Solo Session: PhD Iceberg Explained: The Psychology of Funded and Self-Funded in PhD

Students and Graduates!

This new session of the PhD Iceberg Series explores four points about PhD students with research funding and self-funding their research. Precisely, it explores the psychology and mindset of a funded and self-funded PhD!

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Cited sources:

• Bloch, C., Graversen, E. K., & Pedersen, H. S. (2014). Competitive research grants and their impact on career performance. Minerva, 52(1), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-014-9247-0
• Mogaji, E., Adamu, N., & Nguyen, N. P. (2021). Stakeholders shaping experiences of self-funded international PhD students in UK business schools. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(3), 100543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2021.100543
• Li, H., & Horta, H. (2023). Exploring the identity development of PhD graduates transitioning to non‐researcher roles. Higher Education Quarterly, 78(2), 421–435. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12452
• Kapur, R. (2023). Self-Funded Learning: Facilitating in achievement of Educational Goals. The Journal of Social Sciences Studies and Research, 3(04), Page: 166–172. Retrieved from

Students and Graduates!

This is a mid-roll from my late-night talk with Ilana Horwitz, PhD, about her book The Entrepreneurial Scholar. A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond. Use the code IMH20 when buying her book at Princeton Univ Press

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Students and graduates,

Have a break from this session by hearing a late-night talk I had with Michael Gerharz, PhD, about the impact of communication in your PhD and in public.

Thank you all for tuning in, it has been a pleasure!

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Chapters

• 3:37 Funding Considerations in PhD Programs
• 11:56 Navigating Funding for PhD Programs
• 30:08 Funding Impact on PhD Research
• 43:44 Self-Funded vs. Funded PhDs

Transcript

Speaker 1: 3:37

Hello students and graduates. Hello students and graduates, welcome to PhD Lunch, the podcast of late-night talks in which PhDs have a drink and talk about their research topics. We are a few weeks from the official start of the academic year of 2024-2025, with new undergraduates, masters and PhD students. For those who are starting their first year, welcome to the PhD universe and be prepared for the challenges you'll have ahead, as the PhD is a long road to run. However, make sure to have time for yourself to clear your mind when you're not doing research, as it helps to increase your well-being and PhD productivity. All PhDs pass through this phase, from the first to the final year, and to all of you PhD newcomers, I wish you success Moving on. I hope that you had a great summer holiday, whether you have spent it while working at your part-time jobs or placements, networking with people within your study fields and traveling with your family and friends.

Speaker 1: 4:47

My summer wasn't that much different from the past ones I spent in the UK. I spent one week in Oxford conducting field research for my dissertation, progressing with my research and written communication to submit several chapter drafts to my supervisor and have feedback in return. Working at Nando's, networking with like-minded people and creating content for, as well as changing the logo of, phd Lounge. This was my summer and will continue as such, but throughout the new academic year, with more and new experiences coming soon, where I speak about a particular detail that concerns many students who want to study for a PhD and whether or not they ought to apply for it. The question here is will it have any impact on myself during and after my PhD? So grab your seats, have a drink and let's introduce the following talk the Psychology of Funded and Self and self-funded in PhD. I thought I'd start off our late night talk with a quick story.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Two students named Hannah and Heinrich walk into a pub, have a couple of lager pints and start chatting about their ambition to do a PhD and become doctors of philosophy in the future. Wherever university they end up going in the future. Wherever university they end up going, hannah and Heinrich want to research their topics in psychology and sports science respectively. While they're drinking their pints, they start thinking about whether they should apply for funding or self-fund their PhDs. Heinrich isn't sure if he'll apply for a funded PhD or become self-funded and work part-time while researching his PhD topic. Hannah, on the other hand, has already decided that she'll only do a PhD as long as she gets funding. While they're chatting about these options, heinrich asks Hannah the following what are the advantages of being a funded PhD student? Hannah replies After doing some research about funded PhDs, I found that if I get accepted into a funded PhD, the funding will help me to cover my tuition fees, rent bills, travel for conferences, buying specific books and volumes, conducting field research trips and investing in learning a new language.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Heinrich says with an admiring tone wait, languages? Hannah replied absolutely, languages too. Heinrich, impressed, says it's great that funding can help you learn a new language. And which language are you planning to learn? Hannah replies Absolutely, I'd love to learn a new language, which is a requirement when I start my PhD. It will be useful for my research travels, for my future PhD in psychology and to meet new friends as well. I want to learn Japanese and I'm using innovative language to do so, which I am delighted to present to you as the sponsor of this late-night session.

