Ok, just phoned the student support advisors and with their help finally found the right document. Apparently I don't have a notice period to withdraw from this university at all. As there's no additional documentation referred to in my contract I suppose that is also true for the stipend. After all, one cannot make unknown t&c not referred to anywhere in the signed papers part of a contract. I'd think anyway.

Ok, that's something. Now lets prepare for the job interview.

I've been working on my PhD for 20 months now and am having a ball. There is one huge financial problem and that make finishing my PhD improbable. I need to find a properly paid job again. It won't be easy to find a job that pays well enough to get through this, thus a bit more money, or a part-time job won't cut it. And there's not any more funding money for me.

I've just been offered a job interview, and the question is what my notice period is. I can't find anything! My PhD is sponsored by a company, but I was only given a slip of paper stating the amount of stipend and maximum duration. No reference to further terms and conditions. I can't find anything on my university or faculty website either. There's a handbook for PhD students, but it only touches on absences for more than a month. Of course I don't want to talk to my supervisor before everything is sorted as I might in the end have to take on any job that I find that pays more than the stipend and council tax.

Any suggestions?

Thanks all. That helps. Will discuss.

Another thought: what if you need to travel for other reasons, for example to use technical equipment elsewhere, to learn a certain technique from someone, etc? I suppose there's usually also a pot of money for those things? A one month stay in for example Oslo or Tel Aviv is not cheap. Visa costs?

I know what you mean with needing to be resident for 3 years. I ran into the same problem and could not take on a couple of very interesting projects due to that. :( Actually, some profs told me right out that they'd not accept me due to that as they'd rather have someone who can work on the PhD rather than go hunting for funding. It's a real shame.

In the end I was offered two PhDs with industry funding, one of which in the UK. I'm still waiting for the outcome of the third application I sent out. Also funded, but better :)

If you can find a project that is funded by anything but the research council then go for it. Otherwise it might be a good idea to look elsewhere. Netherlands pay a proper salary for PhDs, Germany in some cases as well. Scandinavia looks quite ok as well.

Note: UK uni.

Thanks. Good to hear. I might need to get my hands on a couple of books I suppose, unless I can get them from the library for long enough. Phew, then my budget does look good.

Right, lets talk money. What are the costs of a PhD? I don't mean enrolment fees or living costs but everything else you'd not have to pay if you were not doing it? I'm thinking about stationary, books and other things. What about costs associated with visiting conferences? Ok, flight and travel is covered, but what about food (might be more expensive than at home), transport and the likes? My budget for the PhD is fairly tight but doable. It's just the unplanned costs I'm not sure about.

Ok, this is a really stupid question. For the PhD I'll most likely chose to do I'll need to move 6hrs away. I'm fairly picky with what I'd like to rent (been out of uni for a while) and will need to go lodging/flat sharing for a while before I can rent what I want. I've never been a lodger before, thus I have no idea how this works. Can anyone help?

Being 6h away from that town makes finding a room to rent somewhat complicated, though I'll be there for a week in early December. Would like to move just before Christmas. Is this sufficient with regards to timing?

What kind of termination periods do lodging/flat sharing contracts usually have? I'll move out as soon as I find the right place to rent. This could be in 3 weeks (unlikely) or in 2-3 months.

What's the best place to look for lodgings? I'd certainly not want to get a room in a student house but, being somewhat older myself with elder, quiet people.