Hi all,

I sort of asked this question on an earlier post, but am now 'refining' my postgradforum question :-) I have just started a part-time PhD, putting in 20 hours or so a week. My schedule is 2 days on PhD, 2 days off (paid work) half a day on PhD, then dribs and drabs at the weekend. Already I am finding the on-off nature distracting, and cant get a proper 'flow' going. I would really like to fully 'immerse' myself, but cant at this rate. As such, I am toying with registering full-time and taking a financial hit (probably just lecturing a couple afternoons a week instead of 2.5 days), but at least I'd be able to start making some headway a little quicker, I hope!

Fortunately I have a partner who is working- but there's no doubt we'd be skint for a few years. However, I feel that I need to concentrate all my effort and motivation in 3 years instead of a spreading it thinly over 4-5 years part time, anyone else feel the same? I realise a PhD is a marathon not a sprint, even full-time, but 3 years seems a much shorter marathon than half a decade!

Has anyone found that from switching from PT to FT made a big difference to you rate/quality of work?

BTW started using mytomatoes- excellent! Well done Sue:-)

Glad to see mytomatoes has taken off - glad it's helping you!

I did my PhD part-time for 2 1/2 years, and have been full-time for the last year and a half and have achieved much, much more, studying full-time than I did part-time. You're right - doing it part-time doesn't allow you to get much momentum going, it really does help to immerse yourself in it. If there's any way you can do it full-time, then do it. I've sacrificed a lot to do study full-time - a well paying job, a promotion, so I can live in student poverty and get this thing done. It's worth it tho. Is there any way you could get a scholarship to help you out?

You're right, immersing yourself and getting the thesis done as quickly as possible is, in my experience, much more preferable to working and having it drag on. The quality and rate of my work picked up enormously once I became full-time.

Thanks Sue,

Its good to hear that FT pays off. I'm ready for the sacrifice, while my partner is not over the moon, as we're thinking of moving abroad, the sooner the better!

MY employer is my sponsor- so they are paying my tuition fees (which would go up around 2k a year as a full timer), plus they throw me a few hours of work. Other than that, it would just mean having to sacrifice the luxury's and have a few more meals round at my mum' s!

Do you know if my supervisor has to 'agree'- obviously I'll ask her, but can she have a say? I would have thought its down to me?

Your sup may need to give approval - I can't remember exactly, but I know that when I changed to full-time, I had to get a form signed by a couple of people, including the post-gtrad research co-ordinator, and maybe my sup. This affects uni enrolments and in my country, funding that goes to unis, so there is some paperwork and approvals needed. You need to check with your admin people. Good for you tho - it is lovely (kinda!!) doing the PhD full-time!