DennisM

I hope I'm not on the wrong thread, but this is my first time posting so bear with me...I am currently completing a Masters of Education and I have always been interested in pursuing a PhD. I have also been encouraged to do so by professors in my program, so I don't believe I am suffering from delusions of academic greatness (at least not entirely). My problem is I am in my late-thirties (closer to forty), am married, and have a child. My wife works professionally and about 70% of our living expenses could be covered by her salary if she was able to land work in the city where I am accepted to study. My main question is this: When I look at the Webpages for PhD programs I see that the number of required courses are actually quite few, does this leave time to work? I am also curious about when, or if, I would be able to start teaching sessionally at the university I am studying at? Do I have to be an official PhD Candidate? Lastly, and this relates more to the application itself, how specific does my research topic need to be when submitting my Letter of Interest? I am working on my thesis for my current program and my question has evolved extensively since I began. Thanks for the help.