5 answers
Joseph
Student
Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
1
Question
Updated
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Advice for a mature student part-time PhD?
Having previously finished my studies at Masters level and after spending a number of years in industry in operational technical roles, I've started doing more research work and found myself underqualified for research positions, having not originally completed a PhD. I'm fortunate that my employer has been able to support a part-time PhD to rectify this - however, as someone coming back into University as a part-time mature student, what change of mindset from my current industrial work approach do I need to be successful in a PhD and in research work?
5 answers
Dani B
Senior Program Manager
5
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Dani’s Answer
Hi Joseph, I went back to complete my PhD after an 11 year gap from when I received my Masters while still working in the tech industry. I honestly don't think you need a change of mindset. I took on the program as if it was another work project. I listed the school term on my calendar and added all assignment due dates as if they were work meetings. This helped me stay on track. Depending on the number of courses I took in a term would help me decide whether I gave myself a day off from school to give my mind a break. I typically chose Mondays and Fridays as my days to not focus on school. Or at the very least Fridays. This helped me from getting burnt out.
The biggest challenge I had though was transitioning back and forth from business writing for work to academic writing for school. This was extremely difficult when it was time to start writing my dissertation. I often resorted to YouTube videos on academic writing to assist me. I also read other published dissertations to get a better understanding on how to convey my own study academically.
Make sure you are in a PhD program that is supportive of working professionals and there is a faculty that has real world experience outside of academia. I wish I had known that sooner, I would have transferred out to a different school. Reach out to recent graduates of the school you're interested in and ask what their experience was. All tips I really wished I had known.
Best of luck to you!
The biggest challenge I had though was transitioning back and forth from business writing for work to academic writing for school. This was extremely difficult when it was time to start writing my dissertation. I often resorted to YouTube videos on academic writing to assist me. I also read other published dissertations to get a better understanding on how to convey my own study academically.
Make sure you are in a PhD program that is supportive of working professionals and there is a faculty that has real world experience outside of academia. I wish I had known that sooner, I would have transferred out to a different school. Reach out to recent graduates of the school you're interested in and ask what their experience was. All tips I really wished I had known.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks! That's a great perspective - maybe it is just work but on a different project. I've selected a university that I know has previously handled part-time PhDs and industry-supported work before, so I think I've got supportive supervisors, but that's a great point to be aware of
Joseph
Alex Shapero
Volunteer Event Host
20
Answers
Helsinki, Finland
Updated
Alex’s Answer
Hi Joseph,
I understand your struggles - I just started my PhD after years in the professional world. It's been quite a big adjustment, with a few major things that stand out for me. I can't speak to the part time aspect of your question, but I think these bigger philosophical things will be the same no matter what
First, PhD research is a highly individualistic space. I don't mean that it is (necessarily) competitive or that you won't have space for collaboration, but most of your time is spent figuring out 1) what you want to study 2) how you want to study it and 3) how to go about executing it. Even with excellent supervision, the fundamental truth is that you will get very little feedback on if you are doing things correctly or not until you send your work out to the broader academic community for publishing.
How you spend your time is also fully up to you and understanding what a chunk of time well spent looks like is hard as well. Research takes quiet time to think, which is something that is rarely afforded in industry. If you're not in a meeting or directly implementing something, it can be hard to conceptualize what you are doing as work. You should also remember that thinking is HARD work, and cannot be sustained for more than a few hours a day - even tricker to do if you are juggling a job on the side.
The last point I'll add here is that you never know where your ideas are going to come from. Academics are often more siloed than they would like to admit, and it's really valuable to get out into the world to present your ideas. You'll hear lots of talk about interdisciplinarity, but it doesn't have to be a long-term collaboration to be impactful. Get out there and talk about what is fascinating for you and for others. Conferences are great, because they let you test ideas before putting them to paper. I approach them as places to get answers for big questions that I've been chewing on, and trying to improve my own skills rather than a place to show off how well developed my research is or how smart I am. Don't feel like you need to have all the answers!
You can do this - I hope you can treat the experience as a space to learn about how you learn and to give something back to the world!
I understand your struggles - I just started my PhD after years in the professional world. It's been quite a big adjustment, with a few major things that stand out for me. I can't speak to the part time aspect of your question, but I think these bigger philosophical things will be the same no matter what
First, PhD research is a highly individualistic space. I don't mean that it is (necessarily) competitive or that you won't have space for collaboration, but most of your time is spent figuring out 1) what you want to study 2) how you want to study it and 3) how to go about executing it. Even with excellent supervision, the fundamental truth is that you will get very little feedback on if you are doing things correctly or not until you send your work out to the broader academic community for publishing.
