Evaluation of my future funding situation - PhD in MechE

[fernandes]

Hey guys, 

I just received an offer letter from a prestigious University in Houston and along with the letter, I was told I will be receiving a tuition waiver, health insurance aid (70% will be covered), and a stipend for 9 months per year during five years. I would be making 18k per year working 10 hours per week. After looking up PhD Stipends for other programs or for other Universities but in a similar program, I came to the conclusion that it might not be enough. I know I could try to find cheap housing and live a frugal life for five years, but would it be worth the time? I would be grateful to hear any suggestions.

I also have been thinking that I could find part-time/freelance jobs and make, at least, +500 dollars per month. Would you have any suggestions on what kind of job I should look for? And most importantly, should I look for a freelance job or not?

Thank you for helping! Any advice is truly appreciated.

[rising_star]

Not all programs let you have outside employment so that's something you'll need to look into. You might also see if the school would let you work an additional 5-10 hours per week on campus, which would net you more money. Whether or not it's worth living frugally for five years is something only you can decide, imo.

[TakeruK]

In addition, your location says you are from Brazil. If you are not a US citizen or permanent residence, then you will be an international student on F-1 or J-1 status. In order to legally stay on these statuses, as international students, we are severely limited in the amount of work we can do. So, even if the program allows us to work a part-time or freelance job, you have to make sure that your side jobs are allowed by your international student status.

You should definitely check with your school's international office to make sure you are following the regulations of your status. Just for reference though, the standard maximum on employment as an international student is 20 hours per week during the school year and no limit during school breaks. However, this is only for on-campus work (e.g. TA, RA, work-study like positions). We are not generally allowed to work off-campus and in fact, in order to qualify for F-1 or J-1 status, we must prove that we do not need this extra income. 

There are some exceptions---you can do CPT (as F-1) or OPT (as F-1) or AT (as J-1) in order to work off campus in a job related to your field of study (e.g. an internship). However, OPT and AT are often used for postdoc positions and working during your degree program will reduce the amount of time you're eligible to be on OPT/AT for postdocs. 

There is also another exception for working off campus when the work is not related to your field of study while on F-1 or J-1. That is if an unexpected financial burden comes up and you need the extra money to continue your studies. For example, if you suddenly have large medical bills that cannot be paid for, then you can apply for special permission to work off-campus part-time or freelance. 

These are just the general rules, for specific cases you should always talk to your school's international office. One question that comes up regularly now is internet income. If you operate a website that earns revenue, does that count as employment? I have no idea. When we asked this during orientation, the answer was that it's very complicated and those in this situation should talk one-on-one with the International student office and/or lawyers.

Anyways, all that was just to say that you should not count on being able to work part-time/freelance to earn extra money if you are going to be an international student.

Finally, you say that this amount is your 9 month stipend. In STEM fields, we are often funded for the full year. Sometimes, our offer letter states $X for a 12 month stipend, but sometimes, when it says $X for a 9 month stipend, then it means summer funding is not yet included. However, usually the opportunity for summer funding is mentioned. For example, at one school, my offer was $18k for 9 month stipend (TA) and they said that RAs are available in the summer, valued at $9k for 3 months. When I asked further, it basically means RAs are available for pretty much every grad student who wants one, but you still technically have to apply for and compete for them separately. Sometimes they don't promise it in the offer because it's up to each Prof. to individually hire RAs, not the department. Therefore, in your case, if the offer letter mentions a 9 month stipend but does not say anything about summer funding, it is a good idea to contact the department and ask if summer funding is available and/or if it's separate.

[fernandes]

First of all, thank you @rising_star and @TakeruK for the replies.

Thank you for explaining things in such detailed way. It's really important to me to receive advice on this topic from current PhD students. 

I will definitely contact the department and ask about the summer period. It does not make sense not to get paid (at all) during the summer.

Anyways, thank you so much for all the responses!