• Name: Melissa Barlow
• PhD Programme: GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership
• Type of study: Part-time (Full-time prior to having a child)
• Length of PhD: September 2019 – 2028.
• University: University of Exeter
• Children: Two children, a three-year-old and a one-year-old.
• Childcare: Three-year-old attends preschool three days a week and one-year-old attends nursery 2 days a week
• Stipend: £775 a month
• Nursery Fees: £650 for one-year-old. Three-year-old now gets 30 hours free, so £20 a month (used to cost £300).

Melissa’s Story:

“I always knew I wanted to go into research. When I was younger a family member was diagnosed with cancer, so I have a huge passion for cancer research and saw studying for a PhD as a stepping stone to further my career in cancer research.

I had both my children during my PhD and financially have found this very challenging. My stipend works out at below minimum wage and paying two lots of nursery fees put an overwhelming financial strain on us as a family. We had to take out loans and accrued nearly £15,000 of credit card debt.

The only way I could continue studying was by going part-time and taking on a part-time job to help financially. It was a tough decision to continue studying, and at times I felt close to giving up, but I had already given so much into my PhD and I wanted to finish it. I’m also lucky to live near family and they have been able to help out, but if I didn’t have this family support, I think I would have had to stop studying.

I work part-time as a research assistant at the University and juggle childcare, work and study. Some days my children attend childcare, other days family look after them, and I also don’t work or study one day a week to save on childcare costs, but I have to make up these study hours at other times during the week.

Thankfully we are eligible for the tax free childcare due to my husband’s job and my research assistant role. However, not all PhD programmes allow postgrads to undertake regular outside work, and there are restrictions to how many hours I can work written into my PhD. I also have friends with young children who are not eligible for any schemes as both her and her partner are studying for a PhD.

I started my PhD when I was 29 years old. I knew my husband and I would also want to have children soon, but delaying starting my studies wouldn’t have been right for me or my family. I knew it would be a struggle for a few years, but I didn’t anticipate the longer-term adverse impacts. There are the financial impacts of accruing credit card debt and the knock-on effects of delayed career progression – I’m four years behind my peers – due to studying part-time and can sometimes feel stagnated in my studies until I am able to complete my PhD and progress in my chosen career.”

Content correct as of February 2024