PhD and Internship

[geographyrocks]

I'm struggling on whether holding an internship of 16 hours/week plus working on my dissertation is doable.  And I figured all of you lovely people would have the best advice since you're going through it or may have been in the same situation as I.

This isn't about money.  I'm fully funded.  However, the networking experience and getting my foot in the door at a federal agency is priceless.  I would have to work at least 16 hours per week.  I am also required to take 9 credit hours to qualify as a full-time student for my fellowship.  AND my comps will be this Fall.  Am I crazy?  Should I even attempt this?  If I don't get the position, this question is moot.  But if I do get the position, should I even take it?  If I don't take it, will this opportunity be lost?

PS: There is no problem with having an internship with the fellowship.  It is simply "advised against".  When I applied for the position, I was told that I could work as little as 4 hours a week.  That turned out to not be true. 

 

[GeoDUDE!]

Can all 9 of these credits be research credits? If so, then I think its easily doable.  Another thing you might do is ask to do an independent study that incorporates the work you are doing for the internship.

 

For example, there was a research project that I wanted to work on during my masters that was separate from my thesis, so I proposed me writing the model as a independent study. I wrote all I would learn from it, wrote a paper, and submitted it to my advisor for credit. Perhaps there is something you can do like that with this internship?

 

Another thing is, it depends on how long will you be doing it. If its just for 1 semester, working 60 hours a week is fine. But for longer than that, it might start to be a bit heavy. 

 

It also depends on how you work in classes. Say 9 credits is 3 classes. I only spend 2 hours a week per class, no matter what it is, and am perfectly happy getting a B in class. So 9 credits is only 6 hours a week, if you think 6 hours + 16 hours gives you 18 hours a week for dissertation work if you want to keep it at 40 hours. I think around 20 hours a week of work on dissertation is enough for someone who wants to graduate in 4-5 years as long as you are a reasonably productive researcher.

 

Finally, have a discussion with your advisor. He/She wants what is best for your career (hopefully). If this internship is really good (and it sounds like it is) he will help you find a way to make it work. When you really want something, you can move mountains. You just need good justification to do so.  

[rising_star]

It definitely depends on what you're doing in those 9 hours. I have a friend that had a campus job this spring while also writing their dissertation and doing an internship with a federal agency. It was a bit nuts but xe survived it and the dissertation didn't get sacrificed in the process. The real key will be having terrific time management skills since you'll have a lot on your plate. If that includes 1-2 graduate seminars, then you may be taking on too much, which could mean having trouble with your comps.

[juilletmercredi]

I think so! I worked 10 hours a week while writing my dissertation, and I felt like I had plenty of time - I certainly could've worked 5-6 more hours a week and balanced it. I agree that it also depends on the 9 hours - if those can just be research credit, then that would be ideal. I will say, though, that I had already completed all of the other requirements for my PhD - including comps - and didn't have to be registered for any credits or anything (we had a special registration status for dissertating doctoral students called matriculation and facilities. Super cheap, no credits.)

 

Especially if you are contemplating a non-academic career, I think the internship experience is priceless - definitely worth a little extra stress/panic during the dissertation phase.

[eeee1923]

 

Especially if you are contemplating a non-academic career, I think the internship experience is priceless - definitely worth a little extra stress/panic during the dissertation phase.

 

This is good to hear since I was considering doing this once I finish up my required coursework and get into the groove of my research. 

[ss2player]

This is good to hear since I was considering doing this once I finish up my required coursework and get into the groove of my research. 

 

Same, I plan to look into tech transfer, patent law, or science writing internships as well as traditional "industry" ones. I mentioned this to my PI (as I was requesting to join her lab) and she'd be fine with it, even encourages it! 

 

Likely won't be til after my quals next year though, I want to get those and classwork out of the way so I'll have enough time. Luckily I don't have to TA in my program.

[geographyrocks]

The biggest problem is that I haven't passed comps yet.  If I had that behind me, I wouldn't even question the time commitment.  Unfortunately, I have two graduate seminars and an independent study that focuses on the analysis needed for one of my proposals (I have to write two separate proposals and defend them as part of my comps).  So all three classes will require work in addition to doing the research and writing.  My advisor finally got back to me and suggested that I would probably regret taking on so much during my comps.  We only get one chance to pass.  And I think I agree.  I'm still bummed about it though!