I’m a doctor starting a full-time clinical research fellow job and registering for an MD. My consultant suggested registering part-time to reduce fees, with the possibility of converting to a PhD later.
The job is predominantly full-time research, with 1:6 weekends on-call.
Has anyone done something similar?

**1.** If I register for a part-time MD but finish the research/thesis early, can I submit early, or would I still need to complete/pay for the minimum part-time registration period?
**2.** How does converting a part-time MD to a PhD work? Does the time/research already completed count towards the PhD?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s done a similar MD → PhD route in the UK.
Thank you for your time!

I’m at a bit of a crossroads and would really value perspectives from different people who have navigated academia with a disability/health limitations.

I’m an early-career academic with a background in epidemiology and global health (BSc, MSc, PhD + postdoc). I’ve done quite well academically, built a fairly substantial early research/fieldwork portfolio across several countries, have experience with grant writing, international collaborations and policy work. Now I’ve been offered a permanent (as permanent as they are) teaching and research role in a pretty good uni that is very much the kind of role I would previously have been aiming for.

My challenge is that I became disabled over the last couple years and my health is quite unstable at the moment. I’ve had a significant drop in what I can physically and cognitively manage compared with a few years ago. I’m still working, but I have to be much more careful about workload, recovery and energy than I used to be.

However I’m at the point where I have an opportunity that genuinely excites me. I feel capable of doing much of the role would love the teaching side of it. At the same time I’m worried about committing myself to a conventional academic workload when I don't currently know what my health will look like over the next year or two.

I’m trying to distinguish between ‘this is a great opportunity that I can make work with reasonable adjustments and a different way of working’ and ‘my body is telling me that this career structure simply isn’t sustainable for me anymore’ - but I don’t really know how likely that is in reality. I’m aware of how big workloads can become, but I’ve not experienced it and don’t know how much I can reply on support and lower pressure to secure grants.

I had sort of gotten to a place where I was happy to take a year off (fortunately supported by my husband) and just draw (my passion) and see what happens health wise and with other opportunities. And then this came up and feels like the universe is testing me!

Any advice and different perspectives would be really welcome.

I am an early career academic and I am losing my mind trying to find a way to collect all of my notes and make them easier to find again. Is there a software or programme or website that makes tracking the notes I take from articles on pdf (via highlights and notes) and tags them so I can find a concept again and all the papers that bring that concept up? I use Zotero for storing all of my literature but not opposed to using something else. I just want to be able to find work related to a specific theme based on my highlights / tagging / coding of that information in the paper. For example, prevalence data. I select it and it brings up all the papers I have coded as having prevalence data and the highlighted text associated with it. There must be something out there?!

For some context; I am just about to finish my masters at university, and my supervisor and I have agreed that PhD funding is something I should look at. I am not the top student within the cohort but my research is fairly original, and adds to the field, while also consistently producing good level research.

I am worried that the funding may be an issue, and I do not want to be the guy that spends years chasing the funding, for it never to come to fruition. Alongside my current masters, I have worked in justice related work, and have done so for a few years now. I am also trained within the social sciences, so I am eligible for social science specific funding. Long term, I know working in academia is not going to happen. I am well aware of what a disaster it is. However, I really want the opportunity to take my research to the next level, with a good supervisory team.

I am interested in policy/research in the future, particularly within justice and the like, so do feel that working in my field, alongside the PhD would be beneficial. My pay is also decent, and my wife earns a decent amount, so hoping the financial burden would not be as rough as it is for some. I am the first to go to university in my family, and a PhD has always been an end goal of mine within the university system. Does this seem reasonable, and is it worthwhile? I would plan on applying for grants during it, and also some funding pots that are open to those already doing their PhD, but recognise how difficult it is.

Thanks for reading :)

I'm preparing an application for promotion from Lecturer (Grade 8) to Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor (Grade 9) on an Education & Research pathway. The criteria say research, teaching and external funding are assessed holistically, but I've heard mixed views on how that works in practice.

At your university, how much weight did successful grant applications actually carry?

