hi, i have been wanting to do a phd for ages but as a single mum with 2 kids it has never seemed financially viable. i work in the construction industry and we have had a massive down turn since the recession. Its got me thinking about proposing that i drop my hours at work and asking if they will support me doing a phd. i am thinking work and get paid for 2 days and then also have the normal funded phd around 13k.

i see phds that are supported/ financially enhanced by business quite often

does this sound a viable plan? what havent i thought about?

Oooo...thanks everyone for replying. A very mixed picture!! it seems I will have to be upfront with the supervisors about what they expect...
regarding the hours and doing it part time; I have no problem with putting in full time hours, I just don't want those 9am-5pm and have to be onsite. I work well in the evenings and at night at home.
If I try and do it part time - can you still get funding for that? I thought it had to be full time to be funded?

I shall definitely search previous threads for more info.

Thanks for all your help. It is reassuring that you all have time to be on internet forums ;-)

hi, i can't help an awful lot with this as i don't know what research councils offer in terms of maternity benefits. But, regarding your last point about having a cut off point as you wouldn't be a student and so not entitled to maternity benefits from your research council; I am almost certain that you are entitled to the same statuatory pay from the government if you are a student/employed/unemployed; so you would get £123.60 (for 9 months is it now?). The only thing you would miss out on is the 90% for 6 weeks.

I was advised once by a friend, that if you wait until you think you can afford babies you will never have them. We followed that advice and muddled through and didn't regret it.

Good luck whatever you do

and i am engineering/ science/ a bit multi-disc so depending on exactly my topic I suspect I will be lab based so probably required in more than most

ah thanks sue - that's what I was hoping the answer would be!! Except for..gulp!!..4 weeks holiday a year! that's like work:-(
but i spose for school holidays I could just be with my daughter in the day and do home based phd work in the evenings/night - and not call that holiday

I have already added this to the 'prospective phd student' thread but 'current phders' I think will be more useful to me,

Hiya, I have a meeting lined up with some prospective supervisors. They all seem very inspiring people. I am really enthusiastic about my subject area and I know that doing a PhD is the right thing for me for a research career. But I need this to fit in with my life as a mother. I don't feel too comfortable with asking the supervisors about this for fear that they will think I am not committed enough so I thought I would ask you people about your experiences.
For example, I like to be able to pick my daughter up from school at 330pm which would mean I couldn't be at uni after 230pm. Also I would like to not be working during the school holidays. I do have the support of my husband, parents and friends so this is not hard and fast but in general I want to be my daughters main carer.
Any parents done a PhD?
Any one - how many hours/ day days/week are you in uni? How much holiday do you/ can you take?


Thanks in advance for your help (sprout)

Hiya, I have a meeting lined up with some prospective supervisors. They all seem very inspiring people. I am really enthusiastic about my subject area and I know that doing a PhD is the right thing for me for a research career. But I need this to fit in with my life as a mother. I don't feel too comfortable with asking the supervisors about this for fear that they will think I am not committed enough so I thought I would ask you people about your experiences.
For example, I like to be able to pick my daughter up from school at 330pm which would mean I couldn't be at uni after 230pm. Also I would like to not be working during the school holidays. I do have the support of my husband, parents and friends so this is not hard and fast but in general I want to be my daughters main carer.
Any parents done a PhD?
Any one - how many hours/ day days/week are you in uni? How much holiday do you/ can you take?

Thanks in advance for your help (sprout)