Speaker 1: 8:46

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Speaker 1: 10:34

So after Heinrich being keen to hear more about how Hannah wants to use her PhD funding for her goals, he resumed the conversation again with another question. But are there some disadvantages to getting funded and the limit on how much you can spend on. Hannah says I agree that the funding is limited and can be useful for covering expenses, but PhDs who are funded must have an economic mindset about spending. Hannah adds that it's about managing your finances wisely and have some extra cash that can help, and also that your parents have your back and can help you as well if needed. Hannah finally says to Heinrich I wouldn't see myself doing a PhD without research funds because I don't want to spend too long on it while working elsewhere and earning minimum wage to cover my expenses. Heinrich, out of curiosity, asks Hannah is it possible to be financially stable during your PhD as a funded student, and would the amount you get depend on the type of research you're doing and how competitive it is? Heinrich says the following ultimately it depends on my personal decisions, but I want to be clear that I won't do a PhD without funding.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Heinrich accepts Hannah's valid point of view and Hannah asks the following to Heinrich why are you unsure about applying for funding or becoming self-funded? Are there any advantages of being self-funded? What about having the chance to go to conferences using the research grant provided by any university that can help you to network with people in sports science, cover accommodation costs and buy resources that you probably couldn't afford with a part-time job wage? Or will you get a student loan and end up in debt that you won't probably pay off? Heinrich says to Hannah I'm still on the fence about taking funding or becoming self-funded. I've spoken with people who were self-funded during their PhDs. They said that they were fine in working a part-time job and made an effort to travel for research conferences and research field trips by using their own money, despite the struggles and limitations that a funded PhD student didn't have. To some extent, einrich gives a thumbs up to Hannah. You have the right to apply for a funded PhD and you should definitely go for it. Hannah, if that's your call, I hope that you'll be successful throughout your funded PhD and have a great experience. Hannah tells Heinrich that whatever he decides, she'll be there for him.

Speaker 1: 13:26

Hannah and Heinrich leave the pub after enjoying their conversation in their pint. Each About to leave the pub, they reflect on the day's event. What's the difference between a PhD that's funded and one that's self-funded? The question hasn't been answered yet, and so we're going to dive in throughout this late-night talk. Opinions over becoming funded or self-funded are doable and there's no right or wrong. The details I'm going to speak with you about this topic can be applied to both, and it regards the psychology and mindset behind being funded and self-funded when you start your PhD. Throughout this late night talk, I'll be discussing four characteristics two for PhDs with research grants and two for self-funded PhDs.

Speaker 1: 14:25

Funded PhDs Just want to let you know that this is a story I created and it is based on real life conversations I had with my PhD peers, who are funded and self-funded respectively, about research grants throughout the doctorate degree. Many of them whom I talked with have a student loan, while others applied for a funded PhD based on their own reasoning. The main thing that determines whether you're funded or self-funding your PhD is your financial mindset. How you manage your funds says who you are as a PhD candidate. You are as a PhD candidate In the PhD universe. Your money is mostly going to be spent primarily on your tuition, accommodation bills, food, personal belongings and PhD resources.

Speaker 1: 19:33

As funded and self-funded PhDs, we are tax-exempt from paying any taxes because the PhD degree is treated as a full-time job per se and your funds are channeled towards your tuition and you are tax-free, regardless if you work at a part-time job as a side hustle. Side note here tax exemption is standard in the UK, as the PhD is considered a degree just like an undergraduate and a master's. If you're working and you're funded or self-funded, you'll be exempt from specific taxes, including council tax. If you're undertaking your PhD full-time, you won't pay council tax, whereas a part-time PhD pays council tax, since a part-time PhD in the UK is around six to seven years. Nonetheless, there's a solution to apply for a discount and the people working at the civic council decide if you'll be eligible for a discount if you study a PhD part-time.

