I know there's a few on here who've done PhDs – how much did you get paid /funded for it?

started on 12 grand/year with inflation clause for subsequent years. that was industrially sponsored. the 12 grand starter rate was about 7 years ago now.

heard a few times that starting post-doc pay can be disappointing if you had a good stipend. luckily I seem to have done ok.

Depends on the phd and if you're fully or partially funded. We started on 10K.

I was looking at doing one in Aberystwyth and that would have been 12k

Just under 13k for the year at the moment, belive that is the current basic rate or at least what I am currently surviving on. At least its tax free.

6.5K but that was 13 years ago

My mrs gets about £12k + a top up from a sponsor.
Here is link to what she is reading Link

12-19k is the going rate.

I was on 12k tax free. In London it should be higher. This was 2004 mind.

My neighbour is doing one in edinburgh and gets £17k

I was offered about £13k a year when I was gonna do one last year. And they were to pay the fees too. That was the AHRC – Art and Humanities Research Council – doling out the cash. Was fairly easy for me to get funding, but I guess that – and the amount – depends on what you're doing and where you're doing it.

Started 2004 on £12k rose to £12.5k in the final year. I think funding is generally £12.5 – £13k for science PhDs, inline with NERC funding.

Worth bearing in mind that different funding bodies will have very different approaches to funding travel/fieldwork/conferences/lab costs etc

It's gone up since I did mine then. Started in 1996 – I think, it's all a blur these days… 😯 I got around £8.5k/ yr for 3 and a bit years tax free (ESRC and industry sponsored). And that was a bit higher than most at the time, cause I was 26 and a 'mature' student apparently…

£12.5k a year is still the going rate, sounds like it used to be a better deal than now 🙁

I got 12k tax free (ESRC), plus I worked on the side – teaching and consultancy work. I also had a fund for conferences and materials which was £400ish per year I think. This was a few years ago though 2000-2003.

Dr North was funded by the MRC and industry, and netted about 12kpa when she started hers back in 2000.

She's never post-doc'ed, so hasn't suffered the standard insult of paying people with doctorates less than they were getting for those 3 years….

I think it was £12-14k last time I checked depending on who funds and what you're doing and your career goal is.

If it's academia then go for it.

If you want to improve your job prospects (depending on field) I wouldn't bother unless it's in your field/line of work e.g. biochemistry.

Could be fun doing what you want though. Ask your university careers dept too. Speak to lecturers/researchers and read how to get funding.

Agree with Zaskar: I'd say in my particular area a PhD is pretty much the standard requirement – but it probably wouldn't help much outside of that area.
I'm a post-doc at the mo', getting a few papers out before I go into industry, and the salary is very good and competitive with industry – however, I know others on much less. You need to negotiate and a suprising number of people don't!

All I got was the basic ESRC grant which was about £3.5k pa when I did it – that was close on 20 years ago though

I'm on an EPSRC funded PhD and get the standard rate (12-13k ish, not really sure). It comes in lumps every 3 months which may or may not be a good thing. We also had a silly budget for equipment and travel as it was a joint project between 3 unis. Are you really sure you want to do a PhD? They can be a real pain in the backside and will make you feel worthless at some point. Being a paid student is great though!

Really looking forward to starting my real job next month where I get paid a real wage 🙂

Are you really sure you want to do a PhD? They can be a real pain in the backside and will make you feel worthless at some point. Being a paid student is great though!

I guess thats what I need to work out. I'm 50/50 with it, but the topic would be interesting to me. Albeit I'm sure I'll be sick of it after a few months. I somehow like the idea over rejoing the corporate 9-5 world of bullshit.

I really enjoyed my first 12-18 months or so. I was researching a topic that I found really interesting and had loads of freedom to explore new avenues with the excuse that I was reading around my subject. Then I think I got fed up of working on such a niche subject, couldn't be bothered reading new papers, writing more code. Got properly fed up with it. Managed to sort of get back on track and hoping to have all my experimental work done in a month or so. Then I'll be using my commute to work on the train for writing the thesis…maybe.

It did help me realise that I'm no good with projects that last years and I think I've found my ideal job. Haven't started it yet so I don't know the reality of it. I guess time will tell!

If you're only 50:50, then I'd say don't do it. Unless you decide you're 100% for it, it's a lot of hardwork and you DO get sick of your topic at times.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Get-PhD-Handbook-Supervisors/dp/0335216846 is worth a read.

About 15k tax free here, plus about 1-1.5 on top from teaching. Depends on subject though, some starting at about 18k these days. If the money matters, you're probably doing it for the wrong reasons.

If you don't think you can survive on the standard research council rate (around 13 K) look for a CASE studentship. You'll get an extra 3 K (maybe even more now) from an industrial partner who'll take an interest in your project (varies from an email once a year to a long work placement at their site to use their resources/equipment to do your research). Alternatively, depending on your field, the Wellcome trust have higher funding levels than the research councils.
Regarding deciding if it is deffinately what you want to do, take time to decide on the group you'll go and work in. I've seen poor students be carried by good post-docs and good students struggle because there is no support available to them. How happy are the others in the group and did the supervisor give you the chance to chat to the rest of their PhD students without them there?

If the money matters, you're probably doing it for the wrong reasons.

I'd had that thought, but then of course it matters. I'd be a mature candidate so have responsibilities beyond paying the rent. And joking aside, I want to be able to keep biking amongst other stuff for 3 years although I can live frugally (when msjimmy doesn't keep blowing the budget on waitrose finest).

HAzel – I fear I might be a poor student carried by a good post-doc. She has been my MSc tutor – very enthusiastic, very helpful, maybe I relied on her too much towards the end. But it has been a lesson in itself, as much in that she wasn't saying anything that I hadn't thought of myself. Hmmm.

Thanks for the thoughts, people.

Science & Engineering – do it even when you will be piss poor financially for few years.

Social Science – avoid by all means if you think you are going to earn big later. No such thing as they are taking the piss! i.e. you will be so poor you wonder why you waste your life away for several years only to return to point one again.

Oh ya … either way you will be financially poor for few years. Find a good supervisor and not those that take the piss thinking s/he is god sent.

I fear I might be a poor student carried by a good post-doc.

They wouldn't have offered you the chance to stay if they thought that.

Don't forget they are usually tax free, so you should be able to add about a third onto the sum they are offering.