I have been thinking for a couple of months whether I should convert to be a full time PhD student.

Pros of being a full timer
- More time to spend on your PhD research
- More time to write papers as well
- You can get it done faster

Cons
- No income unless you apply for a scholarship

Pros of being a part timer
- Steady income

Cons
- Less time to spend on research
- Distraction
- Work is your main priority
- It will take a longer time to finish the PhD


For me, I think income and time are the deciding factors.

I have an easy job (not stressful), pay is not bad (not that high, not that low), but of course there are still work to do. And work becomes my main responsibility instead of the PhD research. As at now, both of my supervisors find my proposal framework to be acceptable. So, I just need to spend more time writing on the literature review and the methodology at the moment.

I have already decided to resign but I haven't tendered yet. My main aim is to be an academic/researcher and I want to spend more time on my PhD research and to spend more time on writing research papers and to get it publish. If I continue to work, I don't think I have the time to write such papers and the place I'm working doesn't seem to be encouraging research activities. I don't think this is the type of institution that I want to continue working in.

My worry now is that whether I could get the MyBrain scholarship because I'm from the social science field and the chances are lower compared to the science and technology field. The requirement is that you have to resign from your full time job before you are qualified to apply for it.

So, what do you think, guys?

This post has been edited by Blofeld: May 5 2012, 11:35 AM

Yes, I am aware that kakitangan swasta is also eligible for MyBrain but I think I have decided to go fulltime because I want to spend more time on my research.

Cannot do like that.

They require me to have to a letter to certify that I have resigned from the job. That is one of the requirement.

Pretty sad huh.

Once you get the scholarship, you will be bound to a contract and I'm not sure whether they allow you to change the terms or not because a full time student and a part time student will get different benefits from MyBrain.

Part time student will not receive any monthly allowance whereas full time student will receive it.

Yes, there are those research assistant positions available in the university.

Or I can find part time jobs in other private institutions teaching by the hour. That's my back-up plan.

None at all.

I will take the risk to resign and apply it later.

Yes, that's my plan. There's more flexibility in part-time teaching.

I just started, it's my first semester. So, it's a long way to go.

And thanks...

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Added on May 7, 2012, 1:25 pmExperience, I believe I have it already.

What I need more are publishing papers and presenting papers at conferences.

Somehow, based on my conversations with some academics, publications are more important than experience, unless if you're some Bill Gates or Steve Jobs with 30+ years experience.


This post has been edited by Blofeld: May 7 2012, 01:25 PM

I will be resigning soon.

What I find is that I lose out a lot as a part-time student. There are many seminars held in my university and I have missed some of it.

Some of my colleagues are doing it on a part-time basis and I found out the very reason why they are doing it part-time. The reason is because PhD is not a priority to them. They are just doing it for the sake of hoping for a promotion IF they could actually graduate with it. They are very much happier holding on to their positions and career. Not surprisingly, I found out that they are dragging their PhD research for a couple of years already.

For me, I have a deep interest in the research I'm writing, so I'm willing to sacrifice my job to go full-time.

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Added on June 25, 2012, 1:04 pmThanks for the info. It didn't occur to me that one would most likely has to wave goodbye to any post-doc offers because of the 5-year bond.

This post has been edited by Blofeld: Jun 25 2012, 01:04 PM