Speaker 1: 20:36

All these details mentioned above are significant to keep in mind when you're pursuing a PhD. Depending on your circumstances, you might spend less or more money at different points in the journey. If there's an issue with your PhD and your supervisor asks you to conduct more research and present the results, you'll need to use money from your funding. There are grants in STEM and Arts and Humanities where you have to invest in equipment, create projects, print business cards or travel to attend or speak at conferences to network with your peers, academic scholars and industry leaders. These situations cost plenty of money, so it's important to be prepared to invest in them. This will help you succeed throughout your PhD and in your future.

Speaker 1: 21:29

I'll give you an example from my own experience. I was accepted to present papers at the Classical Association Conference at Warwick University and the University of Liverpool back in March and April respectively. I had to invest a huge sum of money without applying for a small bursary scheme that the Department of Culture and Communication at Swansea University offers to its students annually. On the plus side, the money I earned from my current part-time job at Nandos and my teaching placement at the Berlin Club were really helpful for going to those places and presenting my papers successfully, as well as expanding my network. Everything is good, but for a price, I must say. So let's first talk about the importance and psychology behind getting a funded PhD. We'll come back to the self-funded PhD later on. For this first part, I'd like to share with you two points I consider important, leaving the other two for those who are self-funded PhDs for the second part of this late night session.

Speaker 1: 22:36

One of the first things you notice when you get accepted onto a PhD program and get funding is that it gives you a sense of validation. It's important to make the contrast that a PhD student who gets funding to do research it doesn't mean that they are entitled to it. Instead, it's about the feeling of being accepted into a funded PhD program and what you can contribute to academic research. This will affect the PhD candidate and the university where the PhD student is getting the research grant, including how the funded research will impact the worldwide population. An article by Bloch, graverson and Pedersen looks at how research grants can have a big impact on PhD students, research and future careers. The validity of having research funding appears to give a motivation injection over PhD candidates to produce top-quality research and meet deadline. In this context, validation is about showing that you're ready for PhD-level research and why you should get funding by presenting to your supervisors your research skills, which you've developed during your BA and MA or even throughout your professional experience outside the university ie a professional placement and which you must apply in your PhD if you want to have funding.

Speaker 1: 24:01

Getting a PhD research grant is a great feeling, as it's like being acknowledged for all your hard work through a gift given by your supervisors and the business that lends the money to develop your research. It also means you can network with lots of different people working on similar research topics as yours, while you're investing the grant and funds yours, while you're investing the granted funds. In a way, getting a research grant for your PhD is like trying to get into a VIP group of people who are influential and can decide whether or not a student applying for a doctoral research grant is a good fit. Once you're in the VIP community, you'll have the chance to expand your network, find jobs, get more funding to take part in or run conferences, work on journal articles, travel to different countries to share your research and get straight into a postdoc. So receiving a research fund will affect how well you do research and then later on when you're looking for a job.

Speaker 1: 25:06

But how does validation affect the working performance and the behavior of PhDs when they receive funding? This starts with PhD applicants seeking for doctoral funding projects and starting to apply while entering in conversations with the supervisors and possibly the directors of these research grants right away. Doctoral grants are highly competitive and it can take a while to get funding to start a PhD project. Research grants are usually announced well before the start of the academic year. According to findthephdcom, it's advisable to apply during winter or early spring, as the doctoral funds usually come from external businesses that have partnerships with universities to run the doctoral programs, and there is a deadline so that potential PhD candidates can have time to make a successful application.

