======= Date Modified 25 Feb 2011 15:55:50 =======
These are the reasons I know of, and they all exactly the same for funded as for self-funded:

1. The more complete PhDs - of any kind - a lecturer has under their belt, the more likely they are to be made a professor and therefore have a massive increase in pay, prestige and thwack. A successful record with PhDs is one of the major deciding factors in allocating professorships.

2. The department (used to - not sure how this is now since the recent funding re-structuring?) gets extra funding from the government for every student, much more for PhDs; again, however they are funded, and this gives the academic more thwack in their department. This is an old reason maybe out of date now, but there is still in issue of generating funding for the department.

3.  Quo dos for their department and them as an individual: my sup makes a big deal of his PhD successes on his web page.

4. The thrill of seeing someone develop into a potentially great academic.

5. Having high level intellectual exchanges with people on the cutting edge in your field on a day to day level.


It seems much less likely that an academic would hope for a self-funded student to carry out their reasearch: self-funded students choose their own topics, where-as funded candidates are frequently directed by their supervisors and departments. Having said that, I think my first, dodgy, supervisor may have been pushing me into areas that suited her teaching interests, but because I am self-funded I was free to leave and find another supervisor, if I had been funded that would not have been possible.  


Why the question and why do you think there would be a difference?

I wish I were better at being tidy and organised. I just found a stray essay on my desk that I should have handed back on Monday and I can't find the print off of my chapter half becaue of all the piles of paper on my desk...

I think Ady may have a point! I will be diplomatic in my thesis acknowledgements and say what I like for my first book!

======= Date Modified 24 Feb 2011 10:14:45 =======
Also, yeah, Ady's right - if you accepted and have been told the start date and time and didn't turn up then that's classed as not turning up for work. But they're so badly organised you may be able to get away with it.

Hi DGold, unfortunately this is pretty normal, if on the lower end of the scale. The hourly rate is dreadful, legally it shoudl be £33.00 per hour at least - £39.00 per hour in most cases.

I'd only take this job if you desperatley need the experience or the money, it sounds as if they would make your life oyour life pretty difficult.

======= Date Modified 24 Feb 2011 09:27:01 =======
This is a tricky one for me because although my dad is helping with my fees and they are outwardly very supportive, that comes across to me as 'your not b***** packing it in' if I say the least non-positive thing about it and 'your supervisor isn't your mum you know' when I had terrible problems with my first sup. Plus, both him and my mum have made my life horrendous at times throughout this process, my mum admits to being jealous of me and sees me as over-priveledged because of my studies - not just this, the fact that I've been to universities and departments she would like to have been part of, and because I don't have children or a husband; while my dad went through a bout of bullying me at a point that was particularly difficult.

I have an aunt who has been supportive and my friends are fantastic! But how could I thank them and not my dad when he helped financially?

I will acknowledge my sister though, she died about a week into the PhD and had always been there for me.

Hi Kam - I study film in a film-studies department, but I don't know of any specific mailing list for our subject. I'm very interested if there is one though, so thanks for starting the thread.

What's it for, conferences? If so I use conference alerts, and film-philosophy has some notices.


Maybe I should find some for my area too...

All bar one (or maybe two) of the students researching my subject at my department are self funded, and the singular exception is funded by the Malaysian government. This is because ours is an arts subjects, so funding has always been thin on the ground, but also because of a timing issue reltated to these new five year allocations by the AHRC. My department was so new then that I don't think it even registered as existing, for example, my supervisor who has a stonking record didn't work there until 6 months afer the review was over.

I am a sessional lecturer and Iit is hard financialy and in terms of time, and because my life, which is built on temporary contracts, feels quite precarious. I imagine it may be easier if you can find more stable employment, but then my teaching feeds my research so that makes things easier, and I don't have to worry about getting teaching experience - luckily I have a professional background which is sought after for lecturing in fields very closely related to my PhD.

There are lots of different ways to fund a PhD: one girl in my department works in a factory, another in an office, while there's a bloke who combines PhD-ing with full-time parenthood.

Good luck x

======= Date Modified 23 Feb 2011 09:42:41 =======
thanks Sneaks, that's a really good idea - so long as I could cope with the dodgy schools which are bound to get dodgier since the cuts and immense class chasm that is probably aorund the corner. I did some compp school teaching on supply once and lost 2lbs in three days, just from stress!


I'm so used to having no money that, financially, it would be a step up for me - so long as I don't have a beak down...


good luck with the job applications, that's a lot to apply for, are they all academic posts?

aaaaah Jepson, what a lovely story x

thank you Bilbo, that's really useful advice and food for thought x

Hi Dan,

You could just go with the flow and enjoywhat you have at the moment: possibly not worrying about it is the best thing to do, just relax and you will probably be giving off signals anyhow, ie, flirting. Save the talk for later. Not too soon for a kiss or a hand hold though is it?

However, I am deeply rubbish at this kind of thing myself, so maybe someone else has a better plan...

Having been in deep thought about my future today, I have decided that I need to get myself accepted by a top journal in my field inthe next year.

Last year when I was unsure about submitting a proposal to a mediocre edited book, my sup encouraged me saying that I didn't have to get published in the top books or journals straight away, and that I can work my way up to that. However! I want to make the most of the work I put in, and bring myself closer to getting a job that will pay for those swanky marble topped kitchen units I crave as quickly as possible.

Do people usually work their way up?

I haven't published anything yet, just lots of conference papers.

Thanks X

I wish I were good at making money. That is one thing I have managed to avoid all my life - I just cannot motivate myself for financial gain, but I reckon life would be a lot easier and more fun with it!

I worked as a recruitment manager once and that wasn't badly paid; it could have earned me a decent amount of money eventually - enough for a marble topped kitchen work surface and two foriegn holidays a year. But I felt as if my very self were fast disappearing on the horizon - so I packed it all in and went into v.poorly paid jobs in education.

You could try clarifying the pay rate again with those who interviewed you - ie the department - or whoever emailed you with the original amount. This could be a mistake on the part of HR.