New member but some-time reader! I am eventually hoping to study for a PhD in history but due to financial and other commitments this would have to be on a part-time basis whilst continuing to work. I have been in very preliminary discussions with the research department at one of the institutions I am considering and understand that a part-time PhD is typically expected to take 6-8 years which I appreciate is a lengthy commitment. At present I am working full time (9-5 - five days a week) but hopefully if I begun a PhD I would be able to reduce this to three and half days a week (and possibly in a few years would be able to take a year to eighteen months out to dedicate to my PhD) At this stage, I wonder if anybody with experience of part time PhD study and part time work can provide any advice as to how many hours a week's study is realistic for part-time PhD study (again I know that this also depends on what stage the research is at). Any advice would be gratefully received.

I did that. I started the PhD while working full time 5 days a week, then after about a year went down to 2.5, then after a few more years went down to 2 days, where I still am. I tried to save as much money as possible while I was working full time, and paid off as much of my mortgage as I could, as I knew I'd be on a limited income for quite a while. The drop down to 2 days from 2.5 was because I felt like I was spending almost the same amount of time travelling into work as actually being there, and I also found it hard to switch mentally from doing the job to the PhD. The drop in permanent salary was ok-ish as I supplemented it with teaching, mostly during the autumn terms each year. As it's PhD related and good experience, it's all worked out ok. The money's useful and it doesn't encroach too much on my PhD work as it's squeezed mainly into one term, so I can plan around it. I try to spend 3 days a week on my PhD when not at work, though it usually becomes more time consuming when I have deadlines, or had to spend time either going to archives or interviewing people, as I had to be flexible, though this is obviously dependent on what your project it.

I tried managing on my PhD part time and distance learning whilst working full time in a job that had less than predictable hours and always more than a 40 hour week. The good news--it can be done! It meant being completely fierce about sticking to a time table of study when I was not at work. It also meant being fierce about allowing down time...because its not possible to work/study/work/study without a break--you need exercise, some human contact, etc. oh and sleep every so often! :-):-)

Weekends were prime study time as that was two entire days of being able to focus on the PhD and not be distracted from the study by work and other life. I know some people fence off their weekends and don't do their study on them.....I had no choice. Some things in my life suffered, to be sure, some friends were less than understanding about my time priorities, and showed themselves, imo, to be less than real friends, other people on the other hand showed themselves to be very supportive and understanding.

Yes, it can be done! I remember reading that a part time PhD takes about 15-20 hours a week of study. That is not so hard to find in the week and the weekends, if you plan well and try hard.

I am now writing up ( but gave up the distance learning and am doing the study fulltime now in order to complete) so it can be done! Eventually the balance of work and study got to be too much, with my job in particular, and I made the decision to finish up doing the PhD full time.

I think if you have a job with predictable hours, then you are ahead of the game, you are much more in charge of your schedule, and the balancing is not that hard. A few evenings of 3 hours a week of study and say four hours a week on a Saturday and a Sunday ( which still leaves you the bulk of the weekend for other things), then there is 21 hours a week of study! Easy peasy!

Yes, Olivia's right, it's all do-able. I think it's because you can get such a lot out of actually doing the PhD that any sacrifices in time or money are balanced out by the satisfying bits, and the possibilities of what it might enable you to do in the longer term. I'm writing up too, and don't have any regrets really, apart from I wish I'd speeded myself up a bit ages ago to finish it quicker, then my savings wouldn't have leeched away so much, but that's not dreadful in the wider scheme of things.