Hi all,

I am new here and have a few questions about a Phd in Biosciences. I would like to do a Phd in the field of cancer research or immunology, provided I can find a suitable title.

But how exactly does a Phd work?

If a stipend is there, how much (on average) does one receive per month? (this is quite important as my girlfriend and I want to get married soon...)

Can I teach alongside doing a Phd? As I am considering a career in lecturing...

Any help will be greatly received.

I am 24 years old and in my 2nd year of a Biomedical Science degree.

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Re: money. Depends on the funding body and your location. In London stipends range from ~£15K (e.g. MRC) to ~£18K in the first year (CRUK). Stipends are usually tax free. Rates outside London may be £2-3K less. Most are paid quarterly in advance so you need to learn good budgeting skills

You can either apply for a pre-defined, funded project (such as you might see on findaphd.com or any of the other obvious places) which is a little akin to appplying for a job. Or you can work out your own proposal, locating a suitable supervisor, and then apply for funding for the project. Option 1 is a lot faster. Option 2 gives you more freedom.

Re: teaching - policy will vary from department to department, even within the same institution. Some make it mandatory. Some don't. Some pay, some don't. Some actively discourage you because it eats into PhD time (this is particularly worth thinking about if you are lab based as experiments dictate your schedule in a way that reading and writing doesn't). If you want a career as a lecturer then definitely aim to get some teaching experience, but be smart as to how you integrate it into your PhD programme or else it could end up being counter-productive.

Hope this helps.

Hazy

As with Hazyjane, whose answers are spot on.
Also factor in the time commitment (to doing said offending PhD) and, if your biomed science course is IBMS accredited, a right royal ramping up of the workload.

Not that I have anything against the IBMS.... no really... ;-)

Thank-you both for the replies. Hazy has given some very good answers, partially, because they are exactly what I wanted to hear!

@Hypothesis, my Biomed degree "is" accredited by the IBMS... can you please explain what you mean by "a right royal ramping up of the workload.".

Many thanks :-)