Speaker 1: 26:03

The announcement of PhD grants is a structured process that considers your proposal on a topic that has already been approved by the department or your own original topic that you will research throughout your PhD. It also takes time to convince your supervisors and the funding agencies why you should be awarded with a research grant funding agencies why you should be awarded with a research grant. You'll probably have to have quite a few discussions with your supervisors and probably the company who grants you the funding when you're applying for a funded PhD project. Getting a research grant is all about proving that your research proposal and the research itself are valid. You'll be working with a team of experts and you might also be working with other PhDs who have secured the doctoral bursary as well. And finally, it looks at how your current research builds on previous research and what impact it will have in the future, such as your networking, your publications, references and the dissertation as a whole. When you apply for a PhD degree with a studentship, you will have these details that the supervisors and whoever is funding your research will want to see if you can demonstrate the right skills to engage and produce research, as well as preparing yourself for career advancement, whether in academia or industry, after you complete your PhD In European universities.

Speaker 1: 27:31

For example, phd grants overall are formally tied to a formal employment offer where PhD students, supervisors and the funding agencies agree to provide the necessary funding that comprises a full-time position, agree to provide the necessary funding that comprises a full-time position. These processes are daunting because they are so well detailed and are included in the application, which tests your state of mind and emotional resilience if you want to go for a PhD and face these hardships. Applying for funded PhDs can bring up the whole range of emotions, from anxiety and nervousness to enthusiasm. These feelings can affect your willingness to pursue the PhD, especially once you're introduced to the first year and beyond. It's also worth noting that the validity of a PhD grant from any funding company can differ depending on the research field and type of funding mechanism, such as fellowships and teaching assistantships.

Speaker 1: 28:33

In the field of arts and humanities, funding isn't guaranteed when forwarding your research proposal. If you want to apply for funding, you'll probably have to submit a separate proposal, and it depends on which company is connected to the university you're applying to and whether they are able to fund your research, tuition fees and living costs. Your supervisor can help you fill out a separate application form, and the reasons you give and your contribution throughout your PhD will impact whether any funding agencies gives you money for your research. The amount you've granted, which can be either a lower or a fair amount of money that can cover your expenses, depends on where you are studying your PhD. In the UK, for example, ukri, a non-departmental public body of the UK government, is responsible for opening applications for funding in the field of arts and humanities. However, these funding schemes are competitive, and so PhDs in these fields seek alternative grants to become fully funded PhDs, such as charity trust funds, university scholarships or a doctoral loan. Validation here means that Arts and Humanities PhDs must have strategies and decision-making goals that must be realistic and can affect how well they do and how resilient they are if they want to get funding.

Speaker 1: 30:09

Regarding funding for PhD, in STEM it is a must and, like in Arts and Humanities, it is highly competitive, and the pressure to prepare an excellent application can dictate whether you are fit for the research project that you want to investigate. On the other hand, looking for alternatives along with your STEM research funds is also valid, including fellowships, which are usually attributed in the final year of the PhD if you want to further your research, or maybe after you graduate, which could last 1-3 years after your PhD, according to the University of Edinburgh, you can also get teaching assistant experience, where you earn a monthly wage to add to your research grant to invest on anything related to your PhD. For instance, a 2021 study conducted by a range of researchers from various American universities for the International Journal of STEM Education shows how money is allocated for PhDs in STEM in the USA through different funding mechanisms, such as external and internal fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, and how effective these funding mechanisms are in developing specific key skills. These mechanisms would affect the research experiences and outcomes, as well as the career goals, of STEM PhDs in the scientific fields they were researching. This can also be useful when applying for a grant in STEM. The skills the research group was looking at were research teamwork, project management, peer training and mentoring, and communication skills. While the different funding mechanisms had variable results, ranging from dependent control and independent variables, the data collection across several American universities was to see how a STEM student's experiences and outcomes are affected by the funding mechanisms and the skill set mentioned above. This was done through surveys conducted by the group of experts concluding that fellowships, research and teaching assistantships had a direct impact on those set of skills, the research experiences and outcomes and career goals of STEM PhD students. This would also affect how they are seen in the job market, where employers look for and expect potential STEM candidates to run complex funded projects. In the US, on average, between 46% and 59% of PhDs in STEM have found that research assistantships influenced their research experience, teamwork and project management skills for career prospects. However, the impact on each skill varied and affected students' career goals in different ways. Looking more closely at one of the skills we've been talking about, we found that an average of 6.3% of the variance in communication skills would depend on the funding type a PhD student got and how it would affect their career goal and job prospects afterwards.

