Hello! I have followed this post with interest for a good year or so as I've geared up to do my own PhD. I can't manage to secure funding since my thesis is interpretational and theoretical and so not very 'sexy'. So I'm starting Part Time as of September, and would really just like any and all thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of this mode of study. I'd never wanted to go part-time (hence why I'm only now accepting this as the only route) mostly because of the length of time it would take. But if I can go into this with as realistic expectations as possible, it will probably really help me in taking this leap. Thanks!

I'm a part timer and much prefer it this way. I revisit my thesis when I can and when I want to and I thoroughly love having a full time job to distract me. I plan on only taking 4 years or so. Lots of people procrastinate and worry and if you are a part timer you cannot do this and so it forces you to work quicker, more eficiently and more effectively. Saying that, you need to be a certain type of person I think. I am hugely ambitious, already work in academia and have a background working in the city under hugely stressful environments and so quite enjoy the empowerment and independence of the phd. Some full timers have to do so much teaching and support work at their universities that they end up doing a full time job anyway, on top of the full time phd. I go to traning sessions with the full timers and they are not ahead of me - we have the best of both worlds!

I think the potential problem with part-time, and working full-time as well, is how much time you will have to work on the PhD. I've known other people in this situation who struggle to find any usable time, being too exhausted from work. Equally others have had to work less than full-time to fit in the PhD. This is particularly important in my discipline because historical archives are generally only open Monday-Friday, 9-5, so the student needs time in there to go visit.

I wasn't working during my part-time PhD, but I was extremely seriously ill, managing on only just 5 good hours or so a week by the very end. It was very minimal, I was sort of supposed to be half-time (or at least allowed twice as long as full-timers), but I was nowhere near there. But by keeping plodding away, even at that slow rate, I completed within 6 years.

The other option for teachers and the like is to work more during certain times of years. But for many people that isn't feasible, and it's better to keep slogging along slowly, rather than hoping for a future time when you will have more time available, that will practically never appear.

Thank you both for those helpful replies. I thought I'd try to get by on only part-time work, and only work more if I'm struggling to make ends meet. Do you/did find it difficult finding the motivation and coping with the constant switch between 'work' and 'study work'? I suppose it depends on how demanding the job is. I just worry that on days off from the job I'll be tempted to treat them as days for lying in and watching tv! Perhaps this is something that requires routine to make work. It surprises me that you didn't feel that you were playing catch up to people doing their PhDs full time, and that reassures me. I feel that keeping a 'regular' job might help to maintain some sense of normality through this too - even if just via enforced regular social contact! (I don't think a hamster counts as social contact, much as Cheeks would like to think so).

Well I wasn't working as I said, so didn't have to switch between work and study. However I was very ill, and could only study in chunks of up to an hour at a time, adding up to 5 hours over the week if lucky. So I constantly had to reacquaint myself with the PhD. I had to get into the work quickly, or I'd have lost more valuable time. But I found that ok to do. I always had to-do lists of things to be getting on with, knew what I needed to do when I started again, and got on with it.

I never had the feeling that I had to play catch-up with full-timers, but I was based off campus, so not constantly comparing myself to other students. I did have a concern that another student moved towards my research topic, and because he was full-time he would complete years before me. But my research was still important, still justified, and still passed the final viva.

I think a part-time PhD requires a lot more dedication than full-time, for various reasons. You need to establish a routine that works for you, but it's certainly possible.

Hi Puravida, I'm a part-timer, and started my PhD last October. So far it hasn't been great. I have a part-time office job which takes up 3 days a week. It is not demanding but I do spend a lot of time commuting. That makes me very tired in the evening. On my "study days" I have always been very lazy, and spent lots of time browsing the internet, or simply lying in bed. I don't always go to my department on those two study days, because I always thought I could get a lot of work done at home without the cost of train tickets. It has proven to be a very bad idea, yet I always say to myself "this time it will be fine". I also find it extremely hard to work during weekends (not that I have much else to do), unless there is an urgent deadline. All in all, I feel like I haven't spent much time studying at all, and often feel guilty about it.

I am studying for a PT PhD (I'm in my second year) and I am working FT with SEN children.
It is difficult, as I work for 6 hours every day, and I am exhausted because my job is very demanding (mentally, emotioanlly and physically) and I have to do research and study a lot, too. But, as I really love my research, I am happy to sit in front of my computer and work on it every afternoon! It's a kind of rest for me....
It needs a lot of determination, especially if you are in my situation (FT work that needs a lot of studying, PhD in a language that it is not your first language, work and study in another country and visit your ubi every 3 months...)