Print This PostI am now well into the second year of my PhD funding – at the point of writing I have around 16 months left on the clock. With the inevitable struggle in balancing my studies with childcare responsibilities, in this month’s blog I will be considering the work I am doing to set myself up for success.
There is not a single PhD student I know who hasn’t at some stage been stressed about the end of their funding. I’ve watched several friends move towards the tail end of their final year, and see their deadlines slipping back day-by-day, week-by-week, and with it their stipend threatening to dry up entirely. When I first started my PhD, one of my supervisors made the offhand comment that I wouldn’t submit before the end of the three years, because no one did, and that people inevitably finish off when in their first postdoc or survive without an income for a while. At the time I had a laissez-faire attitude about the duration of my funding, but that has certainly changed.
Three years is – in theory – a long time, but not necessarily always realistic in terms of completing all phases of a project.
Prior to my PhD I worked as a research assistant on a couple of projects at different institutions, initially on relatively short contracts. In both instances, unavoidable delays to projects meant that additional funding was sought and obtained, meaning that the duration of the projects (as well as my contract) were extended by at least a year. Even where additional funding extends a study, within academia there is almost the assumption that dissemination will continue after the project has finished, with researchers finding pockets of time here and there to write papers when firmly established in a new role. Delays seem to be part and parcel of the research gig. However, with limited avenues to secure extra funding, this can be challenging when navigating hurdles with your PhD.
Over the course of my PhD, I’ve done everything I can to stay on track and anticipate any possible delays or setbacks. At my institution, it is common to face delays when seeking ethical approval for a study, due to the internal checks required before submission to an ethics panel. Being aware of this, I started the submission as early as possible, filling the eight months between submission and ultimate approval with working on my systematic review. Even so, I received approval only a few weeks before I went on maternity leave, which meant that data collection wouldn’t be able to start until the following year. Despite my best efforts – pushing for recruitment to start while I was still on leave – it was another five months after returning that I had my first site and was ready to start collecting data.
Recruitment can be slow and tedious work. There is such a fine balance between appropriately following up with sites and feeling like you are harassing them. While data has started coming in as a tiny trickle, at some stage this may turn into a flood. With my eyes on the prize, I have been taking every spare minute to write chapters for my thesis. Without my data there is only so much that I can write, so I do so speculatively, drafting what I suppose my ultimate methods will be, for example. I stick rigidly to self-imposed deadlines, trying to make the most of my time in the awareness that that time is finite.
In all of this, it has become clear to me that different PhD students can have very different experiences – or very different workloads. Don’t get me wrong, no PhD is easy; they will all require grit and hard graft. But what I would not give to be in a position where my work was tied to an existing project, so I didn’t have to apply for ethics, or I was undertaking a secondary analysis so I didn’t need to recruit participants or collect my own data. I’m sure it’s not actually true, but in my mind I would power through in such a situation, without a second thought about the funding cliff edge fast approaching. At the same time I’m glad to be taking responsibility for each and every part of the project: I know it will ultimately make me a better, more well-rounded researcher.
The problem is, I have to finish on time. There is no question about it. Where previously I thought we could just about survive without my stipend for a couple of months, this can’t be the case with the costs of childcare, and the fact that childcare will continue to be unaffordable for us until I am in employment and therefore eligible for the government’s subsidised hours. So I need to stay on track; I need to do everything I can to get ahead of the game.
It’s easy to get panicked about things and worry about the future. I still have sixteen months and all I can do is my best. For now I have two sites recruited, three chapters written, and data collection is underway.
I may not have chosen the ‘easiest’ project, but it’s one that interests me, and it will be worth all the hard work.
At this stage I can just use my time wisely to set myself up for future success, taking some of the pressure off my final year. Wish me luck!
Emily Spencer
Author
Emily Spencer is a PhD Student at University College London looking at improving how GPs communicate with people with dementia and their family carers about their future care. Emily previous had a 5 year career break to pursue a career as a musician, and has previously undertaken research on improving the care people with dementia receive from their GP practice, as well as end-of-life and palliative care provision in the community. Emily is also a new mum and will be writing about her experiences navigating motherhood and a research career.
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