Hi guys, can you start a postdoctoral post after your thesis hand in but before your viva when you are still being funded?

It's not uncommon for people to start jobs (including academic jobs) before they've submitted/had their viva. But they usually do this because they need the income. There may be problems if you are still in receipt of funding, as that funding will probably come with the assumption that the PhD is what you're doing full time.

Is there a reason you want to start a job before your PhD funding has run out? That's a bit of an unusual situation to be in. I can see it potentially working if the PhD and job were in the same department, but if multiple departments/institutions are involved it might be more hassle than it is worth.

If it's because a job has come up that has caught your eye, apply for it and then see if you can delay the start date if you get accepted for it.

Then you can't really call it a Postdoc. Maybe another title like research assistant or so works.

I know lots of people, myself included, who have take research associate positions while writing up. But, anyone who was in receipt of funding had to waive that funding for the job - i.e. you can't have funding and a job at the same time.

You can call it a postdoc. My job title is postdoc but I haven't submitted my thesis yet. Of course, I'm not being paid as a postdoc, but that's another story. Mu funding has finished though.

Hi TreeofLife,
Have you actually started you postdoc or you just have it secured for when you have your thesis submitted?

I will be starting it before I submit my thesis. I will have finished it by then, but it will still be awaiting supervisory approval (they won't change much) so won't be officially submitted to the university.

What do you do then, between hand in and viva if not look for alternative employment. Am I expected to work beyond funding when required but when there is no work left to just do nothing? I do not understand that.

You can work and search for work kikotherdog, you just have to tell your funding agency as it is likely that you are not allowed to take your PhD funding while you are employed. So they will stop paying you the PhD stipend and you can take the job. At least that's how I understand it!

Thank you Caro, that sounds very reasonable, there would only be two months of my funding left anyway and the postdoc would more than make up for the end of my funding. I'll speak to my supervisor.

Two months is nothing in academic job terms. If you were offered a job tomorrow, I'd wager that it would take at least 6 weeks before you actually got to start it, paperwork being what it is.

Nobody said you couldn't apply for jobs while still funded, simply that you can't start a job and still be in receipt of your studentship without it causing issues.

Depending on what field you are in, I'd actually recommend starting to apply for jobs anything up to 6 months before submission, given how rare they are in some fields, and the odds of actually getting one.