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Any advice on taking up PhD after marriage?

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Hi guys,

I am currently considering my doctoral degree and considering the options available. Will be getting married mid next year and plan to embark on my degree around then, if I do take it up. However, am quite concerned about juggling marriage and studies, what if i start a family, how to cope etc. Does anyone have any advice on that and also suggestions on where to undertake my PhD as I am currently in the finding-out-information phase. Thanks!

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at phd level, most of the other students might be married with families also, so be prepared that your lecturers will not accept too busy with family as an excuse if u're late for assignments. time management is crucial along with a supportive HB & family. where to apply - depends on your location. best to apply to the nearest uni as u will find lack of time to juggle between family, classes & assignments. at phd level u will need to meet up with yr supervisors & access the library. submit yr application to a few uni's & see whichever will accept. in the meantime, be prepared with a research title & proposal.

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PhD ah! I stop my PhD for a while as now busy with wedding preparation, I guess my supervisor must be wondering where am I =D

Not easy! really not easy, once you lost your concentration you nid to drag for 1 more semester and it is kinda hard for you to start up the engine aka mood again and it happens to me now.

So my advice is, you can do the reading now, find the topic and prepare the proposal, that will at least kill 6 mths to a year so by the time you can enroll yourself as a PhD student after your wedding liau =)

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happi : yea thats why wondering if anyone out there has any advice on time management and issues, am in sarawak so the universities options are very limited, am looking at other universities elsewhere as well but one of my concerns is whether I wan to start my marriage life by spending the next 3-5 years away from my familly though

bg : where are you doing your phd currently? ya i know what you mean, but add oil! am sure you can start up the engine again once you settle into your marriage life after your wedding! I am starting to pick up doing reading etc also now but its quite hard cos its been quite a while since my studying days and then I am working full time now also so trying hard to find time to do readings etc and usually quite lazy at the end of the day after working whole day already!

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bbs, honestly there's no time management formula. basically, there's not enough time. just hv to squeeze it in every chance u get. right now i'm in the middle of reading some journal, breastfeed bb & reply yr msg. in between i reply work emails. obviously its not advisable to start yr married life away from yr HB & family. if u're going to reach yr 30's u will also hv to consider having children before biological clock ticks. therefore, target to finish phd within 3-4 yrs (avg timeframe), u also need a steady job if yr research is based on yr current work (that means difficult to change jobs). if u do an overseas phd, finances also need to be considered. every semester need to pay fees. putting phd on hold for 1 sem like BG will alleviate the stress temporarily, but u'll also need to catch up on yr reading. yr final thesis needs literature that it time-relevant, so phd cannot be postponed too long either. it will mean a LOT more of reading to catch up.

in the meantime, BG's advise is good. start selecting yr topic & proposal. to submit phd application u will need a basic research proposal. go thru it 1 step at a time & it won't look so daunting. btw, what field do u plan to do yr phd & what's yr masters backgrd?

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happi,

thanks for your advice, i get what you mean on that theres no time management formula, am just getting a bit discouraged by all the different factors that need to be considered and yes, like what you mentioned, it does seem like a very daunting task right now! Basically maybe because I've only started looking into it and am practically finding out little by little about how to go about doing a phd as honestly before this I've never realised how different the whole process was from my undergrad and masters process! And yep, am considering starting a family within the next couple of years too so it does worry me that it might be hard trying to cope with a first baby and studying at the same time, which would pose even more of a challenge if i do opt to do it overseas, which is why presently am more inclined towards doing it locally. Are you currently studying now as well? Am interested in looking into the field of strategic management/ management consulting, my masters background was in business admin.

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It helps if your PhD work is related to what you are doing now.

For me, my PhD research dissertation was part of my work. Thus, I killed 2 birds with 1 stone. One work, 2 output : work and PhD thesis

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bbs,

I'm doing my PhD at unimas =P local ba, easy to 'access'. ;)

I spent a year for reading + preparing the proposal then join in their project for my PhD research study.

fluene is right, if your PhD work is related to what you are doing, it will be very easy, killed 2 birds with 1 stone, why not?

For my case, it is not so related but due to work 'encouragement' we need to do research, so I think it will be good for me to take up a research so that can convert to PhD work =) So full-time working + part-time PhD research, not easy but have to 'tahan2' it.

Make sure the topic that you chose is in your area and has interest you, otherwise it is hard to motivate yourself to go along the way (at least 3 years, max is 7 years).

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bbs, honestly there's no time management formula. basically, there's not enough time. just hv to squeeze it in every chance u get. right now i'm in the middle of reading some journal, breastfeed bb & reply yr msg. in between i reply work emails. obviously its not advisable to start yr married life away from yr HB & family. if u're going to reach yr 30's u will also hv to consider having children before biological clock ticks. therefore, target to finish phd within 3-4 yrs (avg timeframe), u also need a steady job if yr research is based on yr current work (that means difficult to change jobs). if u do an overseas phd, finances also need to be considered. every semester need to pay fees. putting phd on hold for 1 sem like BG will alleviate the stress temporarily, but u'll also need to catch up on yr reading. yr final thesis needs literature that it time-relevant, so phd cannot be postponed too long either. it will mean a LOT more of reading to catch up.

in the meantime, BG's advise is good. start selecting yr topic & proposal. to submit phd application u will need a basic research proposal. go thru it 1 step at a time & it won't look so daunting. btw, what field do u plan to do yr phd & what's yr masters backgrd?

Happi: i really need some tips from you. Questions: do you have a maid, if not how do you cope?

Do you cook dinners? How about house cleaning? Who takes of kids when u r away at work?

TQ

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naviakim, no maid. now changed to WAHM - good company allows flexi working.

can only cope coz HB very supportive - helps with cooking, groceries, laundry. all meals are usually home-cooked.

when i hv to go for meetings, i will send to my mom to bbsit but if not available, then HB will bbsit.

hsecleaning shared, whoever is available will do some, mainly HB lately.

work on phd while breastfeeding, so definitely using nursing pillow.

bbs, u can write a proposal, but at the end of the day yr supervisor might ask u to change/adjust the title.

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What a intersting topic if didnt read thread by thread never know so many married women/ mother out there pursuing their PhD, i would like to ask how u all PhD studies now? Can cope it?

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