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Camille Bou

August 25th, 2021

Working During Your PhD: Opportunities To Look Out For

2 comments | 4 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Camille Bou

August 25th, 2021

Working During Your PhD: Opportunities To Look Out For

2 comments | 4 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

If you’re finding yourself a bit short on your stipend at the end of each term, you may be looking for a part-time (PT) job to earn some extra income. Or perhaps you are seeking to broaden your horizons, gain some work and research experience outside of what is offered from the pursuit of your doctoral project. Whatever the reason may be, there is a range of opportunities available for PhD students:

 

  • Occasional Research Assistantships (ORA): LSE has a number of research centres that occasionally advertise for Research Assistants to help Principal Investigators with projects. For instance, the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) has a call for Occasional Research Assistants and also advertises for summer placements. Faculty in your Department may also send the word out that they are looking for an ORA to help with a project; so keep your eyes peeled for internal communications.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA): Some Departments (e.g. Economics, International History, Methodology) have a large number of Undergraduate and Master courses for which they need Graduate Teaching Assistants. If you’re not from the Department that is hiring, it is still worth applying!
  • Professional Service Staff roles (PSS): The different divisions of the LSE (e.g. Student Housing, Research and Innovation, Eden Centre, Library, LSE Careers, Volunteer Centre, etc) may advertise for part-time roles. These are great opportunities to understand what it takes to keep the LSE running smoothly
  • Working with the Student Union (LSESU): at times, the LSESU advertises administrative, communication, or governance-based roles in their different teams.
  • Leading an LSE Changemaker project: this collaborative programme between LSE and the LSESU provides students with 80 hours of funding to conduct an independent research project seeking to investigate and improve particular aspects of the LSE.
  • Affiliated internship schemes: The PhD Academy is continuously building partnerships to offer more opportunities to PhD students, which they advertise in their newsletter. For instance, the Academy recently launched a micro-internship scheme, allowing PhDs to use their analytical skills for startups.
  • Parliamentary Internships where you can assist an MP and gain some valuable experience working in UK politics.
  • Working outside of the LSE if you’re looking to branch out: check out LSE Careers and LinkedIn for advertised roles, or work your network to find out if they are hiring!

 

In the PhD handbook, full-time PhD students are recommended to work no more than two days per week (or the equivalent) to ensure they can still finish their doctoral projects by their planned timeframe. Moreover, certain students will have Visa restrictions on how many hours they can work. Therefore, always check your capacity to work before applying for positions. It is advised you discuss your job applications with your supervisors so they can support you.

About the author

Camille Bou

I'm Camille, a PhD student in the Department of Health Policy. I'm interested in how context shapes the experiences of young informal carers in the United Kingdom. When I'm not analysing data, I enjoy listening to music and podcasts, catching up on TV series, walking in London's abundant green spaces, and exploring the city’s diverse art, food, and drinks scene!

Posted In: Careers | Student life | Study: PhD

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