Speaker 1: 33:37

From what has been discussed in this first point, I think that the sense of validation in funded PhDs could make you feel like you're a recognized researcher and you're investing in yourself to become a better professional and a better person, and you're also contributing to fund the research while you gain new skills, an experience that will look good on your CV, whether you're looking for an academic or industry job, or even a postdoc role, which is a job in itself. That said, it's not as if funded PhDs don't deserve validation too. After all, self-funded PhDs contribute their research to their supervisors and the academic and industry worlds alike. In the academic and industry worlds alike, the second psychological effect that can affect yourself as a PhD is the development of an identity as a funded researcher. This also applies to self-funded PhDs, who also develop their own identity as a researcher during the degree and how it will reflect on themselves after they become doctors of philosophy.

Speaker 1: 34:49

What I want to suggest here is to think about your identity and building your own character when seeking out research grants and facing the hard challenges in obtaining approval of them, and how you'll use them during your PhD after you graduate. Identity could align with the validation characteristic when you seek research grants to apply for your PhD. It helps you build personality traits such as perseverance, patience and emotional resilience. These key traits are really important for building your identity as a PhD researcher, and especially if you're on the run of looking for funded PhD projects. That's what researcher Lynn McAlpine from the University of Oxford writes about succeeding in a PhD with a research grant. She says that when looking for a fully funded PhD, the writing of your proposal for research funding is a crucial element to build your identity, becoming influenced after you submit your application, which is a subject to approval, in order to start your funded doctorate. Although the article she wrote is aimed for PhD graduates, it is also worth considering those who are still undertaking theirs. On top of that, drs Alan Roeder and Lauren Saunders, in their book PhDone, highlight that future employers look at PhDs who have the ability to write grants in a professional manner, which it takes practice and time to master the skill until getting accepted to conduct a funded PhD. In contrast, your core personality traits reach another level when you apply for a PhD grant to eventually become funded. It's because you have a consistent set of beliefs and goals that you ambition to achieve and provide solutions to help society thrive in the face of societal problems that require solutions from you as PhD researcher In anyone's mind.

Speaker 1: 36:57

I think that when PhDs become funded, including self-funded ones, they become dynamic and develop a research self-identity. They also get active not only in their research throughout the dissertation papers and articles, but also use the research grant to socialize, find professional placements or prepare themselves to transition to the job market, whether in industry or academia. Orta, cataneo and Maioli highlight that PhD grants are a key factor in competitive job prospects, which must align with quality funding for PhDs to successfully complete their research topics. Research grants also affect how much knowledge a doctoral student produces and how visible they are in the scientific community, eg citations, research papers and articles. This affects how PhDs network and their professional plans and outcomes after they pass their viva and enter the job market.

Speaker 1: 38:03

In terms of identity development, research grants can help you to boost the identity of a funded PhD researcher. As I mentioned earlier, it helps you build key skills like staying consistent in your research, and it also makes you more attractive to potential employers who are looking for PhDs who are eager to contribute to further research. From an industry employer's point of view, they are looking for a PhD graduate who's ready to commit to doing an excellent job in the role they are assigned to. That could be a research scientist, an environmental engineer, a medical doctor and so on. We even see funded PhDs developing their own researcher identity throughout the dissertation.

Speaker 1: 38:50

There are a few justifying characteristics for building an identity around the PhD dissertation, such as mentoring and leadership. Look at your supervisor as a role model and think about how he or she can be seen as an industry employer who trains you for whatever job you want after your PhD. At the same time, you'll also learn these skills yourself, so you can develop a professional identity that employers will see as appealing and valuable. This will help you when you're an independent worker and can provide solutions after discussing ideas with your future employer. This is also something that doctors Alan Roeder and Lauren Saunders talk about in their book PhDone. They say that when you complete your PhD dissertation, you should be able to do your own original research and take the lead on your project. Your supervisor can help you find solutions and give you hints during your dissertation project for the future. This will help you build a professional identity as a researcher and you can then use the skills you've gained during your PhD and share them with your colleagues as well as yourself, becoming a role model for the next generation of PhDs.