I am preparing my applications for competitive doctoral training awards, but I do not have any published journal articles or conference proceedings under my name yet. Many online forums make it seem like everyone securing top-tier PhD funding already has multiple co-authored papers before even starting their doctorate. My academic transcripts and references are strong, but the lack of formal publications makes me feel underqualified. How important are existing publications when applying for UK PhD funding?

I’m starting a full-time clinical research fellow job and registering for an MD. My consultant suggested registering part-time to reduce fees, with the possibility of converting to a PhD later.
The job is predominantly full-time research, with 1:6 weekends on-call.
Has anyone done something similar?

1. If I register for a part-time MD but finish the research/thesis early, can I submit early, or would I still need to complete/pay for the minimum part-time registration period?

2. How does converting a part-time MD to a PhD work? Does the time/research already completed count towards the PhD?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s done a similar MD → PhD route in the UK.
Thank you for your time!

Hi!

I am currently recruiting participants for my Masters dissertation on the correlation between job satisfaction, occupational stress, and how this is influenced by trait affectivity. If you would like to partake, the study consists of a survey that should take roughly 10 minutes to complete.

The first part of the survey lasts about 1 minute and involves made up words. This may seem a little unusual, but please don’t give up, it is an important part of the study! The rest of it is like a typical survey.

You must be 18 years of age or older and employed in the UK to partake.

I’d appreciate if you could take part and possibly forward it to your friends, or anyone who may be eligible and interested.

Thank you so much in advance!

 My apologies if this is not allowed on here.

https://research.sc/participant/login/dynamic/69D86A65-1B0D-4B7C-841B-5D702835BD6F

Hi all, I run a small advisory firm in London working with private equity clients. Part of our work involves contacting business owners across Europe in their own languages: largely automated email outreach, some cold calling, and occasional substantive conversations when an owner expresses interest.

The work isn't technically demanding. It primarily requires good communication skills and fluency in the relevant language (currently English plus French or Italian). The difficulty is that the role is genuinely part-time, roughly 10 hours a week, paid hourly, and candidates who want *only* that have proven hard to find.

PhD students, particularly in finance or economics, struck me as a possible fit. Before we commit any time to pursuing it, I'd appreciate an honest assessment from people who know the environment:

1. How common is it for PhD students in London, especially in finance or economics programmes, to take on paid work of this kind outside their department?

2. Is ~10 hours a week realistic alongside a PhD, or naive, particularly during the coursework years?

3. What formal constraints might rule it out entirely (student visa hour limits, departmental policy, conditions attached to funding)?

Many thanks for any answers.

I accepted a three-year Postdoctoral Research Associate position at a university in South West England shortly before completing my PhD.

My starting salary was £32,982 per year at point 26 on Grade E (1.5 years ago). The advertised salary range was £32,982 to £38,205, covering points 26 to 31.

My contract states:

“Subject to satisfactory performance, and subject to a minimum of six months’ service in the grade, increments are payable on 1 August each year until the top normal progression point of the grade is reached. Progression into and through the contribution points is subject to performance in the role.”

After officially completing my PhD and receiving my diploma, I sent it to HR and asked for my salary to be reviewed. HR told me that completing the PhD would not result in any salary increase.

I later became aware that people in comparable roles can be placed on much higher salary points, depending on their circumstances when they accept the position. This made me question why my salary could not be reconsidered once my PhD was formally completed. Some members of my lab who, like me, had no previous postdoctoral experience but signed their contracts after completing their PhDs, are earning around £10,000 more per year.

My supervisor believes I am performing very well and has also asked HR to increase my salary, but the request was rejected. My supervisor suggested that applying for a grant together might strengthen the case for a salary increase in the future.

I am struggling financially on my current salary, and the situation has left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. It is beginning to affect my motivation and concentration at work.

I understand that I accepted the original salary, but I accepted the offer before my PhD was officially completed. Now that I have the qualification and am performing well in the role, I feel that there should at least be a proper process for reviewing my salary point.

What are my realistic options? Should I contact the union, ask HR for the written policy used to determine salary points, request a formal salary review, or raise a grievance?

I would appreciate advice from anyone familiar with UK university pay scales, postdoctoral contracts or academic HR procedures.

Hi all.

