How do I get my MA and Phd when I have a family to support, can't quit my job, and don't have the money

Question

Anybody else been in this situation?

Answer 1

Depending what type of MA or PhD program you get accepted into, the university usually pays you to go to school there. You either work as a Teaching Assistant or a Graduate Researcher while you earn your degree. Most schools have subsidized family housing for graduate students as well.
The pay is usually between 20 to 30 K depending on your location.

This is true for most majors and is not true for professional degrees like medical, law, and business.

I know of many graduate students with families that get buy with a graduates pay. Its not luxurious, but it hold them down until they get the degree and find good jobs or post doctoral positions.

Answer 2

I myself was looking into PhD programs, but decided that the opportunity costs (lost income, etc.) were simply too high, even though the university would have funded my studies. In addition, I realised that, with my MBA alone, I already make more money than most PhD professors in my field. And with all the politics involved in becoming a tenured professor, I decided it really wasn't the path for me.

I think you need to go through the same sort of an analysis. Think about these things:

- Why do you want an MA and a PhD?
- What are your goals, post-graduation?
- Are those goals realistic?
- Will you actually be able to find an appropriate job when you graduate? Most PhDs, especially those in the liberal arts, do not end up working as tenured professors, so what are your other options?
- Are there other paths that can get you where you want to go?
- Must you get a PhD in order to be satisfied with your life?

A PhD takes time and commitment, and then there is absolutely no guarantee that you'll find teaching/research work in your field, and even then no guarantee that you'll get tenure. I usually recommend, especially in the non-tech, non-business fields, that people really think seriously about not doing a PhD. If they can be happy doing something else, they should seriously consider it.

For all students doing PhD, but especially in the liberal arts, I strongly suggest that you only go if you can get into one of the best universities. Otherwise, it'll be hard to get a job at the other end of it. And if it's liberal arts, skip the MA unless you can get it as part of the PhD program. An MA alone, in liberal arts, rarely gets you very much in terms of career bump.

With that said, in some fields, in the better programs, the university will fund your studies, plus grant you a living stipend. This stipend isn't very huge, so it'll be hard to support your family on it, but it is possible. They also often have some sort of family housing, which isn't elegant but serves its purpose.

Answer 3

It depends on how fast you want to get those degrees and what your field is. In the sciences and engineering, most PhD grad programs will pay your tuition and give you a stipend besides, provided you either teach or do research in addition to your coursework. It's generally not the best salary in the world (I was paid $24k/yr on two fellowships about 4 years ago), but it's enough to get by on if you have another wage-earner in the household. If you're in the humanities or business, you won't have that kind of support.

You can always apply for a loan to get your masters, then try to find a job with a company that will fund your doctorate. I work as a research chemist for a renewable ingredients company; it is actually funding an MS in food science for interested full-time employees. Sometimes you can luck into something like that if you work for the right company at the right time. It's not easy to fund further education if you have a family to support and are the primary wage-earner. I'd love to go to law school and become a patent attorney, but I just don't have the means to afford it. I make good money as a researcher (however only about 1/3-1/2 what a good IP lawyer can command), but with a wedding to pay for, a first house on the horizon, we're going to have to move once he finishes his postdoc, etc., it's just not in the cards for me to go to law school. Sometimes you have to just bloom where you're planted and make the best of it.

Answer 4

Join your local university library. Plan your Phd dissertation and research, research, and research. Write the damn thing and when you have finished typing your 100000 words get it copyrighted and send it to all the Professors in your chosen subject and if its great enough to be published then you will soon find yourself given a place at a university with a grant and the chance to earn some extra cash teaching (because you will be an expert in your chosen subject by then) and the good thing is the thesis has already been written. You don't need money to get books out of the library, you just need time to read!

Answer 5

Hi, Genghis,

I quit my job as an elementary schoolteacher in 1990, with a wife and four children, relocated at the University of Georgia, and earned a PhD in Reading Education in 1995.

The trick is to a) have a strong potential as a scholar, enabling you to b) get into a research-1 university, where there is c) a high-level group of researchers buying out their instructional time with grant money.

This means this department needs instructors and research assistants and has the money to pay for them. A doctoral student is a great economic bargain in top universities. I was usually able to work as a 2/3 time graduate assistant, drawing a salary that enabled a frugal but not uncomfortable living. We also took out loans to tide us over.

It turned out to be an excellent investment.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 6

You could try going straight for a PhD - you can earn your MA along the way (sort of like your AA while getting your BA).

Most grad schools will pay you to go to college - they can give you a TA, GA, or RA depending on your area. A lot of grad schools will also give you (and depending on funding your family as well) health insurance. Some grad programs even pay for your credits while you get paid for working.

If you have the dream to do it, then pursue it. You can achieve your goals.

Answer 7

Most of us do without the degrees. Failing that, assuming you can't get any grants its time to borrow the money you need for school and living. After that hope that the money you make after you get your PhD allows you to pay back the loans and have a higher standard of living than you have now.

Answer 8

Just relax and take your time. You are more lucky to have a family than an MA and Phd

Answer 9

You live out your wretched life without ever getting those degrees. When you die, maybe the Buddha will reincarnate you as a rich white man with money.