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Planning to take up my 2nd PhD in NZ

Hello guys, glad to be part of this forum. I hold master degree in public health and Doctor in public health, planning to pursue another Doctorate degree or postdoc in New Zealand. Possibly AUT. Please what should i be my concern since its a new place for me and my partner and we perhaps hoping to secure a good job while studying. I will like to get more info about the job employment or part time job opportunities for doctorate students in NZ and what are possible challenges me and my partner might face especially living in NZ. Thanks for responding.
Second PhD? You should be doing a postdoc, not a PhD, or if you're changing to a different field completely then a master's would be more appropriate when studying under the European style PhD system also used in NZ.

While doing a PhD there is no way that you will have time for a part-time job, though it's likely you will get a stipend which will cover your living costs. Your partner will however be able to work full time as they get an open work permit.

I would be aware that the academic requirements for a doctoral scholarship at Aus/NZ universities are extremely high, an expectation of a master's degree grade of a good first class or GPA of 3.8 or 3.9 isn't uncommon.
Reply 2
According to what I read, that PhD students have unlimited working hours same as their partner. However, I appreciate your highlights.

Regards
Original post by Nwauneneme
According to what I read, that PhD students have unlimited working hours same as their partner. However, I appreciate your highlights.

Regards


It's not so much a question of legality as it is practicality. As I imagine you are aware already, a PhD is supposed to be treated as full time job. Adding a part time job onto that will not leave much time for important things like sleeping or recreation or family time.

Personally, I work less than 'standard' 40 hours per week and do a few hours here and there of additional work, but I wouldn't want to hold down a 'proper' job in addition to my doctorate.

I can't comment on NZ specifically, though. I wouldn't mind doing a postdoc there if the opportunity arises as it seems like a great place to live and work. At least as far as my friends who are from NZ suggest.
Reply 4
Original post by Manitude
It's not so much a question of legality as it is practicality. As I imagine you are aware already, a PhD is supposed to be treated as full time job. Adding a part time job onto that will not leave much time for important things like sleeping or recreation or family time.

Personally, I work less than 'standard' 40 hours per week and do a few hours here and there of additional work, but I wouldn't want to hold down a 'proper' job in addition to my doctorate.

I can't comment on NZ specifically, though. I wouldn't mind doing a postdoc there if the opportunity arises as it seems like a great place to live and work. At least as far as my friends who are from NZ suggest.


Fully agree.
Reply 5
Things are changed a little if you do it part-time, however.
Original post by Nwauneneme
According to what I read, that PhD students have unlimited working hours same as their partner. However, I appreciate your highlights.

Regards


Like Manitude said, not a question of legality as it is practicality.

You will often be working 40+ hours per week on your PhD, potentially going up to 60 sometimes, and you won't be able to plan for such. If you add in a part time job then it will eat into the time you can give when your PhD gets busy. You also won't make a whole lot of money over the year, perhaps NZ$4500-5000, which likely isn't worth the extra work and stress when you've already got your stipend and your partner's income behind you.

More importantly it's a question of whether it will be acceptable within your research group. Your adviser/supervisor may not want you to, so doing so will strain your relationship especially if you start being unable to keep up. They could even straight up disallow you from working.

As an international student you usually can't do a PhD part time in NZ, and it's generally not advised to study a PhD part time anyway as part timers have much lower rates of completion. Going part time may also affect your funding.
Original post by Helloworld_95
Like Manitude said, not a question of legality as it is practicality.

You will often be working 40+ hours per week on your PhD, potentially going up to 60 sometimes, and you won't be able to plan for such. If you add in a part time job then it will eat into the time you can give when your PhD gets busy. You also won't make a whole lot of money over the year, perhaps NZ$4500-5000, which likely isn't worth the extra work and stress when you've already got your stipend and your partner's income behind you.

More importantly it's a question of whether it will be acceptable within your research group. Your adviser/supervisor may not want you to, so doing so will strain your relationship especially if you start being unable to keep up. They could even straight up disallow you from working.

As an international student you usually can't do a PhD part time in NZ, and it's generally not advised to study a PhD part time anyway as part timers have much lower rates of completion. Going part time may also affect your funding.


how did u acquire such knowledge if only 22
Original post by Dominoes
how did u acquire such knowledge if only 22


Started doing research placements a year ago and have been quite integrated into the research group ever since so I know how PhDs work as I've done the same hours and work by their side.

I've also been applying for PhDs outside of the UK too so have gained a bit of an encyclopedic knowledge of how they work in those other countries, pros and cons, etc.
Reply 9
Help me understand this clearly. Are you guys trying to say that, taking up PhD in NZ is automatically considered employment in the school ? If that is the case, how does that work, will there be a basic salary or just allowance outside the scholarship funds(if under scholarship). What if am not under any scholarships? Will I still be allowed to secure a job to support my education and family with my previous degree and experience?
I am considering post doc as well but need to get this pathway figured out first.







QUOTE=Helloworld_95;76222992]Like


Manitude said, not a question of legality as it is practicality.

You will often be working 40+ hours per week on your PhD, potentially going up to 60 sometimes, and you won't be able to plan for such. If you add in a part time job then it will eat into the time you can give when your PhD gets busy. You also won't make a whole lot of money over the year, perhaps NZ$4500-5000, which likely isn't worth the extra work and stress when you've already got your stipend and your partner's income behind you.

More importantly it's a question of whether it will be acceptable within your research group. Your adviser/supervisor may not want you to, so doing so will strain your relationship especially if you start being unable to keep up. They could even straight up disallow you from working.

As an international student you usually can't do a PhD part time in NZ, and it's generally not advised to study a PhD part time anyway as part timers have much lower rates of completion. Going part time may also affect your funding.
Original post by Nwauneneme
Help me understand this clearly. Are you guys trying to say that, taking up PhD in NZ is automatically considered employment in the school ? If that is the case, how does that work, will there be a basic salary or just allowance outside the scholarship funds(if under scholarship). What if am not under any scholarships? Will I still be allowed to secure a job to support my education and family with my previous degree and experience?
I am considering post doc as well but need to get this pathway figured out first.


No, it is not considered employment, however having done a PhD already you should know that it is effectively a full time job and your adviser/supervisor will treat you as such (although usually with much more flexible hours). Whether you will be able to get employment in a teaching assistant or research assistant position which may pay above your stipend will depend on if there are any suitable positions available and whether your supervisor thinks you have the time and motivation to do them.

If you're not under scholarship then your supervisor may be more lenient with you taking a part time job on the side, but again depends on the supervisor and your performance. In general I would assume that you will be strongly advised not to get a job during the first semester, and so will need to live off your stipend and savings for this amount of time at least. A part time job also wouldn't be enough to support you, let alone your family unless you already had quite a lot of savings available. You really just need to let your partner be the breadwinner during your PhD.

I don't think your previous degree and experience will make much difference, the expectations in one PhD program can vary wildly from the next, so best case scenario they will likely treat you the same as a fresh PhD student. More likely they will be harsher because they will think you should've learned XYZ lessons from your previous doctorate.
Reply 11
Awesome. I totally understand it now. I appreciate the enlightenment. I really need to reevaluate my options again. The journey is not easy at all.

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