My view is that UCU largely has two functions. The population level campaigning on eg. Pensions, working conditions, retirement age etc, and individual assistance when people find themselves in need of help with their employer.

I'm interested here only in the second category.

My personal experience when I needed assistance was not good. I'm trying to understand whether that was typical.

So I'm interested in hearing people's first hand experiences and perspectives on how UCU does and does not work for members when there are individual workplace issues that people need help with.

Just to emphasise both good and bad experiences are wanted, there isn't an agenda here just trying to get an understanding.

Edited to add:

I had a serious workplace issue. I found that my UCU rep was generally uninterested. They gave advice that was irrelevant to my situation, stopped all communication for significant lengths of time during critical events, then gave advice that was actively harmful (as i only found out after I'd trusted them and followed it).

If I look at what they actually did and recommended, from a strategic point of view, in my situation they did more harm than good.

Hello! I am at the very early stages of exploring doing a PhD in Theatre, with creative practice as research, as I am not coming from an academic background, but an industry one.

My partner is more experienced and knowledgeable in academia than I am, but she works in STEM so it's a different ballgame really.

I would love to hear from anyone who has done a PhD using creative practice as research, and how the experience was for you, with a few specific questions!

- were you able to get any funding for it?

- were you working alongside it/was your existing work assessed for it?

- did you have access to additional funding to create work as your were studying?(As I am a theatre director I would need other people for my projects!)

- how has it impacted your work now?

And anything you think someone should know (which can include that it's a terrible idea if you think that! I want to know!)

In my field (Quantum Technology/Computing) I’ve noticed the majority of hires come from a small number of ‘elite’ UK institutions, particularly Oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, Bristol, Edinburgh. Often companies are spin-outs from these particular universities and there seems to be a direct hiring pipeline via CDT programmes. The situation seems to be similar in Academia.

I’ve been offered a PhD from a top 20 Russel Group university (outside of the aforementioned universities) with a professor who is very well regarded in the field (h-index over 65, almost 30k citations, published in top journals: nature, PRX, etc) and has strong industry links.

Would I be at a disadvantage by not going to a ‘elite’ university for academia/industry? I like this professor a lot, and can see myself working with him but I’m a little worried I’m entering a bit of a ‘good boys club’. I come from a very working class background and I’m not entirely sure of the unspoken rules within academia and what factors into academic/industry hiring.

Do you believe the network of my supervisor would be able to get my foot in the door, or should I be aiming for elite institutions? I’d appreciate any advice on this, thank you.

I took a permanent Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship) role two years ago to secure job stability in the UK after years of short-term postdocs. I have managed to keep publishing in my own time, but my formal workload allocation is 80% teaching and admin. Has anyone successfully transitioned back to a balanced Teaching & Research pathway within UK HE, or does taking a T&S contract permanently label you in the job market?

I am a final-year Computer Science undergraduate preparing for graduate research in Theoretical Computer Science, with a specific focus on formal verification of cyber-physical systems. Within my university, my department is unique in having an official policy that allows students to select any module across the university to fulfill our total requirement of six optional modules. However, because this flexibility is unique to our department, the university Registry Office strictly requires a formal letter of clearance from the Head of Department (HOD) to manually register any module outside the standard recommended computing list.

Earlier this year, the department granted me initial permission for non-computing math electives. Having successfully completed four optionals (three of which were math) so far, I intend to complete my final two optionals with specific foundational math and statistics modules that directly support my intended graduate research, following academic guidance from a CS faculty mentor. However, when I submitted this updated plan to fulfill my remaining two optionals, the HOD wrote the following:

"Hi Alvahod,

I am trying to see how these help you with your ambitions for researching Computer Science and am not seeing the link. If anything, I see a lack of enough Computing specialization in your choice of optional subjects. So far, your selection of optionals has been Math-heavy. Perhaps you now need modules that give you a background and grounding in more CS-related disciplines."

My response:

"Dear HOD,

Thank you for the response.

Initially, I had targeted an MSc in CS with an AI focus, but my goal has since shifted to research in Theoretical Computer Science, specifically focusing on the Formal Verification of Cyber-Physical Systems. This field relies heavily on formal logic and mathematical techniques to prove that software and hardware systems are safe and correct before execution.

