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Working PT alongside EPSRC funded FT PhD?

Y

So I'm a 23y/o guy single and no children. I am applying for part time admin roles at my University that are ~17 hours per week. I am on an EPSRC funded PhD and want to know if this is acceptable.

My supervisor might not like it, but I want to know if this is feasible. I would happily work weekends etc in order to keep my PhD hours around the ~40hours per week mark. I think having 2 days or so where I am working on non-PhD work would help me focus on the days when I do have PhD work!

Has anyone done something similar?

E

Hi. I would not recommend that. 17 hours per week means 3.5 hours per day. This is a lot. I am sorry for being rude, but I have to be. Be grateful that you earn enough money from the EPSRC funding and you are single so 14-15k tax free, council tax free would be absolutely fine. Appreciate what you have. I do not think PhD time was meant to save money.
If you do not like the money of the PhD, then try to search in Nordic countries, Germany and Switzerland. There you can earn above 2000 Euro net per month.

At my university there is a limit of 16 hours a week on external/teaching hours. I think that is part of the EPRSC rules on teaching which is designed so that you are a full-time student.

P

YorkFuller,

Although there are rules about how many hours to work outside your PhD you could easily get a part-time weekend job away from the uni and not tell anyone.
I don't agree with the advice given by eng77. I don't believe anyone should be "grateful" for anything in this day and age. In a world where a 7 year old is making £2m per month making Youtube videos I would advise anyone to go out there and get whatever you feel you want and ignore those who have a problem with that.
I think the bigger issue for me would be you limiting your PhD work to 40 hours per week. Personally I don't think that is a good idea at all. A PhD shouldn't be a 9-5 job and you might be harming your future here.

B

I'd check the funding rules - I was only allowed to do 6 hours per week of paid employment as a condition of grant. Now I could have got away with more but your strategy of applying for work with the university seems to maximise the chances of getting caught. Particularly as you'll end up with 2 emails and so it'll be obvious if anyone searches for you... And what if you need to interact with your department as part of the job at a time when they think you should be working on the PhD?

S

I don't get why? I mean if you wanted to make money in the short term, neither a PhD nor admin are ways to do that. In the longer term focussing on the PhD increases your lifetime earnings. Either by graduating sooner, or getting better work out of it, or both.

As has been pointed out, the funding is more than generous enough to live on. Just focus on your PhD, and then get a graduate job if it is money you want.

P

There is absolutely no guarantee that having a PhD will boost your lifetime earnings.

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