Phd and work?

[Yes2014]

Hi I think I know the answer to this! Am full time at work, single mum and no savings. Did an am and got a distinction, and am being encouraged to continue the research into a phd BUT the funding, if I got it, would be too little to live on- don't think I could get any extra money. Also, am old.
Am really excited about the possible research, would LOVE to do it- but 3 years on nothing and no career afterwards makes it just a pipe dream. It's impossible isn't it.. Couldn't do it and work f/t.
Has anyone done it?
Or are there ways of making more money?
Would be throwing away a solid career for what?

I only see my supervisors once a semester, Mad. I just take a day of annual leave. To be fair, they are also fairly responsive when I send drafts by email, and in some ways I find these responses more helpful than the face-to-face discussion.

I did take part in a 2-week summer school in research methods a while back, which helped a lot.

I feel you should go ahead and do it. Work hard with comitment and you wilt get somewhere. The sooned the better. I know students who did a PhD while they had demanding full time jobs in companies. I hold a PhD. It did help me a lot. It had been very hard word. It is harder to get publications approved in peer journals because you must be uptodate and read a lot, but this doable. If you do a PhD You have an advantage not only in academia but elsewhere in other jobs and you can negotiate abit more money.

Well, have a meeting tomorrow to talk it through so fingers crossed for me!!

Good luck OP! I've now been told my institution basically won't accept someone working ft, so hope your meeting goes better than that. Back to the drawing board for me...

Its different for Arts/Humanities/Soc Sci subjects. No 'classes' or anything else I HAVE to be there for besides supervision meetings. But it still demands organisation and juggling. I was going in to hear a visiting lecturer Monday morning followed by a training session on some new software. Had to miss both of them as kid sick. Since lecturer might well be my external examiner, its infuriating I had to miss that but that is life with kids. Tolerant/supportive partner coped whilst I was overseas (archive research) for 2 months last year. Kids hated that bit. Sometimes I do feel pulled in too many directions at once, but I don't regret climbing this particular mountain, I'm going to miss it all when I'm finished.

I second MagratGarlik's warning! I think that it is very challenging to manage kids and a PhD, and even harder to find a supervisor who would be interested in funding a student who wanted to try!

Well, warnings duly heeded and all responses very gratefully received- application is now IN! Let's wait and see and fingers crossed for this