Signup date: 28 Oct 2016 at 11:38am
Last login: 27 Nov 2016 at 10:40pm
Post count: 5
Thanks for your comments. I take your point about doing it for the passion and worrying about career later...that would generally be my approach. However, especially when you're at my age, the very real practicalities of being employable/having secure employment becomes a defining issue in a decision like this.
I'm starting to feel that continuing to work and doing it part-time is the practical option, although I think I would miss out on a lot of the things that full-time students experience...greater focus on your topic/research, interaction with peers/academics, access to (relevant) lectures etc...and it would take so long to complete!
Hi everyone,
I know there are several threads about (the difficulty of) getting academic posts, but they're mostly old/don't address my specific concerns...so here's another thread on the topic! Could anyone give me a little more insight into the jobs market in the UK - specifically in the humanities?
I'm a 44 year old currently trying to decide between taking the leap into a PhD (linguistics) and questioning the wisdom of that leap. I've gone between being almost 100% certain about doing it to feeling that it would be a waste of 3 years+.
My main concern is what my prospects will be afterwards. I have heard that academic posts are becoming more and more short-term, temporary and, even then, fiercely competitive (I have a teaching background but not sure if that would really make much difference).
I love my PhD topic, have a great potential supervisor and have a genuine desire to do the PhD, but the realities (especially at my age) of securing a reasonably secure academic position afterwards is a major concern. Although I have a passion for my area of research and would regret not doing the PhD, I think I would regret it even more if I found myself not being able to use it for an academic career...plus, whether funded or not, being poorer after the 3 years!
Thanks for reading my post...any insights or experiences are appreciated.
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