Hey guys,

I wonder if I could ask for advice please.
I studied for my masters 10 years ago and thinking of getting back into academic (my fields is Psychology).
As I will be 40 next year, I am wondering if this age is too old??! Also I would register as p/t and aim to complete in 4 years, would there be much time for part-time work? How much of the week would generally be spent on PhD work? Finally, how much would you say you needed to spend per year of miscellaneous research expenses? I will be self-funding. Sorry for so many questions. Thank you for reading this.

Hello. I am not going to answer all questions as some of them I personally ask also :).

Absolutely no. I had my Master 10 years after Bachelor. Age does not play any role. 40 is not too old (I am above 40 and still think of a part time PhD).

First, I am thinking of doing exactly like you but I would try to answer anyway. Short answer, there is not that much time. 4 years is tight for full time students. For part time, would be tighter especially if motivation is lost.

I would say at least 5 hours with full concentration per week. Preferably 10 hours.

I am in the same boat like you. I wonder if I should really do it and sacrifice the valuable time to do it? Would it be wiser to spend that much time on improving at work or to develop a hobby? Is it anyway better to spend time to do a PhD other than just passing time for nothing? Difficult questions I ask myself. I wish you all the best.

Finishing a Part Time PhD in less than 6 years is very ambitious.
I wouldn't expect 4 years to be achieveable at all and certainly not at the 5-10 hours per week that eng77 is talking about. Most PhD students struggle to finish a full time PhD in 4 years.

Happy to be corrected on either point but I think your expectations are a bit high in terms of duration. Realistically the PhD will consume almost every spare moment you have outside of your part time job.

Your age is definitely not an issue in the UK. I was almost 40 when I started my undergraduate degree and 48 when I finished the PhD.

I can't comment on costs unfortunately.