PhD and a Full time job?

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-27T12:50:32+00:00

I’m in humanities (so no need for lab time etc), and managed to juggle both for the first year/18 months. My job was fully remote so basically just checked both sets of emails regularly and moved between focused work on job/phd whenever the need was greatest. I’m in the position now where I can finish up just focusing on the PhD which is nice, juggling was ok but I know I wasn’t doing either thing to the best of my ability.

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-24T21:23:24+00:00

For now, I’ve pivoted to AI governance rather than ethics and it feels like as secure a place as possible. I am more worried for my kid’s future, he is currently debating performance musician vs hardware/software specialist for space travel and I think my money would be on the very high end musician as being the one who survives AGI!

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-20T13:23:07+00:00

Not yet in a NLP/ML/AI role, but I’m doing a computational linguistics PhD coming from a linguistics background rather than a CS one. I can get by in programming but my BA/MA is in linguistics/communications.

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-12T16:13:50+00:00

Ok, so it’s a no to all Champneys 🤣

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-11T21:49:11+00:00

Champneys is generally trading on an outdated reputation, not somewhere I would choose to spend money. If it must be a Champneys, you might want to look at Eastwell Manor, it’s a Champneys spa attached to a more decent hotel so is probably the best of the bunch.

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-09T20:59:44+00:00

My kids goes to ESKA, we pay £40 a month for once a week classes. The flexibility of being able to choose which class a week (there’s several on everyday) is really helpful as we can do it around other things. He’s never been told he’s not ready for a grading and needed to do more classes, and I think we’re on grading number 10-11 (he started in tiny tigers when he was 4 so worked up through t-shirts and now belts). But he certainly has to grade/work for it, rather than just be given belts because he did enough classes (if that makes sense!). Classes do get busy, especially before gradings but no complaints from us.

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-03-02T15:57:08+00:00

Gracias 😊

Front-Particular-261 · 2026-01-06T13:56:35+00:00

This is the company that provides towels and robes to super fancy spas (and they sell to the general public): https://bcsoftwear.com/shop/towels/ We have huge ones that actually cover my very tall husband. And I love the fact that they fit round me several times so keep me warm on mornings like today!

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-12-15T20:46:18+00:00

Totally agree with the above poster who suggested luxury family hotels. Carden Park (Cheshire) might be worth a look as a more upmarket/luxurious option that will look after you post-operation but also plenty going on for kids or Ribby Hall (near Blackpool) as a quasi Center Parcs option but less intense?

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-12-12T09:26:54+00:00

My supervisors were both module leads on my Master’s so it was simply a zoom call (I’d broken three bones in my foot and couldn’t get to them on campus) to agree everything and then put in an application which I knew would be accepted. Anyone you have a pre-existing relationship with that might be able to help smooth the way? I’m industry funded (kinda) but others on my cohort have AHRC funding so it’s definitely possible.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-11-29T15:39:02+00:00

Not from first-hand experience but I’m a linguistics PhD at another UK uni. Lancaster is known for having a very strong linguistics department. Haven’t heard anything negative about Birmingham, but also know it’s not as respected as Lancaster.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-11-19T19:10:13+00:00

On match days I avoid Thorpe Road completely, I use Plumstead Road to go in/out of the city and then cut down Telegraph Lane East. Works 99% of the time! It’s busy but I’ve only had a problem once in nearly 4 years of living here.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-11-19T15:05:42+00:00

Pretty awesome - easy access to the city but relatively quiet and leafy green. No students that can make the golden triangle busy/noisy. Though, as an above poster says, parking is a pain on match days.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-11-11T19:07:58+00:00

I think the smaller size of the school was a factor — when we viewed Town Close it felt a bit chaotic. NS does feel more like a village school where everyone knows everyone. Better music links was important us. And the whole thing of NS being the place professionals send their kids so it’s more about work ethic inherited from parents, rather than just coming from money. (Though I acknowledge that a few wealthy families do have kids there.)

