Hi,

First a bit of background: I am coming to the end of my first year of a science PhD. I am funded by the EPSRC on a DTA scholarship - i am not working on specific project, my work is very much in a bubble - i am the only one working in this area. I am really enjoying my PhD (for the most part), i have loved teaching and see myself working in academia if i can secure a post-doc or teaching position when i complete.

Anyways, out of the blue last week i received an email from a talent scout at the most prominent international company in my field. You cannot underestimate just how huge this company is (i don't want to name names or give details of my field as would like to stay fairly anonymous). You could say it is the Manchester United of my research area. But even that is an understatement. For example, i told my gran about this company contacting me and she knew who they were, even though she has very little knowledge of my field.

So, this talent scout basically said "i've come across your work and think you would be a good fit for our company. We are hiring at the moment and I would really encourage you to apply for some of our positions." At first i thought this was a fake (obviously!) but having forwarded the email to colleagues and friends it seemed genuine. I replied stating that I wouldn't be available for a job until 2014 as i am still in early days of phd but would certainly like to talk to him nearer then with regard to a position at the company.

He got back to me suggesting that maybe i could take a break from my PhD for an internship with them. This is huge. Like ENORMOUS. I would be absolutely insane to turn down working for these people (especially as the internship is a paid position!).

My supervisors aren't entirely thrilled at the prospect of me leaving for 3-6 months, but haven't said an outright no. Both can see that it would be a brilliant opportunity. They have stated that they would want the majority of my data collected before i left as they need to be sure that i would come back to complete it. And i agree with them. But they are also not sure what the situation with the EPSRC would be and whether my department would permit it.

Has anyone heard of PhD students taking 6 months out for an internship? I wouldn't consider it if it was, say, the Manchester City of my field... but as it's the United it is the greatest opportunity i will ever come across. Even though i don't see myself working in industry afterwards i believe it would actually help me to get academic positions.

I hope this doesn't seem like boasting. I have never been a straight A student. I didn't get my distinction in my Masters and only a 2.i at Undergrad. So this is a complete surprise. I never thought this company would look twice at me. But my work is a little bit "out there" in it's novelty factor, and they are a very forward thinking, creative company so perhaps that's what they have seen. I tried asking how the scout came across my work (i ha

======= Date Modified 07 Sep 2011 10:45:04 =======
(ooh character limit... sorry i've gone on a bit. I shall bring it to a close)

He didn't answer how he'd come across my work unfortunately.

Anyways, i guess i'm asking if anyone has heard of a student taking a break for an internship? I know it's possible to take leave for medical reasons, but i've never heard of funding bodies allowing it to work somewhere else. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it might be permitted.

Any thoughts will be greatly received.

Cheers
Frog Princess

the ESRC offer internships for students - you can take them during the summers of each year if you choose to do it - its a whole scheme, so you could contact EPSRC to see if they run a similar scheme, because that would mean that your funding gets put on hold i.e. you add 3-6 months of funding onto the end of your PhD to make up for the time in the internship.

I've never done one, my hubby works in an organisation who takes interns from ESRC on though. I think its a great opportunity, but you'll have to be very clear with the funding body, you'll also have to be clear about what stage you are in your research, who owns the work you do while you're in the internship, don't give away your PhD ideas (they may want to poach them!), don't be taken for a mug (i.e. being basically an underpaid consultant). Importantly, no matter how big the name, don't let it sway you too much, because they will be out for cheap labour/intelligent ideas really, so you've got to be careful about the ownership of your work.

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/2364/student-internship-scheme.aspx

Thanks, that's very helpful. A precedent like that is just what i was looking for :-)

And i take your comment about intellectual property - that is another of my sups concerns. But the information i have received about what an internship would entail seems to suggest i wouldn't be doing work that is directly related to my project, rather it would be using the processes we adopt in the wider area.

I don't think i'd really mind being cheap labour for them, but i certainly wouldn't want them to steal my ideas.

then I'd contact the EPSRC and ask if they have a similar scheme - if so ask if this organisation can become a member of the scheme, so its legit.

Hi FrogPrincess,

I had a similar experience when I first started my PhD. I was approached by an organisation to produce a report for them as a consultant. This organisation is "cutting edge" in my research area, therefore I considered working there for a while, as it would look good on my CV. Money was not good though. In addition, I am not the kind of person who can not juggle between work and PhD, and I am slow, it takes me forever and a year to produce a 40-page report. For these reasons, I decided to stick to the PhD, and not take extra work. But if you think that you can do both, or that you can easily catch up with the PhD after the internship, why not?

Jobs are seriously hard to come by and if he was originally saying 'do you want a full time job?', should you seriously be considering giving up the PhD by the sounds of what you say, never mind considering the internship? That said, the PhD was so important to me so if any such offer had come along, there was no way I was going to quit it for anything and I'd already thought that trying to juggle between PhD and job would have been too much.

How important is the PhD to you? It's all about what you want and what either option would do for your career prospects a few years down the road.

Would working for this company and continuing PhD part time be an option? Tough, but others seem to manage it. However, it's not an option that suits others (the demands of one or the other get in the way).