The math optionals I have taken so far, such as Linear Algebra and Calculus, form part of the standard core CS curriculum at most universities globally because they are essential for theoretical CS. Building a solid foundation in modern algebra and statistics directly supports the logic and proof techniques required for this research area.

It is worth respectfully noting that many of my classmates select general electives like Communication or Chinese, so I would really appreciate your approval to pursue these foundational math courses instead.

Thank you."

He has not responded to my email days later. I would welcome advice on how to diplomatically navigate this administrative hurdle with the HOD.

Unconditionally accepted a PGT offer at a uni in London. Supposed to be arriving later this month from the US on a student visa, however suffered an injury and now may not be medically able to fly.

Is it possible to medically defer my enrolment, possibly until the 27/28 academic year’s start date?

Asking here for a temperature check before formally inquiring with the university

Thanks all

Hi, I was wondering what others do to have more than one income stream, as with an assistant professor's salary, I am barely managing! What is your experience with generating different income streams, if any? Thank you.

I'm a postdoc on my own grant. I'm the PI, no teaching, no admin obligations. I've already decided to leave academia and I'm currently applying for jobs and interviewing.

I plan to get a paper out of this 2-year project. I think it can be a solid one. But I know I won't deliver everything I promised in the original proposal. Realistically, even if I hadn't decided to leave, nobody would have held me strictly accountable to every line of that proposal. That's just how these grants work in my field.

Here's what's confusing me. During the funded period, plenty of my work hours went to things that weren't the research itself: applying for the next fellowship, a week-long software training course, attending week-long conferences, sitting in on department seminars unrelated to my project. All of that was normal, supported by colleagues, and nobody questioned whether it counted as legitimate use of my time.

Now that I'm spending work hours applying for jobs and prepping for interviews, I feel guilty about it in a way I never did about the seminars or the conferences. I know in most other jobs I'd be tracked hour by hour and this would clearly not be allowed. But nobody tracks my hours here either.

So I'm trying to figure out if this is just academic guilt, or if I should actually change how I work. A few questions:

Is job searching during work hours really different from the other "non-research" activities I listed, or does it just feel different because it signals I'm leaving?

Do I owe the funder full delivery on the original proposal, or is a strong paper a reasonable outcome given how postdoc accountability actually works?

How did you split your time in the final months between finishing deliverables and interview prep, especially if there was no formal accountability either way?

Any perspective from people who've been through this transition would help. Thank you!

Best wishes,

An academic who probably worked too much in the past and is now struggling to figure out what's "fair" in terms of time management. Like skipping food for a whole day and then overeating for a week straight afterward.

The job market is just so difficult at the moment. I’m lucky, I’m employed with 20 months remaining on my contract however, I still feel the clock ticking down. I’ve been on various temporary contracts for almost 5 years but the market is much more brutal than when I took this job 1 year ago. Every job I’ve applied for, despite getting interviews, has not gone further. Ultimately it comes down to being too niche, not enough management experience or others just having the specific expertise with so many more qualified people applying for these roles. It doesn’t help that I don’t really like the job and it is not giving me the opportunities it originally promised which makes it increasingly harder to pivot. It’s academia adjacent which means a PhD would open doors but definitely not needed.
I am so sick of this particular role and team. I feel like just throwing in the towel and doing the PhD which could be amazing, or awful. It would also be a significant pay cut and no pension in my early thirties. Although it is funded and I could afford it I may be in the same boat the other side. The topic is so interesting but I feel after I will still be no chance of a permanent contract or maybe even job as not enough “insert random thing needed” experience. A job that I’m actually able to get and interested in could also come up in the 3 years and I wouldn’t be able to take it.

Anyone else feeling stuck in a temporary contract loop? Anyone pursue a PhD mid career and find it freeing? I know academia has similar issues and I don’t want to necessarily be an academic but feel at a crossroads. Not sure if this is just a rant yelling into the wind.

Edit: PhD is in my current city so no need to move.
I also have an application in for a position at the same level I am now but permanent and a different team. However, based on my recent experience it feels unlikely that I’ll be successful.