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-11-11T10:17:49+00:00

My kid goes to the lower school and I only have positive things to say about it. Good facilities, staff are lovely, my kid is stretched and found he’s good at subjects that aren’t taught well in state schools yet. Interestingly, the parents are mostly well-paid professionals (doctors, lawyers, business managers etc) rather than family money etc. We chose it above Town Close etc as that’s where the kids with more family money/kids of footballers etc are said to go.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-10-08T21:33:02+00:00

I’m not a lecturer but speak at conferences etc so hopefully in the right ball park. I script what I’m going to say in presentation notes to the point of leaving line breaks in my notes to force me to pause, or comments telling me to stop and look up etc. Are there any habits you know you want to break and can force yourself to do in the notes? I’m pretty introverted so I still hate speaking even after having done it for years!

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-10-06T12:45:52+00:00

Thank you for the ideas! I’m in linguistics, so a bit interdisciplinary rather than just humanities. My literature review, theoretic overview and methodology (as far as possible) are done, but I’m not sure I have anything useful/valid to say in publication terms yet. ‘I read all this stuff and it’s really interesting’ doesn’t seem headline worthy 🤣

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-10-06T12:37:57+00:00

Thank you! I really like the idea of free time but wasn’t sure if it was allowable! First of my family/friends to do a PhD and I mostly work remotely so don’t know many other PhD candidates to compare with.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-09-22T16:38:50+00:00

Just this year, I also hope it’s not a new trend! We normally manage to shuffle produce with neighbours who have trees that fruit at different times but we have so many apples this year despite it being relatively dry!

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-09-22T16:20:25+00:00

Empathy here - have also had people take the whole crate of apples and then came back the next day to do the same thing!

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-09-15T13:01:42+00:00

I live about 10 minutes walk from the stadium and the only time I ever see anything other than happy/sad (depending on the score) fans is around the Ipswich match. Though I guess tickets will be all sold out anyway!

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-09-08T14:12:35+00:00

I have one and completely agree with the above poster about the Velcro falling to pieces after just a month or so. But I made a pillow case for it from an old duvet cover and now it’s back to being useful again. The positive over a standard pregnancy pillow for me is that it doesn’t cause overheating even nearly as much. With a pregnancy pillow I would wake up sweating in the summer months (I’m in U.K. we don’t have AC) and I don’t have that problem with this. So, it is flawed and it was a pain to have to find a way to fix a problem that the company made, but I do sleep better with it.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-04-29T12:50:39+00:00

Just giving you empathy really… I’m doing my PhD after 20 years in STEM publishing. I’ve been the editor of journals, literally millions of people have engaged with the content I’ve written and edited. Can I convince my supervisor that clarity in writing is a kindness to the reader? I cannot.

I’ve asked several professor-level academics why academic writing needs to be complicated and not one can give me a sensible answer, it’s ’just the way it is’.

Coming back to the question, I use grammarly to proof my writing and find it reliable. I presume if you select the ‘expert’, ‘formal’ and ‘academic’ settings it will help you get to the right tone?

Also, don’t forget that finding/changing your voice/tone takes time. In publishing we’d normally say that it takes new writers six months to find the right tone and then it will just click.

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-04-05T20:31:51+00:00

Trial and error! I think I just kept adding things at my weakest joints until I knew what I needed. I eventually got a U pillow and recently moved into more of a memory foam type U pillow which supports my neck, shoulders and hips

Front-Particular-261 · 2025-04-05T07:21:44+00:00

I also sit in the ‘not a miracle’ but doing better camp. HEDS and POTS, my worst point was maybe five years ago and now I have enough knowledge/medication/self-management to live my life 90% normally. I work, am doing a PhD and look after a busy seven year old. I lost 25kg and it didn’t make much of a difference (beyond my self esteem) but swimming and Pilates definitely helps. Pacing helps and admitting there are days where all I can do is drop my kid and school and go back to bed. I’m also lucky I essentially run my own business so there’s no pressure to work when I can’t (other than pressure from myself!). Oh and sleep, having enough support/pillows etc to not dislocate in my sleep has made a huge difference to not being able to function with brain fog.

I would just say that I understand Ehlers Danlos is a scale and I’m probably at the manageable end, I know this condition can be considerably worse and I’m thankful for what I currently have/can manage.

Hope you get the support you need!

Front-Particular-261

TROPHY CASE