Hello everybody, 1st year PhD, comparative literature, London, it was great to find this website, not alone anymore.
I work full time in the City, big, fat, devoid of humanity world of finances, and part time on PhD. As you can probably imagine it doesn’t go well together. Just selling myself at the moment to fund my studies (want to apply for a scholarship next year so I can do it full time), as my fellow PhD friend nicely put it, who has just resigned from a well established legal firm ‘I am so happy I don’t have to suck the City d… any more and I can finally do my research.’.
I was wondering, how people cope with working full time and doing the research part time, because I think I am going to have some kind of mental breakdown. Although I have completed Chpt 1st, and working on 2 papers for publication and a novel, I guess I haven't been sleeping much lately.
I am already working towards quitting the City, but in the meantime, it’s really depressing. Not mentioning developing a whole new personality for the sake of keeping my job until I can go full time.

Wow, how do you manage to do everything that you do?! Having written your first chapter, and having papers ready for publication as well as writing a novel would be no mean feat for anybody in their first year, but working full time in the City as well makes you superhuman!!What is your secret?

as i said im going mental at the moment, my job is brain dead, so i've got plenty of time to do lots of research at work, basically as long as I stare at my screen my bosses think i am working. It is amazing how humans learn to adapt. It makes me wonder how much u can get away with. But seriously, it's a nightmare. I have a mental breakdown once a month, i guess it must be a split personality effect

btw i am at work now!

I should have guessed from the title -'going crazy'
If you haven't already seen this post I'd advise you to read it.
http://www.postgraduateforum.com/showmessage.asp?thread=8831&cat=4&threadpage=1&newview=1

I'm not saying it will happen to you but I think eddi's experience shows that we need to stop and assess what we are doing sometimes for the sake of our health.

Thanks, just read it, thankfully my case is not as serious, i guess im just getting pissed off with people and stupid questions, especially at work. i will have to leave this place soon cos i cant go on like this.
booze and ciggies help most of the time. pathetic i know, but as my supervisor said in vinum veritas. I promise to be a good girl and slow down.

I'd love to reply to your thread solidor, but I can't relate to you at all (that's a compliment btw) My god, completed first chapter, working on two papers for pub, a novel and working full-time. I'm gobsmacked. You must be one of those people with insane amounts of energy!

u know, most of it goes down to a proper planning, and not having kids and having a loving partner definitely helps. its the 1st year though, so i may loose my steam further down the line, u never know. thank you for the support, really appreciate it. very much needed

try finding another more fun job?

tomFinland, yep, thats a good option though at this stage not good to me cos i want to teach at the uni and at this stage with my PhD i cannot do it as yet. changing jobs just to get away from the City will mean working my butt off and proving i am worthy the post. so i guess i will stick with my current job until i am ready to say bye bye to them. which i hope will happen the end of this year or early next year. cant wait though.

I guess it all comes down to how to play the system and finding the right moment to make a move, and with bills and mortgage to pay, and university fees, one needs to be sure before making a move to new pastures. I’ve got the plan to make a move just sometimes its really depressing to juggle all at the same time. got to go, meeting at the uni. Thank you all again!

I've also got a full time job and doing my studing part time. My problem is actually getting into uni when my supervisor is there and I have just had to spend a week there doing an intro course and they chose the WORST POSSIBLE week, It was A level biology practical time and I had to leave my two fairly new staff on one site to cope on their own although I spent the week before getting as much as possible ready and staying until the caretaker came round for the fourth time on the Friday before to get solutions made etc. (the head suggested that I fill in a form to show I had made up the time too - so much for their investors in people status).

I've said to the uni that they need to think more carefully about things as part timers, especially those who work in schools have trouble getting to events/seminars - when school is open, uni is open, but when school is shut, uni is shut too, well at least it is only partially functioning and my supervisor tends to work at home then. However having said all that I do fit it all in, life is just very hectic adn I suppose it will get much worse as time goes on. The best thing though is when I am not at school I can get on with the research...once I've finished my work for school that is, so many new schemes of work to get sorted and we are already planning for next September

that's the problem with working full time and part time study. Unless your college or university ackowledges part timers and allocate time for them then it's easier. Fortunately, my college is for part timers but some seminars, which I'd love to attend, are run during the day, and how many holidays you can take to attend them! And at the end of the day you MUST go on proper holidays, with no reading, no papers, no thinking! just chill. It's 10.30pm now, i just got back home from 3 hour lecture and i am exhausted. Here i am checking postgrad forum, nuts.

I guess it all comes down to one's passion, otherwise it is not worth it. But I realize that evetually i would like to go full time asap, there's simply too much reading and writing one can do in a week. I personally find it very hard to find the right balance, especially if your day work is not related to PhD.