Herbivore |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:25 - Oct 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
Its actually so when I'm on a plane and they ask, "is there a Dr on-board?", I can put my hand up and pi55 my wife off. |
I do that, and then when I'm no use to the person having a medical emergency I say "Oh I'm sorry, it appears you actually need a physician". | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:30 - Oct 3 with 2425 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 10:47 - Oct 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
Work reasons. I'm, a lecturer at The Uni of Gloucestershire and am acutely aware that institutions are more focused on staff having PhDs now.
Just feathering my nest incase I need to move on. |
Really sensible. In some respects you're in a good position to do a PhD part time as you'll no doubt be able to work on parts of it during the day job (having some freedom and peaks and troughs in the year plus aligned teaching/research interests). But in other respects you've got some challenges as at some times of the year that day job eats well into any 'free' time us mere mortals with 9-5s have.
I'd echo many of the other comments above around being organised and good planning, but then not stressing when things don't go to plan (because they won't). So yes, try and get ahead if you can to build a buffer - that's great advice. Work on the relationship with your supervisor, as you'll have to trust each other. If you want them to push you and set deadlines, that's not a bad thing (they would do that anyway if they're good, but don't be afraid to ask for more structure/regular check-ins if it would help).
Treating it as a hobby is a great bit of advice too, as it will have to be - it will dominate all your time outside of work. And you're in a good place there as it's something you're already interested in.
For my last 9 months writing up, I worked full time and it was brutal. My work and PhD were quite separate though. I couldn't really afford any evenings/weekends off during that 9 months so felt utterly wrung out at the end. You've got a chance to get on top of that early, so I'd suggest building in breaks early and sticking to them just to refresh your mind as much as anything. Book holidays or weekends off/away well in advance and it will give you something to look forward to. You could even have 'treat' weekends or holidays booked in to celebrate finishing a particular phase of the research or writing up a certain number of chapters/finishing a film, etc. That would help reinforce deadlines and give you something to look forward to. You'll need to force yourself to have breaks, as it's very easy to work non-stop and then burn out. | |
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| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:33 - Oct 3 with 2389 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
| Anyone done a PhD? on 11:30 - Oct 3 by Swansea_Blue |
Really sensible. In some respects you're in a good position to do a PhD part time as you'll no doubt be able to work on parts of it during the day job (having some freedom and peaks and troughs in the year plus aligned teaching/research interests). But in other respects you've got some challenges as at some times of the year that day job eats well into any 'free' time us mere mortals with 9-5s have.
I'd echo many of the other comments above around being organised and good planning, but then not stressing when things don't go to plan (because they won't). So yes, try and get ahead if you can to build a buffer - that's great advice. Work on the relationship with your supervisor, as you'll have to trust each other. If you want them to push you and set deadlines, that's not a bad thing (they would do that anyway if they're good, but don't be afraid to ask for more structure/regular check-ins if it would help).
Treating it as a hobby is a great bit of advice too, as it will have to be - it will dominate all your time outside of work. And you're in a good place there as it's something you're already interested in.
For my last 9 months writing up, I worked full time and it was brutal. My work and PhD were quite separate though. I couldn't really afford any evenings/weekends off during that 9 months so felt utterly wrung out at the end. You've got a chance to get on top of that early, so I'd suggest building in breaks early and sticking to them just to refresh your mind as much as anything. Book holidays or weekends off/away well in advance and it will give you something to look forward to. You could even have 'treat' weekends or holidays booked in to celebrate finishing a particular phase of the research or writing up a certain number of chapters/finishing a film, etc. That would help reinforce deadlines and give you something to look forward to. You'll need to force yourself to have breaks, as it's very easy to work non-stop and then burn out. |
I'm sure the answer to this question is 'very', but exactly how more strenuous and difficult, and in what respects, is a PhD compared to the content and research project in a Masters? In my case it's just a 12 month Masters. Is it a case of the research project just simply takes a lot longer to do in a PhD?
Does it follow the same type of format? As in you first do a literature review and then identify an area for research that you then complete etc etc. [Post edited 3 Oct 2023 11:34]
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