How you spend your time is also fully up to you and understanding what a chunk of time well spent looks like is hard as well. Research takes quiet time to think, which is something that is rarely afforded in industry. If you're not in a meeting or directly implementing something, it can be hard to conceptualize what you are doing as work. You should also remember that thinking is HARD work, and cannot be sustained for more than a few hours a day - even tricker to do if you are juggling a job on the side.
The last point I'll add here is that you never know where your ideas are going to come from. Academics are often more siloed than they would like to admit, and it's really valuable to get out into the world to present your ideas. You'll hear lots of talk about interdisciplinarity, but it doesn't have to be a long-term collaboration to be impactful. Get out there and talk about what is fascinating for you and for others. Conferences are great, because they let you test ideas before putting them to paper. I approach them as places to get answers for big questions that I've been chewing on, and trying to improve my own skills rather than a place to show off how well developed my research is or how smart I am. Don't feel like you need to have all the answers!
You can do this - I hope you can treat the experience as a space to learn about how you learn and to give something back to the world!
Thanks - great to hear from someone else on a similar return-to-academia journey, even if you're doing it full-time. That must be an even bigger change, if you're completely putting the prior job on hold to go full research. Best of luck with yours too!
Joseph
Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Software Engineer and Career Mentor
660
Answers
Ethiopia
Updated
Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
Transitioning from industry to a part-time PhD is an exciting journey that focuses on changing how you think. It's about identifying problems, explaining why they matter, and discovering new insights. To help with this transition, consider reading books like How to Get a PhD by Phillips & Pugh and The Craft of Research. Also, use Google Scholar to see how research arguments are put together. This will gradually help you develop an academic mindset.
Thanks, I'll look into those book recommendations.
But do you really think the focus of the journey is really about changing how I think - or is that just your AI parroting my "change of mindset" back? I note one of the other answers suggests I might not even need a change of mindset at all, let alone being the focus of the journey. My industrial work has also involved a lot of identifying problems and justifying business cases for why things matter - so maybe there's not so much to change? Are there specific things I need to think differently about?
Joseph
Andrew Au
Professor of Mathematics & Statistics, Retired
258
Answers
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
Ideally, we could go straight from an undergraduate degree all the way to Ph.D. without a break.
On the other hand, after a break, a nontraditional student must tackle the delicate balance between family, work, and study. We need a compartmentalized mindset focused on efficiency in the use of time.
Many of us may have a very demanding job already. What you are facing will be one more burden, study. Going for your Ph.D. or not is a matter of priority you are setting that required careful consideration. The key question is where your passion is.
Further comment:
The length and work intensity of a Ph.D. program are strongly dependent on the chosen project and thesis advisor. We can get a sense of what we may get into by talking with graduate students in the department. They can tell you a lot about each professor.
On the other hand, after a break, a nontraditional student must tackle the delicate balance between family, work, and study. We need a compartmentalized mindset focused on efficiency in the use of time.
Many of us may have a very demanding job already. What you are facing will be one more burden, study. Going for your Ph.D. or not is a matter of priority you are setting that required careful consideration. The key question is where your passion is.
Further comment:
The length and work intensity of a Ph.D. program are strongly dependent on the chosen project and thesis advisor. We can get a sense of what we may get into by talking with graduate students in the department. They can tell you a lot about each professor.
Thanks. The things we might have done differently with hindsight, indeed.
I certainly know I have to be careful with time division to ensure the PhD doesn't get drowned out by the demands of the rest of the job. I've cut my hours on the main job by 50% to allow 50% of my time on PhD work. Do you think 50% of the hours of a regular full-time job is enough time to set aside for part-time PhD work (spread over double the usual number of years)? Or does it need more time than that such that I need to rethink work-life balance? I know typical PhDs are often notorious for long hours.
Joseph
Harold Kocken
Consultant
6
Answers
Wilmington, North Carolina
Updated
Harold’s Answer
Deciding whether to pursue a PhD as an academic or with years of experience is an exciting choice. Your industry experience is a great strength. It might make you impatient with academic processes like peer reviews and theoretical studies, but try to embrace these challenges. You might feel out of place among younger students, but your experience will make your research more insightful. You'll have a good sense of what's important in the real world. Although you might feel isolated without a cohort, you can create your own academic network through conferences and seminars. The key to success is writing regularly, even if it feels rough at first. Unlike in industry, where you wait to have something important to say, academics write to discover their thoughts. Starting this habit early can greatly boost your PhD journey.
Start a research journal this week. Not a progress log, a thinking journal.
Have an explicit conversation with your supervisor about expectations.
Find one academic community to join in the next month.
Do an honest audit of your protected time. Part-time PhD's fail most often on time, not intellect.
If you haven't, read one book about the PhD process itself. Not about your subject area, but the actual process of becoming a PhD.
Harold recommends the following next steps:
Thanks - although it's not really a decision for me like that now, at any rate - it stems from the decision I made years ago to leave academia for industry at the time.
Joseph
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