Last week a number of the Research Councils announced that they would be cutting the number of PhD places they would fund (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14309883). I wonder whether the individuals who might have applied for these posts will choose to leave academia if they can’t secure alternative funding or whether they might decide that their passion for the subject is so great that they will self-fund their research by working part-time.
I have been registered as a part-time student since I began the PhD process four years ago. I’m hugely fortunate that my fees are paid my institution but I do not receive any other financial support. Therefore since embarking on the PhD process I’ve worked part-time. There is a cartoon by Jorge Cham, the creator of the excellent Piled, Higher and Deeper cartoon series which exemplifies beautifully the way I usually feel about this arrangement. It features one of the characters, a PhD student, lamenting that after spending a day staring at one screen that she needs to spend her evening staring at another (see it here).
I’ve always been hugely envious of people working on their doctorates on a full-time basis. I’ve listened jealously at conferences as they’ve talked about their plans to treat their research like a 9-5 job and keep their weekends and evenings free. (Although, I must admit most never really achieve this. Instead the teaching work that many students are required to undertake does tend to cannibalise spare time and PhDs appear to be one of the best examples of Parkinson’s Law). I’ve also been envious when I’ve listened to them discuss absorbing the collegiate atmosphere in postgraduate common rooms or the debates that take place in labs or offices as students work alongside each other.
By contrast my trips to campus are usually less relaxed affairs; supervision meetings followed by rushed trips to the library or quick coffees gulped down with peers as we meet between seminars or shifts. When attending conferences I’ve usually had to take holidays from my paid work or when in roles where holiday pay was not available, forgone money to go and mingle with my peers. I’ve considered this worthwhile as I’ve always found events like this hugely inspiring and meeting other PhD students, full- and part-time, remarkably reassuring as you realise that you’re not the only one experiencing particular problems. I also feel huge benefits from the work experience I’ve gained during this time. I’ve been lucky that my jobs, including my current post at the Lodge, have fitted well with my study commitments as well as teaching me enormous amounts. I hope that this will stand me in good stead once I’ve completed my thesis and prepare for life beyond the PhD. However I do still feel pangs of envy when I think about those fortunate, fully funded, full-time students who don’t have to spend their days and evenings staring at a computer screen.
Annie Gosling
King George VI Fellow
