Hi folks...

I wonder if someone could point me in the right direction to get some advice (or, even better, if someone's been in this situation and knows the answer themselves!)? I've been given a year to revise and resubmit my thesis after my viva earlier this month, and the timescale was decided on the grounds that it needed to take into account that I am working full time these days. I've got to pay some fees to cover the fact that I'll be effectively re-registering but they're not horrendous (as far as I can tell, without having yet been able to speak to my university's Research Office).

But - here's the rub... My job is ending at the end of this month, and, in this delightful economic climate there is virtually no chance I'm going to get another one any time soon. It took me a year of applying for everything under the sun to just get this 10 week contract for which I'm massively over-qualified. So I'll be signing back on JSA at the end of the month, just to survive. My problem is, if I'm re-registering as a student, I'm not entitled to claim JSA. Or Income Support, or Housing Benefit. There is literally nowhere I can turn to for money - Student Loans won't touch PG finance, my university's Finance Office won't touch PG finance, and I'm already all borrowed out just to get the damn thing submitted in the first place.

My question is, since I'm being given this time on the understanding that I'll be working FT, surely that means that I can't be counted as a FT student again, no matter what I'll be doing in my spare time? So shouldn't I be able to claim JSA while I'm job-hunting, even if I'm working on my thesis PT? I'm terrified of asking the JSA people in case they get the wrong end of the stick and tick the box marked 'FT student' thus cutting me off from the money I need to buy food and electricity and, from experience, my Research Office tends to not know anything about anything not directly concerned with research. I'm panicking a bit here and it looks like I'll have to make a move before I leave my job, as the Research Office are looking for money from me, like, yesterday. I'm afraid that I'll be becoming a FT student, effectively, while I'm still working FT and then be ineligible for JSA when I'm made redundant. Sorry for the long, rambling post, but I thought it best to be specific. If anyone knows what my official circumstances will be, I'd really like to know. Or, alternatively, if anyone has any ideas or 'this is what I did' anecdotes, they will also be gratefully received.

For clarity: I'm in Northern Ireland, and I live alone, so mine is the only income financing my household.

Thanks!

I could be wrong but I wouldn't have thought that you were registering as a full time student. Do you now just pay a nominal fee for extra write-up time? That's how it works at my university. You're not a student, as such, when you pay for another write up year. Provided that you are able and are actively seeking full time work (or they think that), you can claim JSA. That's what's happening with me in my write-up year anyway. Perhaps somebody else will be able to add to this.

Oh wow.... you have no idea what a relief it is to hear that! I mean, that's entirely sensible but when was JSA eligibility ever actually sensible? :p