Speaker 1: 40:09

So after sharing two major points for funded PhDs, let's talk about other two important points for those PhDs who are self-funding their degrees. Whilst self-funded PhDs study their research topic without any funding provided by the universities, they bear a huge challenge in covering the tuition fees, food, rent bills, traveling to attend or participate in conferences and any other personal challenge. These financial and personal struggles for self-funded PhDs are high and require a huge effort in not spending on unnecessary things that can cost a lot of money that you'll need in the future. In other words, avoid spending money frequently on, for example, alcohol, night outs or fast and flashy clothing. I am not saying that you shouldn't avoid these or other things you enjoy 100%, but to consider finding a balance between your finances that you must spend on your PhD and your hobbies, and at least I like to think like that. Remember that a self-funded doctoral student is more than likely to have a student loan which must be paid, plus interest, becoming covered in debt, and obviously no PhD graduate wants to have this debt throughout the entire life.

Speaker 1: 41:41

On the other hand, being self-funded comes with significant rewards which will last you a lifetime, whichever job in academia or industry you'll work at your research topic, and methodologies, for example, are free from established ones by the universities and the agency financing bodies that provide funding and can be either attached or not to the research interests of your supervisors. This gives you more freedom to explore all the nuances in your research and produce quality and flexible work set by your own deadlines that you agreed with your supervisor throughout your meetings. Furthermore, a self-funded PhD develops important skills such as risk management, budgeting, commitment and realism, allowing you to have the freedom on how you want to invest your money on more important things you are considering, while saving it to pay for your usual amenities. Not only it will benefit your PhD milestone, but also your well-being and personality, because you'll be setting realistic goals and a balanced lifestyle that you're able to bear whilst researching your topic without being financially burned. Chloe Hanna, a self-funded PhD at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, says in her second out of her six important points in her blog that being realistic with yourself as a self-funded PhD gives you time to figure out your finances and how to use them and whether or not they'll be valuable investments. Also on her fourth point, chloe states that being self-funded has multiple opportunities where you invest your money for any opportunity you might see interesting and worthy, to participate without being attached to the obligations imposed by universities and funding parties over the research grants.

Speaker 1: 43:45

So what two important points can we draw from here? Self-determination in self-funded PhDs is the first point. It's simple to say that in PhD, we must be self-determined to achieve our main goal of becoming doctors of philosophy. But how do we develop this determination? By employing different strategies and exercising discipline to excel in our dissertations while also facing external challenges that shape our character and personality. You can work one or two part-time jobs or even a full-time job while doing the PhD. Full-time, you can even run your own business to enhance your self-determination in achieving your goal of becoming a PhD graduate by doing your two missions at the same time. Furthermore, there are PhDs who are married with children and still find the resilience to write research for a couple of hours during the night after a long day of taking care of their own families.

Speaker 1: 44:47

Professional athletes even undertake their PhDs while performing in elite competition. For example, catherine Granger is a Scottish former rower and gold medalist in London 2012, who received her PhD in law in 2013 at King's College in London. Dr Catherine's research was based on establishing the genesis and challenges of the whole-life order introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for those sentenced to face lifelong incarceration with no possibility of release. She got her PhD after obtaining her gold medal in rowing and she said the following without planning it both my Olympic career and my PhD have met at the same time and the culmination for both is 2012,. Not by design. These challenges shape the personality of each PhD candidate and provide a fulfilling student experience. Graduates who funded their own PhD can take pride in having overcome personal and financial challenges to achieve their goal.

Speaker 1: 45:58

Mogadji, adamo and Nguyen have researched the struggles experienced by international students undertaking doctoral degrees in UK business schools. The table these researchers have designed regarding self-funded international PhDs is based on the students' experiences, identifies second-order themes such as religion, family, financial challenges, job prospects, stakeholders, including the administration system, supervisors, fellow PhDs, social network and the students themselves. It also identifies implications such as showing empathy to your fellow PhD, student support and networking. Each student had their say in each category and 65% of self-funded PhDs stated that funding their doctorate themselves makes them more resilient and determined to work harder towards their degrees. International PhDs take full responsibility for pursuing their studies full-time. This automatically makes them mentally strong and determined to succeed, while seeking help from their supervisors when needed. As I said before, you have the freedom to do your PhD your way. International doctorates in this study said that they can take full ownership of their research, publish a research paper without support from the university, look for a job of their own and build their own network with anyone. They are flexible with themselves and can use their own money to invest in their PhDs whenever they want.

