Congratulations :p

I think it's a great idea. Normally the risk with someone switching from full-time to part-time is that they do it because they have a new very time-consuming job, and may struggle to fit in even part-time study too. But you are continuing pretty much - albeit with some extra commitments - as you have been while a full-time student, and can judge yourself how well you will fit it in part-time.

Go for it, and best of luck with the rest of your PhD.

My research was very niche too but the external examiner chosen was one with an interest in a wider context. She was familiar with the more specific aspects of my research but her own interest was a bit different. So you need not necessarily have a limitd choice of people if your research is niche. Examiners with a wider interest can do a good job too.

I left a funded PhD for medical reasons (developing a progressive MS-like illness). I didn't have the courage to tell my supervisor my final decision face to face. I emailed him. I regret that. I wish I'd spoken to him face to face. But he was understanding, and delighted that I managed to complete a part-time PhD in a totally opposite subject more recently.

In my viva it was probably 70% the external driving things, 25% the internal, and 5% the chairperson asking questions that interested him too.

The external was definitely the stronger expert in my case, but I got the impression that the internal was there to represent the department, and make sure things went ok from that point of view. I had a convenor/chairperson - not all UK vivas do - and he was in charge of organising the viva and making sure it went smoothly and according to regulations.

My husband's first degree was in physics and astronomy. He followed this with a 1-year conversion Masters course in Computer Science. This was very intensive, but it helped that my husband was already an enthusiastic programmer in his spare time - really he should probably have done a computing degree in the first place! He followed this with a computer science PhD, and for the last decade and more has worked in a university computer science department. He is now a research fellow.

If you want to work in academia you will almost certainly need to continue to complete a PhD. You should not consider a taught Masters on the way to be an impediment, but you need to do as well as possible in that conversion Masters (ideally gaining Distinction level or equivalent) to compete with other students trying to tackle a PhD. And in the PhD you will have to be excellent as well to continue on to academia. In the UK at least there are very few academic jobs available for post-docs.

Good luck!

What is your subject area? In humanities it is totally normal for students during and after PhDs to submit papers with themselves as sole authors. In that field it isn't the convention for supervisors to be automatically included.

Any other folk with app ideas or am I the only other post-doc or PhD type with an iPad? :p

I'm particularly interested in apps to turn it into a productivity tool. As I said I've found iThoughtsHD has transformed my productivity. I wish I'd bought an iPad earlier!

Also there's a blog dedicated to using the iPad as an academic/productivity tool. See http://academipad.com

I found out 4 weeks after I submitted and 3 weeks before my viva date. So quite short notice. I found out by email, after I'd emailed the convenor about something else and he replied to tell me the date.

I think the best PDF app on the iPad is Goodreader. It works well with all different kinds of PDFs, and you can annotate, even with a stylus if you buy one of those (can be bought very cheaply).

For mind mapping and brainstorming I use the iThoughtsHD app. I get far more done with it than I did beforehand, and it's a great productivity tool.

For distraction-free writing get an app like WriteRoom (there are others, but I think that's the original of its kind): totally focused writing, with no fussing about fonts or layout etc. I have mine set up to do green text on a black background - very 80s! Great for when you just want to get the words down.

And if you like Twitter and/or Facebook but want to try viewing them in a different light try Flipboard.

My other favourite app on there is Feeddler RSS reader (I use the Pro version) which is great for following blogs etc.

Enjoy!

It varies by funding source. I was AHRC funded and had no extra amounts like this. I ended up having to pay for a lot of essential stuff myself. And getting funding for travelling to a conference was a challenge, and again mainly self funded.

The problem for the CV and a time consuming additional job is that you are likely to struggle to be able to find the right times to help organise conferences, attend vital workshops, get teaching experience etc. These things are essential to a good CV for employment afterwards but tend to be at fixed times that you may struggle to work around your job.

I would strongly recommend that you reconsider studying part time. This need not take the full 6 years. 5 years is very feasible, and compares well to many full timers who overrun the 3 years routinely and often take 4 years.

Don't rule out AHRC too readily. I self funded my first year, and applied to AHRC during that, and won funding for the rest of my PhD. I was a part time student for disability/health reasons, but they still funded me.