======= Date Modified 02 47 2010 11:47:07 =======
Is it possible to do a PhD while working? I mean the student can visit the supervisor annually or every semester and correspond by email in the meantime.
regards
metal

No! don't be rediculous!! an annual meeting with your supervisor?? ha! how absolutely absurd! If you take a minute to peruse a few of the posts on here I would have thought that was plainly obvious!! OMG, how I chuckle! Then again, I guess if you don't mind taking 20 years to get your doctorate...

hi metal
yes a phd can be done while working but visiting the supervisor annually/every semester and/or email correspondence with the supervisor is definitely not enough.

you're going to have to put in a lot more whether the phd is fulltime or part time
:-) satchi

Hi Metal, I work and PhD part-time, and live a few hours away from my PhD department, so don't get to see the supervisor as often as I should, or would like to. The last time I saw him was about March 10th, and I hope to see him in the next couple of weeks. We don't really do much via email, just perifery stuff; the nitty gritty of the PhD needs to be discussed properly, face to face, or it just won't develop. I'm writing a piece at the moment and really wish I could discuss a point with him, whch would be possible if I lived nearer, but I will just have to discuss it when the piece is completed, but it means I feel I'm stabbing out in the dark a bit at the minute.

Ideally, even in my situation re: distance and working I would like to see hime at least once a month, but the last month or two has been exceptionally busy for me at work. Some people do complete PhDs with the kind of contact you describe, but hey usually take a very long time to do so, have several nervous breakdowns in the process
- just scan through the archives here - and don't get the career breaks an involved supervisor will offer.

Doing a PhD part-time while working is possible, but it will take much more than an annual visit and some emails to get you through it. Maybe Brian May did it like that, but I'm presuming you don't have juicy royalties from Queen, or similar, to fall back on...

Anyhow, good luck with everything.

I'm in a department where a lot of students are doing PhDs part-time, including many while working. For history students (as we are) it is a really hard option, because you need to make the time to go to the archives to do the research. Archives are often only open Monday-Friday, so that means working less than full-time hours, or the PhD isn't possible. And then masses of time is needed for the writing-up as well. It's far mor time consuming than just a few meetings. Also you may have essential training events that you have to go to the uni as well, and those are typically geared around full-timers, so during the day, Monday-Friday.

The other drawback with a part-time PhD is that it is a long slog. My university puts a limit of 6 years on part-timers, and I submitted just weeks within my 6 year deadline. But you need an awful lot of perseverance to get to the end of such a long degree programme.

Sorry to sound a bit negative. A part-time PhD was the only way I could do it, but it can be difficult.

I am doing a part time PhD and I am working full time in Greece.
I meet with my supervisors 3 times every 3 months.
I don't think that an annual meeting is enough. There are things that you will need to discuss, email isn't enough either as you will need the presence of your supervisor.
Also, a PhD needs a lot of time. FT work with a FT PhD is very very difficult....

A PhD is a full time job! I am doing mine while working full time and it is an absolute nightmare. Sometimes, I wish I could just do my PhD and worry about nothing else. And you need to see your supervisor a lot depending on the subject of your PhD... more like once a month or once in two months... not annually at all!! But remember working full time and doing a PhD at the same time, amounts to doing two full time jobs!

Thanks for your comments. I think its easier than going for a PhD by publication for someone who is already producing papers in the field.
regards
metal