Speaker 1: 47:41

The second and final advantage of a self-funded PhD is the learning experience and know-how you gain throughout your doctoral degree. This makes you a highly sought-after candidate in the job market, as employers recognize your potential and goals. If you're enrolling in your PhD at a university in your home country or internationally, being self-funded means you'll have to face the adult world head-on. You'll have to support yourself financially without any other funding source but the jobs you're working to earn a living while writing your dissertation. The advantage here is that it forces you to develop management skills which will have a positive impact on your life both during and after your PhD. Your struggles and, most importantly, your desire to thrive beyond your own standards, become enhanced and more efficient. This is what attracts any employer when you seek your dream job.

Speaker 1: 48:47

Dr Radhika Kapoor argues that the self-funded learning experience leads to self-recognition when setting your academic, social and financial expectations during and after your PhD. This increases motivation and focus in chasing success. The challenges you face throughout your PhD, your social activities and work outside of your PhD make you engage with people. This forces you to develop your networking skills in order to get the opportunities you deserve whilst you contribute effectively to your PhD. Furthermore, self-funded PhDs take different jobs to build wealth and network with people in their study fields. They become adept at managing their economy, achieving educational goals, engaging in career prospects and subsequent promotional opportunities to increase their wealth. You can use your wealth to establish your own business related to your PhD, upgrade your soft skills and, last but not least, you can understand yourself and your trajectory during your PhD, while sharing your self-funded learning experience to the next generations of doctoral students.

Speaker 1: 50:06

What can we learn from the experience of completing a PhD, whether you're funded or self-funded? Both paths teach resilience, independence and critical thinking. And critical thinking. Each PhD student, who has funding and or not, learns the importance of knowing how to have a financial mindset and also knowing and understanding that your experiences within and outside of your PhD have their own value resilience and self-reckoning. That, I think, leads you to develop your own identity within the PhD and the experiences that you bring along will impact later whether you want to take your working paths in academia or industry. Regardless of the funding route, earning a PhD is a significant achievement that prepares individuals for diverse career paths. The skills developed during this journey, from research and writing to project management and problem solving, are invaluable in both academic and non-academic careers.

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So my final three questions to wrap up this amazing late-night talk goes to you. For those who are thinking about studying for a PhD, which path will you take? Will you become a funded PhD student or become a self-funded PhD candidate? And for those who are studying a PhD, what is it like for being funded or self-funded PhD student? And with that I finish this late night session of the Iceberg Explained series at the PhD Lounge. Thank you so much for tuning in and I hope that it was an insightful experience for those of you who want to go for a PhD. Whether you decide to pursue your PhD with funding or as a self-funded, remember that it is your achievements in your research, as well as your interaction with other PhDs, that fulfills your doctoral experience.

Speaker 1: 52:22

If you enjoyed this solo session, please consider checking my last late night talk with my last guest, dr Michael Gerhas, on the importance of public speaking, including other solo sessions and late night talks with other amazing PhDs that shared their doctoral experience. Besides tuning in to this and my previous talks on your favorite podcast platforms Spotify, spotify for Podcasters, buzzsprout, apple Podcasts and many more check out my website, phdloungecouk, where you can make a donation to help the podcast grow. Links on my PayPal, buzzsprout and Buy Me a Coffee will be in the description. You can also follow my social media Facebook PhDPodLaunch, instagram PhDLMF and X former Twitter, phdlaunchcast. And if you'd like to collab with me and to become a guest and share your fantastic PhD experience, then drop me an email at luisphdlounge at gmailcom. Thank you all for tuning in. It has been a pleasure, thank you.