Employment Restrictions - part time jobs?

[feisty]

I've been accepted to a PhD program with a five-year fellowship and tuition waiver. The conditions include an "employment restriction" that states "students may work no more than an average of 25%-time (that is, 25% of each term or 50% for one term only)..."

I've been working a full time job for the past year, and things are going well. A superior (not a supervisor, they don't know yet) has indicated that it might be possible for me to telecommute part time if/when I leave for grad school on the other side of country.

I understand the school wants to limit my employment, but I don't totally understand this "25%" business.

Would as little as 10-15 hours a week for a non-university employer violate this? Is it enforced? Has anyone else had experience working part time outside of their fellowship?

[frankdux]

one summer i was given a TA position and told something similar. i worked an outside job anyways. i never said anything. no one found out. not sure how they would anyways.

[engguy]

Well, you have to think about why they have these rules, which is that they expect you'll be working so hard that outside employment will be a serious impediment to your studies -- which you very much will, and it very much might. It's not so much that someone will find out, but it may raise eyebrows if and when you're unable to attend some sort of talk or event that everyone's "expected" to go to. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be the first or last time a PhD student held down an outside job. If you keep very organized and are willing to sacrifice some of your social life, then perhaps you can keep the impact on your grad studies to a minimum.

[feisty]

Well, you have to think about why they have these rules, which is that they expect you'll be working so hard that outside employment will be a serious impediment to your studies -- which you very much will, and it very much might. It's not so much that someone will find out, but it may raise eyebrows if and when you're unable to attend some sort of talk or event that everyone's "expected" to go to. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be the first or last time a PhD student held down an outside job. If you keep very organized and are willing to sacrifice some of your social life, then perhaps you can keep the impact on your grad studies to a minimum.

That's what I figured.

My work now is case-based. So part-time it would be paid-by-the-case, from home, and on my own schedule. I probably could also stop and start as I please.

It would be easy to keep it a secret if I had to (unassuming grad student by day, due diligence and risk mitigation by night??). Especially since I would be in school in California, and the company is in New York. I'm just worried that some Omnipotent Someone will notice the extra income on my tax returns and punish me for it.

[twocosmicfish]

If you are paid by the case and not by the hour it would be very hard for them to prove a violation of the contract.

I am in a similar boat - my employer is funding my study, but the two programs that have contacted me have been wary of my plans to telecommute 20hrs/wk while in school (in lieu of RA/TA).

Generally, if you do have an outside job they will not know it unless you tell them, and will not care unless you fall behind. And they have no access to your other payroll info - that is private and completely seperate.

[feisty]

I emailed my future advisors and just asked them straight out.

My employment restriction only refers to employment by the University. As long as it's not hindering your performance, they don't seem to know or care what other employment you have.

It's a UC. I don't know if they're all the same.

[Rutabaga]

I just got one that said no more than 20 hours including your 20 hours of work for your RA/TA, and no more than 25 hours including the same if you work part time on campus. So basically you can work 5 hours for some office on campus and that's it. I don't know what they have to be so confusing in the phrasing of these things!

[fortiesgirl]

What about adjunct teaching 3 hours a week? I have taught the same course for over two years now, so no prep work is involved, other than light grading and light prep. I am signed up to teach for the next semester. I haven't accepted any offers yet, but I have a feeling that a "non-employment" stipulation may be included. Do you think I should mention this if it comes up?

[Jcar]

I did an MA with a full fellowship that stipulated no outside employment.

I liked my job, though, so I kept working (I worked part time when doing classes and then went back to full time during the summer and when writing my thesis).

I was scared too that they would find out, but no one ever asked and I never told anyone. Unless they specifically ask for your tax returns (and there's no reason any school would, I don't think), you'll be fine. No one will know if you don't mention it.

[tinyspark]

In my MA program, I had a fellowship and TA work, so I wasn't supposed to work any more than 24 hours a week total, but I also had a part-time job off-campus that I really enjoyed. When I asked my supervisor and the department's administrators whether this would affect my funding, they said (with a *wink wink*) "We don't know anything about that." Fortunately, my department understands that people need to eat.

[flit]

I taught 3 sections of relational database for another school altogether while doing my MA... another case of I asked and they said "what I don't know doesn't hurt anybody"

haven't sorted whether I can manage it scheduling wise during my Phd ...but if I CAN pull it off, I most certainly will.

For me it is less about the $$ and more about keeping my foot in the door ... am hoping to go back there once I'm done...so doesn't make sense to give up my courses unless I absolutely have to.

[teaganc]

I understand the school wants to limit my employment, but I don't totally understand this "25%" business.

Generally,

Full time = 100% = 40 hours/week.

So 50% = 20 hours and 25% = 10 hours.

I suspect that if you go slightly over 25% some weeks, it will not be a big deal, and obviously some people just ignore those restrictions all together.